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jean831976 
I now believe my date of birth is February 3, 2007, since that is the day I started eating gluten free. The difference in qualify of life is unbelievably better. Thirty six hours after going off gluten, I began to feel better. By that I mean, I no longer feel fatigued; I no longer feel weak; I no longer feel my brain fogged up to the point of being unable to read or concentrate. Additionally, the skin rash I have had for at least four decades is fading. The balance problem I had which had me homebound is gone. I no longer have to use a walker or walking stick to walk. In other words, I am free. When consideration is given to the fact that I am 67 and have been seeking answers from doctors for almost 50 years, one can only imagine how wonderful this really is. An additional benefit of this diet has been the loss of weight, though I am not restricting calories. I look at gluten now as a poison, as that is what it was to me. I will never intentionally eat gluten again. Had Kimball Genetics not offered the DNA test without a doctor's order, I will still be muddling through life. And now I see how obvious it should have been to me and my doctors now that I know this is a genetic disease since it was I who told my sister over twenty years ago that she had celiac disease. Why didn't I know I had it when I saw it in my sister? Because she had the classic symptoms of diarrhea, delayed growth as a child, etc., and I did not. It goes to show that all first-degree relatives need to get the DNA testing done. I know I will need to continue monitoring for possible non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is connected to celiac disease and which killed my maternal grandmother. She no doubt had undiagnosed celiac, too. Life has answers, but sometime it takes a long time to come. Is it better late than never -- NO. This should have been diagnosed decades ago. Yet I am grateful to have found the answer. I can now start living life for the first time with energy.
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I have just passed three months of being gluten free. Since that time, my Mother and son have tested positive for the celiac gene through Kimball Genetics (www.kimballgenetics.com). Two of my nephews have been tested; they were negative for celiac. What this shows me is that one cannot guess who the celiacs in the family are as I would have thought one of my nephews who tested negative would have been positive. My Mother is 85; that's a long time to wait to find out one has celiac disease.
In these three months, I have learned more about gluten-free foods. I have found that writing to the manufacturers of the various foods in grocery stores market bring swift response. For the most part, I don't buy specialty foods as I can find most everything I eat in the regular food aisles by reading labels and writing to the manufacturers about anything questionable. Eating out is still difficult. It is clear most of the "cooks" in local restaurants have never heard of gluten. This may be a problem in small towns. I understand Outback has a gluten-free menu, but we don't have an Outback where I live.
Weight loss hasn't been dramatic but is there. I have lost 4.5 pounds in three months. I am happy with that as prior to going gluten free I was gaining weight each and every month.
The biggest improvement I have had that I didn't anticipate is my insulin requirements have gone down by over 50% since going gluten free.
My sense of taste has come back. Nice to be able to taste food again.
I have read Dr. Peter H. R. Green's book (Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic) over and over again and find it helpful each time I re-read it.
I found my town has no celiac support group, which didn't surprise me. Doctors here don't seem to know anything about celiac disease, including the GI specialists. I have found some doctors who are willing to learn, and one doctor who thinks he might have celiac disease himself. My dentist wanted the informtion from Dr. Green's book about celiac's effect on teeth.
Also found out that California has a new Celiac Center at the University of California at San Diego.
It's a nice feeling living life where I am getting better each day. Prior to going gluten-free, I spent a lifetime of going downhill and trying desperately to find an answer to my fatigue, weakness, lack of balance, night blindness, loss of senses of smell and taste, etc.
One thing that is clear to me is that I have asked the right quetions of my doctors, have given them the right medical histories, as well as the right family histories of other autoimmune disorders, etc. The medical profession failed me; I didn't fail them.
Everywhere I go people ask me what happened to me as I have clearly dramatically improved. I need to get brochures about celiac disease to give out rather than to retell my story with each encounter.
It is very odd starting life at 67. I don't agree that it is better late than never. This should have been diagnosed decades ago. All I can do now is to make sure that no more time is lost from my life. I find going gluten free well worth any initial effort required to learn what to avoid. There is nothing with gluten in it that I cannot live without.
Gluten robbed me of the first 67 years of my life. I don't intend to let it get even one more day of what life I have left.
jean831976
Just completed my fourth month of being gluten free. So many things have improved, many of which I didn't expect. The hair on the top of my hair has become thick again. Insulin requirements have gone down by 75%, an additional 25% since my third month of being gluten free. At this rate, I might be insulin free soon. Not sure what celiac has to do with diabetes, but I suspect it has to do with leeky gut. In reading, I found that all people have problems digesting wheat, rye and barley due to its molecular structure. Of course, those with celiac are harmed to a greater degree than the general public. Every time I reread Dr. Green's book Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic, I learn something new.
Local doctors still know nothing about celiac and don't seem willing to learn. I gave my PCP Dr. Green's book, but it is clear he hasn't read it. That seems ridiculous to me. How can a doctor justify not learning about somethingg that affects 1 in 100 people? His comment was that 1 in 100 Americans doesn't mean 1 in 100 in our town. Obviously, he hasn't taken a statistics class. If we lived in Northern Europe, we'd have doctors who are well versed with celiac. The new endocrinologist in our town came here from Spain. She knows all about celiac disease; so I finally have a doctor who understands.
Jean
jean831976