My sister Rebeccah was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which is an intolerance of gluten, which is in barley, oats, wheat, etc. This is not a food allergy, but an autoimmune disorder (like diabetes), so it is not something you grow out of. As you can guess, there is a lot I could write about like personal trials and tribulations with this disease. There is currently no cure for Celiac Disease, and you "treat" it by watching your diet very closely and avoiding any contact with gluten, which unfortunately is in a surprising number of foods and drinks. If you are interested in more information, check out this excellent article by Dr. Fasano at the University of Maryland from the August/2009 Scientific American.


Unfortunately, Celiac Disease is a rather common malady, although there is a growing awareness how truly common it is. The best thing we can do is continue to get the word out, so those afflicted with this disease can know what they have and hopefully will spur further research into an eventual cure. This is needed as there are cases which have lead to stomach cancer and other major health issues. Again, I have seen numerous articles and studies over the years that show that Celiac Disease is much more prevalent than thought and often either undiagnosed or mis-diagnosed. In the situation with my sister it took doctors six months to finally diagnose her. It still surprises and disappoints me to see medical professionals who have little knowledge and awareness of this condition, although it's getting better but it seems the parents often have to take the "bull by the horns" so to speak and demand that it not be "IBS" Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a condition that doctors try to pass off way to easily in mistake of Celiac Disease. While the biopsy is a bit invasive, they are the best known to being accurate. My sister's blood tests came back negative and she lived with the results and a diagnosis of IBS for a few months. The blood tests for Celiac are getting better and getting diagnosed is the first step for getting the help you need. Once you have your diagnosis you can begin the steps to getting your health back. As mentioned before, there is no cure short of going on a strict gluten/wheat-free diet. There is no known direct cause for celiac disease, although scientists estimate most patients have a genetic susceptibility to the illness. The trigger could be anything from an environmental agent, to a virus, to early exposure to gluten. In fact, studies show that babies exposed to gluten early on, before the gut barrier is fully developed, have an increased risk of developing celiac disease later in life.



There are very many different symptoms that indicate having celiac disease. A person can have more, none, or some of the following symptoms, which is the main reason that it often goes undiagnosed or mis-diagnosed. The person's physical symptoms can be any of the following: abdominal cramping or bloating, abdominal distention, acidosis, severe change in appetite (increase or decrease), flatus (passing gas), electrolyte depletion, mouth sores or cracks in the corners, muscle cramping-mostly in the hands and legs, back pain, constipation, diarrhea, night blindness, dehydration, dry skin, fatigue, dramatic weight loss or gain, and many other different symptoms. A person who may have celiac disease can experience any, but not necessarily all of the following mental issues: depression, disinterest, memory loss, irritableness, personality and mood changes, or the inability to concentrate.


The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America reports that 1 in 133 people have Celiac disease. Unfortunately, not everyone who develops Celiac disease will have recognizable symptoms before the condition has wreaked serious havoc in the intestinal system by flattening of the villus epithelium and subsequently decreasing the area for nutrient absorption. For these people, like my sister Rebeccah, Celiac disease often isn't diagnosed until after effects of malnutrition have set in (lack of growth in children, diarrhea, stomach pain and/or bloating, vomiting, behavioral changes, etc.). In these cases, biopsies are often taken to assess the extent of damage and to aid diagnosis. With my sister and her case she had symptoms for 2 years and they misdiagnosed her and it took 6 months of fighting before they would do a biopsy to confirm it. Even if biopsies are normal, there is still the chance that nutrient absorption is impaired. Thankfully, methods for diagnosing gluten sensitivity and related Celiac disease have improved in recent years as awareness has increased and more research has been done. Blood tests for specific antibodies have allowed physicians to diagnose the disease in many cases before much if any damage has occurred. Researchers are also beginning to test for antibodies in the intestinal tract, which may promise an even earlier diagnosis in at-risk individuals. Recently my sister has been reading information on her disease and my parents periodically will grab a book for her. She had just got a new one that came out the beginning of this year.


One of the first books my sister received from my parents that was pretty funny due to the title was: Celiac Disease For Dummies By Ian Blummer 362 pages Publish Date: 2010-3-3 Publisher: For Dummies
Dr. Blummer, in chapter 1 page 17 says "We certainly hope you find this book a helpful tool to assist you in your quest to find out more about your celiac disease, but we also recognize that a vast amount of additional information is available in Cyberspace. How vast you may ask? Last time we checked, using our favorite search engine on the term celiac disease, we got 4.6 million hits, wow!" When I first read that with my sister she was freaked out. Not only is that a lot of information but how much of that information is true and factual? The book that I mention above is an amazing book, one that most of my family has read because we want to learn about my sisters disease. It has equipped us all on how to understand the daily ins and outs of what she goes through. It helps us sort through fact and fiction when it comes to internet sites and food lists. I guess in the long scheme of things when faced with things such as a disease, issue in life, writing a paper such as this…the longer you put off finding answers to the issues and educating yourself; the worse things seem. In Conclusion; I have learned a lot of things from just being around my sister who has a disease called Celiac. Educating myself about it has been an interesting time. I guess sometimes learning things and getting them down on paper are easier than one thinks. For more support please join other women on our Allergy board: Health and Wellness Boards.

Anthony is 19 yrs old attends college and works 3 jobs! Beileve it or not he hates writing but wanted others to know there is hope and you do not stand alone in your battle.