Describe your life prior to diagnosis.
Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I constantly felt sick and had no idea why. I dealt with severe stomach issues, nausea, fatigue, and brain fog almost every day, and nothing I tried seemed to help. I was always tired, and eating became stressful because I never knew what would trigger my symptoms. It was frustrating going to doctors and not getting real answers. For a long time, I just thought feeling unwell was normal.
How long did it take for you to get diagnosed since your first symptoms?
[It took] three years. I found out I had celiac disease after my body completely shut down and I had to be rushed to the emergency room. I ended up staying in the hospital for a while in order to recover and doctors were trying to figure out what was wrong. Eventually, they did an endoscopy, which finally led to my diagnosis.
Is there anything that could have led to you being diagnosed sooner?
I was going from doctor to doctor, but no one ever thought to order a celiac blood test. I wish someone had, because if I had known I had celiac disease earlier, I could’ve avoided so much damage to my gut—and I wouldn’t have had to be miserable for three years.