What was your life like prior to diagnosis?
Although it would have been good if I were diagnosed sooner than at thirty, much of my twenties involved working and traveling the world without the worries of label reading and cross-contamination. However, I was fatigued quite a lot, I had a cloudy head and my hair was falling out a little.
How did you come to or suspect that you had celiac disease?
I didn’t suspect celiac disease, but I did suspect anemia. I had a blood test and it confirmed anemia, but also more tests showed high TTG levels which led to the endoscopy and biopsy and that confirmed that yes, indeed I had been destroying my villi without realizing.
How long did it take for you to get diagnosed?
I wish I could remember how long I had experienced fatigue, but I think I just lived as though it was normal to feel like that.
What’s your life like now living with celiac disease?
When the doctor told me I had celiac disease I was pretty upset and shocked. I decided I wanted to put the diagnoses to go use and make a short film called Glutened to raise awareness. I feel a lot healthier now that I have cut out gluten and I couldn’t be more grateful for the supportive people around me and of course all the supportive celiacs out there in our tight-knit community!
Celiac disease is a serious, genetic autoimmune disease. Add your voice to our Voices of Celiac Disease project here.
