“I remember before I was diagnosed, seeing in the grocery store yogurt or something labeled as gluten-free, and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s so ridiculous. Obviously, apples don’t have gluten in them.’ Now those stickers are my saving grace!“

“In early elementary school, she started having some small things going on with her health where she didn’t feel great all the time, but it wasn’t anything that raised any huge red flags.”

“When I was hospitalized the doctors said it was a good thing because I was days away from organ failure.”

“My digestive life was misery. Many days I would wake up, have my vitamins and juice, and vomit before I got out the door.”

“At one point celiac disease was discussed but dismissed because of my ethnicity.”

“My family made treatment difficult at first. They scoffed and didn’t care about what I could and couldn’t eat. My aunt claimed that it was a Jewish person disease and since there weren’t any Jewish people on their side then it couldn’t be from them.”

“It was very difficult to raise my son and work and maintain our home. After work, I had to go home to sleep for 1–3 hours before I could manage the nighttime tasks of child-rearing. Weekends were spent in bed resting and recovering.”

“For me, even a crumb can cause me to go to the ER, so invitations to go to a friend’s house, a restaurant, or a party to bring a lot of anxiety with them.”

“Providers in small, rural places are missing knowledge about how celiac disease can present without gastric symptoms.”

“We didn’t know what was wrong with our daughter. Our doctor initially did not think celiac disease because she was so young and because she didn’t have diarrhea.”

“Since being diagnosed Isaiah has grown almost 12 inches and gained over 30 pounds. Celiac disease was stunting his growth.”

“The heart doctors had access to my records, but never once did they bring up that anemia can cause chest pain. I spent over $30,000 out of pocket on multiple tests, one even said it was all in my head.”