Content Warning: This article contains a mention of depression and self-harm.
As Khloe is still a minor, her story was sent by her mother, Cyndi.
Describe your life prior to diagnosis.
I didn’t honestly know that I felt bad to begin with. Crazy, I know! It all began my freshman year of high school. I began showing signs and symptoms of depression. I would stow away in my room for long periods of time, and even once made the mistake of saying I would hurt myself in class which prompted the school and my parents to agree on me seeing a counselor. I was going to the counselor twice a week for 3 months and nothing seemed to be improving with my demeanor. The counselor suggested we have a visit with a pediatrician to discuss medications for depression and anxiety. We had our first visit with this doctor, and after discussing my diet and lifestyle, she said it would be pertinent to have a blood test done for celiac disease.
How did you find out that you had celiac disease? Did you suspect it beforehand?
My doctor was the one that suspected my celiac disease first. The very first time meeting her, she was able to figure out from our conversation that there may be something more going on than depression.
How long did it take for you to get diagnosed since your first symptoms and what (if any) challenges did you face along the way?
I am guessing I have had celiac disease for quite some time, if not my whole life. I have always been on the low end of the growth charts for weight, I am 5’5″ and weighed in at 97 lbs upon diagnosis. Since diagnosis and eating gluten-free, I have been able to put on a little weight. I had terrible skin rashes and lots of different food and environmental allergies. Once I met with Dr. Val Amstadt, my mom took me to have a blood draw done. Within the next week I had the blood tests back, which prompted the biopsy and the final celiac diagnosis.
Do you believe anything could have sped up your diagnosis? If so, please explain:
Possibly. I had a thyroglossal duct cyst that began appearing when I was 14, and we thought maybe that was the cause of a lot of my skin rashes and body not feeling great. After having it removed, nothing changed. We had environmental and food allergy testing done and found I had over 25 different food allergies and had at least one environmental allergy from each season. Rather than doing the elimination diet, maybe if the types of things that I was allergic to were looked at closer, it would have sparked something to tell the doctors to test for celiac disease.
Describe your experience living with celiac disease.
It was pretty difficult at first, getting used to reading labels of EVERYTHING I ate. Eating out has probably been the most difficult, because of cross-contamination. Going to friend’s houses for sleepovers when they have all kinds of snacks that I can’t eat has been hard. I wrestle as well, and eat while on the road at tournament. I have, however, put on 10 lbs in the last year since going gluten-free. I also am not having depression symptoms anymore. My family is always making comments of how they see the old Khloe again. The happy, engaged-with-life kid they knew before ninth grade started. My weight does fluctuate a lot from week to week, though. I have to weigh in frequently for wrestling and one week I will weigh in at 109, and the following week I am weighing in at 103. My journey finding the proper foods has been difficult, which can cause issues. I have had one follow-up blood draw since diagnosis, and it showed that while what we are doing for my diet is helping, it’s just not quite where we want to be. Being strict with my diet has been the most difficult, but it beats feeling lousy after getting glutened.
What would a cure mean for you?
It would be so nice to not stress about what I am eating when I am away from home. To just be able to order food and not worry if I am going to feel sick later because of cross-contamination. To be able to live without the worry of a rash breaking out on my face, neck, torso and arms while wrestling because I got glutened would be amazing.
Is there anything else you’d like to add to your story?
I want to thank Dr. Val Amstadt for delving deeper into my life and diet to find out the root cause of what was going on. She listened and she is one of the reasons I am happy with my life again.
