Quitting Gluten and Dairy Was One of The Most Difficult Decisions in My Life- Until It Wasn’t.
For almost half my life, I have hated my skin. Many times over the years it has let me down either in the way it has looked or, more importantly, in how it has felt, over the years, and there seemed to be nothing I could do to make it better. Until recently, when I became faced with an opportunity to relieve my symptoms, but at a cost of giving up some of the foods I have loved the most in my life.
My first issues with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, came about at the start of my high school years. These issues mainly consisted of dark circles around my eyes that made them itchy and irritated, though at the time I had yet to realize what a difficulty in my life this was about to be. This was because, at the time, it was a minor irritation easily dealt with. At this time, I was introduced to hydrocortisone over the counter ointment.
This seemed to be an easy and simple solution to my newfound irritant. Simply apply it to my eyelids regularly, and relief would be found. In hindsight, perhaps my following memories are too rose-colored, but as I recall it, that was enough to return my eyelids to normal, or close enough to it at least, for the remainder of my high school years.
College, however, would bring a new level of pain, as my skin flared up to levels far beyond what I had ever experienced during the winter of my freshman year, as the combination of living in a new environment, the stress of college (and a freshman year where I enjoyed the newfound college lifestyle too much), caused me unprecedented distress.
This was the first time that I was introduced to the world of topical corticosteroids, as the university health office prescribed me desonide, which proved to be the magic ingredient to relieve what was ailing my body. At first, it seemed to be manna from heaven, and relieved my symptoms in short order. When I had subsequent outbreaks, I was prescribed steroids again, and for the most part, they would relieve my symptoms. But over the years, I came to understand that these steroid prescriptions did not treat the underlying issues that caused my dermatitis, and I came to learn more and more about the potential long term side effects they can have.
However, when about a month ago I had my worst eczema flareup in years, my first instict was to return to a familiar solution- back to the well of steroid prescriptions. Due to COVID-19, I was forced to turn to an online dermatologist, who prescribed me the oral steroid prednisone, the strongest drug I had ever taken for my eczema. While it briefly relieved my symptoms, this was not to last.
Within two days of going off the prednisone, my symptoms returned with a vengeance. I was at my wit’s end- what would cure my ailment? It was then that my father suggested that I see a neurotherapist that had treated him and my uncle. Upon seeing him, among many other tests and recommendations he had planned for me, he had one that I alone had full control over administering and carrying out. He insisted that I should eliminate gluten and dairy from my diet, not to eat “one more molecule” of either substance, in his words.
My immediate reaction was thinking to myself that these words were harsh to hear, especially when it came to the dairy free portion of this new directive. Many of my favorite foods contain gluten and dairy, pizza being a primary example. Some of my fondest memories have been related to this food, whether it be ordering with my family from the local pizzeria a few blocks away, or sharing slices with friends. The chocolate layer cake at the bakery down the street- called “Black Magic” was a feature at nearly every birthday party and other occasion I could remember, even recently after moving back to San Francisco. That would also have to go.
But then I think of all of the pain and discomfort that my eczema has caused me over the years, and the frightening prospect of it getting worse as I grow older and causing even more dire health problems, as the neurotherapist warned that it would. I thought of John Stone, the character in the HBO miniseries ‘The Night Of’ played by John Turturro. He suffered from eczema so severe it limited his ability to wear shoes, and while this miniseries is obviously a work of fiction, I know that real life examples of this do exist.
Furthermore, I was inspired by looking to the example of my father, a lifelong lover of all bread products who has recently turned, with great success, to a diet that all but eliminates them. My uncle has had similar success with a gluten free diet that he has sustained for well over a decade, and in his early fifties he is in fantastic health- I would be thrilled to be in his condition when I eventually reach that age.
That example, and the conversations I had with my uncle and my parents the day of the neurotherapist’s visit, is what gave me the strength to be firm in my conviction to commit to my decision. And besides, gluten free food actually tastes very good, as I have begun to discover. What this ultimately underscores for me is how grateful I am to the support of my family. This is the biggest lifestyle change I have ever undertaken in my life, and I don’t know if I would have the strength to do it without them. But with their support and knowing their example, I know that I will be able to follow through with it, and I am more optimistic than ever that with their help and my own dedication, my health will improve in ways I could never have thought possible.
