Pondering the likelihood of Celiac Disease

Over the past few months, I have noticed that I have been feeling more tired and less myself.  For those who know me I have struggled with many health issues over the years, but it seemed like I was on a turning point where at least things had become manageable. I had gotten off most of medications, was able to control many of my symptoms through changing my diet, and have worked to try to relieve stress in my life.

On any given day, I deal with chronic pain from my fibromyalgia, heart arrhythmia issues, and circulation issues that cause me to fluctuate between being severely cold or having hot flashes.  Definitely over the last couple of years, but especially the past 3-4 months, I have noticed that my energy level has dropped dramatically, I've had a hard time losing weight despite a decreased appetite, I feel completely fatigued no matter how much sleep I get, and have been having a lot of digestive issues.

After months of tests, new medications, and speculation, my doctor has narrowed things down to me having IBS or Celiac Disease.   For those that don't know about Celiac, here is a great website with lots of information: http://www.celiac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=25.  While I don't want either diagnosis to be true, I have to admit that I am ready for my doctor to figure out what is wrong with me so I can treat it and get back to a healthier life.

While researching Celiac Disease, I have to admit that I have been presenting with many of the symptoms that are commonly found in people with this disease.  My vitamin K deficiency that my doctor has been treating me for since July is definitely one of them.  Additionally, people with other autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia and Raynaud's, both of which I have suffered from for years, are more likely to develop Celiac in their lifetime.  So, while I don't like to always self-diagnose, it's really hard to deny the possibility that I may very well be suffering from this disease.

Sadly, the scary part is not the fact that I may have Celiac Disease; it's the fact that if do have it, my lifestyle as I know it will have to change dramatically.  People with Celiac Disease have to go on strict gluten free diets, and anyone who knows me well can tell you that will be a tough adjustment for me since I love Italian food, my whole wheat bread, and I love to bake.

In the past, I have used the Atkins diet to lose weight, and I was extremely successful both times.  I felt great on that diet and would lose like 5lbs a week. So, it does make sense that I could be suffering from Celiac Disease considering my past history with the Atkins diet meal plan.  Part of the reason I didn't last on Atkins, though, was the fact that I missed whole wheat bread and being able to have Italian food.

If I do have this disease, I will have no choice but to go on a gluten-free diet.  To not do so will only continue to jeopardize my health even further, but it is a scary thought right now. I want to get healthier and lose weight so I can feel normal again (well, normal for me), but having to make such and adjustment is going to really difficult.

Does anyone have any advice?  Are you on a gluten-free diet (maybe for food allergies) or know someone who is? I would really like to hear how they manage.  I know there are lots of new gluten-free products out there, but are they really that great tasting?  How do you deal with eating out at restaurants or other people's homes?

What is the price of companionship?

Like many things in my life, including blogging, I have taken a hiatus on dating until recently.  After more than 18 months of trying to dip my feet in the dating pool, I just felt like I was finding all the wrong men and wasting my time.  So, I decided to take a 6-month hiatus and focus on my career, planning for law school, and trying to decrease the level of drama in my life.

That seemed to work...at least for a while.

Within the last month, my career has changed and my law school applications are coming along.  With so many great changes happening in my life, I thought maybe it was time to start dating again.  I decided to reactivate some of my online dating website accounts and have been looking for other possible dating outlets.

In just these last two weeks, I've had dozens of men contact me, mostly on one dating website, who say they are looking for someone to date, yet within the first or second conversation bring up sex.  WTH?? Really?

I know that I am no angel and definitely have been one to play around in the past, but what on earth gives these guys the idea that I want nothing but sex?  Why put yourself up on a dating website saying you are looking for someone to date and/or have a relationship with, but yet that's not what you are really looking for?  I mean if all you want is a hook-up, use Craig's List or Plenty of Fish like most people do.

I just don't get it...What is it about my profile and/or my profile pictures that is suggesting to these men that I am a sex object? I am completely baffled at their behavior.

Because of all of this craziness, I resorted to even digging into past encounters with guys I've been with over the last couple of years, and this is what I found out:

• I'm too "strong".
• Strength can bee seen as a weakness. 
• I'm too open. 
• I'm sweet, but that's overshadowed by my "strength". 

Basically, my personality is why I am having trouble finding men who want to date.  Apparently, they want strong women in the bedroom, but not as their partner.  What I am still not sure about is how men are figuring this out from a profile and maybe a couple photos....

So, after assessing what I've been told, I have come to a couple conclusions:

1. I can stay true to who I am and what I want and risk being alone for the rest of my life.
2. I can cave and pretend to be someone I'm not and maybe find a man who can see me as someone he wants to spend his life with (albeit our relationship would be based on a lie). 
3. I can move to a new part of the country or the world and hope that I can meet someone else while simultaneously throwing away my career and possibly my law school prospects (although maybe going out of state for law school could kill two birds with one stone). 
4. I can compromise my principles about what I want in a relationship and find a nice guy that  I can spend time with now and bide my time until/if someone else comes along that I think might be relationship material. 

I have no idea what the right answer is at this point anymore.  All I know is that I have basically been doing the same thing off and on for about two years, and I feel like I've made very little progress, if any.  In fact, I feel like I have slid back a bit in my dating life.

I am just tired of being lonely and not having someone to spend time with.  It would be nice to have someone to go out with, take to events, cuddle up with, and yes, spend some quality night time with.  I guess it begs the question: at what point do you compromise your principles for the sake of companionship?  And if you do compromise, what is the cost to your emotional and mental states?