My name is Nicky. I am 27 years old and live in Westlake Village with my hubby, Eric and my Jack Russell, Charlie.

I was originally diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis in 2004. I had a liver biopsy that I have been told wasn’t a great sample but no one ever did another one for me. From that bad sample, the doctor said autoimmune hepatitis was what I had. I took Cellcept, which made me super sick. I had a cold, eye infections, overall feeling sick pretty much everyday. I told my doctor I wasn’t happy, he didn’t listen. He told me I either take the medications or I get worse. I found a new doctor. This doctor prescribed me Imuran. It was better, but I still felt sick all the time. No one ever thought to do another liver biopsy or explore other diagnoses.

In 2009 my husband and I decided we wanted to try to get pregnant. I stopped birth control. I didn’t get a period for 6 months. I went to see my ob/gyn who told me to visit a infertility specialist. He did some tests and told me I had PCOS (polycystic ovaries) and insulin resistance and that I needed to lose weight. My liver doctor took blood tests every 3 months and never informed me of this, he also told me losing weight wasn’t easy for me because my body didn’t work right!

Anyways, I started following a low carb diet and taking Metformin. I finally lost 15 lbs! On recommendation from my infertility doctor I made an appointment with a nutritionalist. This nutritionalist really listened to all my problems, and what had been going on with me over the years. She said I should have a blood test to see if I had a wheat allergy. Sure enough, positive! In the meantime, while cutting out carbohydrates which also eliminated most of the wheat I was eating. My liver enzymes have gone down, my blood sugar is almost normal and my weight is coming off! Thank you Kerry Hill (the best nutritionalist ever!!)

I am almost 100% sure that I have been suffering from a gluten intolerance all this time, and I may not have any of the other things wrong with me. Through this blog, I will experiment with recipes, follow a gluten-free lifestyle and hopefully get myself back on track to live a healthier, happier life…and have a baby .