Diana P.
It’s unfortunate to hear that someone like Diana had to suffer for so many years before finding answers, but the impact that going gluten-free has had on her health is wonderful to hear. – Dr. Perlmutter
My entire life, I’ve coped with hydrocephalus – 52 years now. I was diagnosed at three months (November 1961) and spent the majority of the next eighteen months in hospitals. I had a couple of unsuccessful shunts, spinal meningitis and then a successful shunt that went unrevised for 13 years. At fifteen, my neurosurgeon felt that I needed a revision. Six years later, I found out that this wasn’t the case, and that it was totally unnecessary. In 1983, I had a staph infection in the tubing and had it removed (I’ve been “shuntless” for over thirty years now). The surgery was performed under a local anesthetic, which I was happy about as it meant I didn’t need to wait a day or two for the general anesthesia to work its way out of my system. I was back to ‘normal’ within less than half an hour.
The only downside was that within a couple of months, I was having grand mal seizures. Later it was discovered that I am flash-sensitive, it just went undiagnosed until I was twenty-seven. I haven’t been on meds or had any grand mals since 1997.
Unfortunately, since the 1977 surgery, I’ve had a persistent gut issue. For over twenty years I had explosive diarrhea and gut pain on a daily basis. Thankfully, this issue has improved recently, thanks to my decision to go gluten-free. Now, after being gluten-free for over fourteen years, that has been reduced to being an issue about every three months.
Five years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, so I eliminated even more from my diet! I’ve gotten rid of simple carbs, processed foods and most red meat. I only eat grass-fed bison at this point!