Toni Spencer's Page

I'd just started my second year at uni, when I began to feel very unwell after eating. The first time I really paid attention to it was after having Bran Flakes for breakfast. I put it down to maybe a milk/lactose allergy or intolerance and made an appointment with my doctor. She ran various tests only them all to come back negative for milk. I then suggested (half-heartedly, not expecting anything to come of it) that it might be wheat and/or gluten. The worst time came when after a very bad night of being so sick (I don't remember a time in my life when I'd been so ill) I found myself taken to hospital - only to be told, "Oh, it's just a stomach bug, it'll pass."

Again, tests were done but once again, these came back negative. She suggested cutting out wheat and gluten altogether and see if it made a difference to my health. Immediately I felt much better and by the end of that first day of excluding wheat I had almost all of my energy back and I was rejoicing and praising God for it being the first day in over 5 months of not being sick! A weird thing to be praising God for...!

The doctor then said that she'd run further tests just to make sure, but it meant having to reintroduce wheat and gluten into my diet again. Immediately I felt very ill, and missed a lot of time from my studies. The doctor tested for everything she could think of almost - cheese, wheat, gluten, milk... but also checked my iron levels, thyroid, sugar, etc. All that came back was that my iron was VERY low and so was my haemoglobin... which explains a lack of energy and constant tiredness.

The doctor the suggested cutting wheat and gluten out again, as it had obviously had some benefit. It was then I was told that intolernaces almost never show up in blood tests, and that it was probably Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I have since discovered I have a series of intolerances: wheat/wheat gluten/anything derived from wheat, artifical sweeteners (such as aspartame and sorbitol) and anything spicy.

I've been wheat-free for almost a month now, and am feeling much better. Still a way to go, though but I'm on the mend and that's the most important thing! On the downside I miss real food, bread, cakes and biscuits...! Hence why I am on a mission to create amazing food with wheat-free products! I love to cook and bake! No doubt you'll have already seen my many additions to the recipe sections in the forum!