I did the Nexvax trial and my last injection was about 3 months ago. I just got back from vacation that I’ve been taking for 10 years. After my celiac diagnosis 7 years ago, I’ve gotten sick on each and every one of these trips. This year I didn’t. I didn’t get sick.
I travel to the beach with my in-laws and we all share a house. They are considerate of my disease when we sit down to family meals or choose a restaurant. But I try not to impose my food restrictions. They ate what they normally eat for breakfast and lunch including sandwiches, peanut butter toast, and lots of other gluten laden goodies with the requisite crumbs all over everything. I eat what I normally eat for breakfast and lunch including eggs, bacon, and leftovers from dinner.
For dinners, we eat as a family. We discuss meals, I make suggestions, and if there is any doubt, they bring me the labels to read. If there is gluten involved in the meal, I fix my plate first and then everyone else gets theirs. We used aluminum foil and paper towels to keep me safe. I never put anything that would go into my mouth on the kitchen counters – there was always a plate or napkin between the utensil and the counter top. All dishes, pots, and pans go through the dishwasher. I take these precautions on this trip and at home. It was just routine for me.
I can pinpoint one year on this trip where things really started to go south for me – down to the meal where it went wrong. I had a bad 3-4 month stint of tummy illness after one of these trips. Most of the time, I’m pretty sick for 2-3 days or there is an urgency that I’m not used to dealing with on a regular basis. This time, the first day was the worst because we were travelling.
But now, what was the difference? Why was I not sick this year versus previous years? There are lots and lots of variables at play here. I realize it is a big leap to say that Nexvax may have helped prevent getting sick. But I have to tell you, normally I need a few days to recover from my vacation, but not this time. I normally have significantly more gastrointestinal distress than I had not this time. The only difference between this year and many previous years is Nexvax.
While I may not have gotten the Nexvax vaccine because we don’t know whether I did or not – I’ve always contended that I did get it. I think too many things went well for me not to have gotten that medicine. Whatever is going on in my body is good and the idea that I’m not sick right now is really good.
So, I’m hoping that things will stay good. I’m hoping that I can maintain this better health and well being.