My Coeliac Story

So you wouldn't believe how long I have been wanting to write this story up. It is one that is personal with only some of my closest friends and family knowing. I am a Coeliac. I cannot eat gluten which is found in wheat, barley and rye and it has changed my whole prospective of life. I have read a lot of these "stories" and have felt so touched by them that I thought I would give it a go. I hope this post will inform you what the disease is and how it affects 1 in 100 people in the UK, with numbers increasing.

 So it all goes back to October 2011. It all came on so fast. Stomach pains, chronic tiredness, aches everywhere in my body. There wasn't a single day where I felt "right". The crippling pain that daily caused me to cry, continued to gradually get worse and it wasn't till late November early December that I even decided to go doctors about it. The main reason why I didn't go was because I thought it was embarrassing. Running to the toilet several times a day is embarrassing and I am not afraid to put this out, because people are currently going through this or can relate to it. It wasn't just the pains and running to toilet but my tiredness got so bad I was falling asleep all the time. It definitely was not normal.

So after 2 months of day in day out pain, I went doctors. All the doctors had to say was that my symptoms were very similar to IBS, now at this time I accepted that diagnosis as I hadn't a clue of food allergies or diseases. They prescribed me with Mebeverine which was to stop the gut from contracting too much. The one thing that surprised me was that they said they would also take a blood test just incase I had Coeliac disease. I didn't know anything about this disease so I took it on the chin and done the blood test. 

It didn't take long before I got a phone call back saying the test results were positive for Coeliac Disease. Now as soon as the brief phone call ended I was straight on Google researching what the hell this thing was. I had an inkling what it was, but it hit me that I could never eat foods I have previously ate for my whole life again. I was worrying about what I would do about eating out, or even eating at friend's houses. I don't even trust myself cooking. But at this point I didn't know how hard it was actually going to be.

So I went for another appointment at the doctors and they were kind enough to explain to me about what it is and even gave me a leaflet all about it. They said they were going to have to do more tests though. MORE TESTS!? I thought everything was all over and done with now, but apparently not. I had to undergo an endoscopy to get a full diagnosis. This involved a scope (tube) going into my mouth and all the way down to my stomach to investigate it, they also had to take biopsies of my stomach lining. At this stage, I had to eat a round of bread everyday leading up to the test. It was the worse couple of weeks ever, I had the decision to have no pain relief or be put under anesthetic during the endoscopy. I chose the no pain relief as I didn't want to feel drowsy afterwards. It was uncomfortable but bare-able. I had watched a Youtube video of an endoscopy before hand and I advise anyone if they are going to have one to not watch it! After not eating for several hours, I came home and ate nearly all my favourite gluten foods. My last "meal" was a salt and vinegar crisp sandwich which was amazing. I also scoffed down two chocolate eclairs. (The little things). This was the last time I had purposely ate gluten.

Again it wasn't long before the results came back and in late April 2012 I had fully been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. It was a relief to know this had been causing my pain. I had gone through months of being a social recluse, because I was scared of needing to go toilet or the fact my stomach would make extremely loud noises. I went through my final sixth form year worrying in lessons and feeling extremely uncomfortable in exams. I think my grades were definitely affected, I can't even remember the last time I did a full week in school. 

I think that was the worst I have ever felt. I think I got over the fact I couldn't eat like I used to anymore. It was the pains and how I let it affect everything and everywhere I went. I thought I was all alone. 

I then joined Coeliac UK and read so many stories about how people like me had gone through similar ordeals. It made me feel better about myself and more optimistic about the future. I also found that the website had an online directory with all the foods I could eat that are found in most of the UK supermarkets. I had realised there was plenty I could eat. :) Coeliac UK now do an app which allows you to scan products in shops to see what you can eat too. It is great if you are not brilliant at reading food labels! 

It was later that year when food chains like Domino's, Pizza Hut and AskItalian introduced their new gluten free dishes. I was so excited! Yes there is a risk of cross contamination but I have only had a few problems with this whilst eating out. Eating out to restaurants like these made me feel "normal" again and I am still regularly pestering people to come eat out with me. 

I still get pains, but definitely not as chronic as they used to be. My stomach and intestines are still recovering. The past year and a half have been so hard for me. I have had to change my whole lifestyle. It is weird to think food could make you feel like this, but there are plenty of intolerance's and diseases that people have out there and this is just one of them. I am still learning about the disease I have and the food I can eat. I get so excited when I see something gluten free in a shop it is quite unreal. But it has definitely taught me to be more careful with what I eat. 

I really hope this has brought awareness to some people that didn't know about Coeliac Disease. I really appreciate it if you have read ALL of this. I think most people relate gluten free diets with people wanting to getting slimmer and not because they probably have health issues. I have read many articles about how a gluten free diet is the new fad diet. It makes me angry to know people who are doing this can eat what they want and still lose weight. They don't have to get rid of the gluten in their diets to do so. I am sure there are plenty other Coeliacs out there who are with me with that. Ha.

It has been around a year since I had written this post and a lot has changed since then. Most restaurants are aware of the disease and have special menus. Which means more people like myself can enjoy a nice relaxed meal without any hassle. Supermarkets have also started to accommodate those on a gluten and wheat free diet, which means I don't have to travel as far to get my weekly shop. The stomach pains however are still here..not as bad as last year, but I'm still working on it. Hopefully in the next few years I will be pain free and confident about my situation. :)

Thanks for reading if you didn't fall asleep half way through. Thought I would finish off with some Ryan Gosling. We all love a bit of Ryan Gosling.

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