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| May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month! |
Before I was finally diagnosed with celiac disease, I
thought I was dying. Among a host of seemingly unrelated symptoms, I was losing
weight without trying; I was always tired; I was tethered to the bathroom
because of chronic diarrhea; I was bloated and gassy, no matter what I ate.
Over a period of many years, I visited several different doctors and was told I
had IBS, in one case; that I should take iron supplements, in another case;
that I just needed to drink more water; that I was going through menopause and
that the symptoms would eventually diminish.
It wasn’t until I became dangerously anemic that a physician
finally decided to give me a blood test to check for celiac disease—and Bingo!
The blood test came back positive.
My experience is typical. According to CeliacCentral.org, six to ten years is the average time a person
waits to be diagnosed with celiac disease. During that time, that person can
experience symptoms ranging from constipation to diarrhea, weight loss to
weight gain, anemia to skin rashes. And the list goes on and on. Because CD shares
symptoms with so many other illnesses, and because it affects everyone
differently, the disease is difficult to diagnose.
That’s one reason that May has been designated as Celiac
Awareness Month. CeliacCentral.com reports that an estimated 1 in 133 Americans
has celiac disease, yet 83% are either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, as I was.
If anyone in your family has celiac disease, or if you suffer from unexplained
health issues, ask your physician to test you.
For a free Celiac
Disease Symptoms Checklist, go to www.CeliacCentral.org/checklist
and answer the simple questionnaire. The site will give you an idea of what
types of symptoms or conditions may be an indication of celiac disease.
The day my doctor told me I had celiac disease, I gained a
new lease on life. That diagnosis set me on a path to regaining my health and
restoring my lifestyle!
