For traveling, they can't be beat. They taste as good as their gluteny cousins. The pretzels themselves are sort of little, so they don't seem to suffer much breakage when being tossed about in a tote and jammed into small airplane spaces. They are a definite winner for travel snacks and for just having around the house.

My motto is "always know where your next meal is coming from." I get really agitated if I think I'm going to get trapped somewhere without a good gluten-free option when it's time to eat. In my regular life, I always know either what I'm having next, or I know that where I'm going to be eating has solid GF options. I eat most breakfasts and dinners at home and pack my lunch just about everyday.

So when flyimg across the country with hour+ layovers coming and going, I knew I needed to pack enough provisions to get me through. And I wanted them to be amusing. For the trip, I made some special GF purchases. In coming posts I'll note the winners and losers.

I've been pretty darn strict with my gluten-free compliance. And yet, my anemia is alive and well. From my hematology appointment three months ago to the one a week and a half ago, my hemoglobin dropped from 11.4 to 9.6. I got my first transhfusion in over a year. I go back in a couple of weeks to see how things are going. In the meantime, I had THE WORST period ever. I've been feeling run down, I look pale, feeling light-headed, and I think I'll be getting another transfusion.

I asked my hematologist the obvious question: Shouldn't my small intestine be healed by now so that I can absorb the iron? He said I should take it up with my team at the Celiac Center. I spoke to them. I'll get more blood work to check the celiac antibodies to see if they have changed (for better or for worse) since they were last checked in January. In addition we'll test for folate and iron, both of which I've had a deficiency. Though if I'm getting iron transfusions, I don't know how illuminating that aspect of the test will be. And we'll take it from there. As I understand it, the only real way to know if my small intesting is healed is to do another biopsy. One thing at a time.

I also know that anemia can have many causes. It would just be weird if the symptom that lead to my celiac diagnosis turns out to be caused by something else.