Claire’s Autoimmune Story

MEET CLAIRE

Hello! I’m Claire. I’m a working mother and wife living an active life in the Arizona desert.

 DIAGNOSIS

I live with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). EoE is a chronic autoimmune disease where if I eat something I’m allergic to, my body will attack itself. More specifically, eosinophils will gather in my esophagus causing inflammation and swelling, causing food to get stuck. It is different from anaphylaxis and EpiPens won’t do anything to resolve it. There is no cure for EoE and it is only managed through diet and sometimes special formula supplements.

 LIFE CHANGE

With my diagnosis, I have allergic reactions to dairy, eggs, gluten, peanuts and soy. I was told to stop eating all those foods immediately! Those foods are in so many things, I ultimately realized I needed to relearn everything I knew about food, nutrition and cooking. Now, most of my food comes from fresh, nutritious ingredients that I cook from scratch! And I’ve actually grown to enjoy cooking now.

 HEALING

Once I stopped eating these foods, I physically saw the positive changes in my body, and not just with eating. To me, the most amazing part of my healing journey was on day 90 of my new diet changes. I woke up that morning to find the incision from my first exploratory surgery finally closed. This pea-sized part of my incision scars had been open for eleven months. I finally had all the foods considered bad for me out of my system and my body finally healed itself.

 STRUGGLE

Oddly enough, dealing with my food allergies wasn’t my biggest struggle. I struggled most, and still struggle with my anxiety. I dealt with anxiety before my diagnosis, but now, it skyrocketed. How would I eat out now? What can I buy at the store? I had so many questions running through my mind that made me so overwhelmed. I was expecting one or two allergies, but not five! I am used to my diet changes now and am actually thankful for them.

Find Claire | @daytodayclaire