The beginnings

Even when I was little I had digestive issues. I used to drink mineral oil nightly before going to bed as a laxative, and prune juice was always on hand in case things got too "tough." I remember one time after eating a piece of chocolate cake just lying on the couch because I was so nauseated. Sometimes just the taste of a pastry would make me gag a little bit.

Once I started college things started to go downhill. I can't pinpoint exactly when it was that I started getting fed up with feeling sick all the time, but I eventually started visiting the doctor on a more than annual basis to try and figure out what was wrong with me. My first diagnosis was Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Well super, something that can't be tested for and that doesn't have a specific treatment except increasing water and fiber intake. Things still weren't going to great when I got another diagnosis; Gastroesophogeal Reflux Disease (GERD, or acid reflux in fancy terms). Ok, that can be medicated. I started taking Zantac at a regular dose. That didn't work, so they doubled it. Still nothing, so they doubled that. Still nothing. So then they change my prescription to Prilosec. I'll admit I didn't always take it as directed (I was in college, I couldn't exactly take a pill 30 minutes before eating, I snacked all the time, no real meals). Go figure, Prilosec didn't work either. I was still getting nauseated all the time, and the IBS symptoms were driving me crazy. Multiple times a day I'd start feeling like I needed to go, so I'd hit the bathroom hoping this was my lucky day and I'd actually be regular. But I would quickly realize it wasn't my lucky day, and all I'd get was something not even close to being satisfactory for all the nerve impulses it was sending.

I was talking with a friend of mine when she first mentioned Celiac Disease. She told me about a previous aquaintance of hers that had similar symptoms and ended up finding out what the real cause was. By this point I was determined to figure out what was wrong with me. I knew my body well enough to know that there was something more systemic going on that IBS and GERD. So once again I return to the doctor. I ended up seeing a nurse practitioner (nothing against them, I actually prefer them). When I asked her about Celiac Disease she had to leave the exam room and ask someone about it. When she returned she promptly told me that wasn't in the realm of possibilities for me and give me another handout about IBS.

Not being discouraged I decided to take another route; I went in for allergy testing, specifically for foods. The allergist tested me for foods on my left arm and environmental allergens on my right. Absolutely nothing reacted on my left arm, but my right arm had multiple reactions. For as long as I remember I never suffered from seasonal allergies (although now I do oddly enough). After he went over the results with me, I decided to give Celiacs another shot. Thankfully he was a bit more knowledgeable than the previous medical professional I had asked about this possibility. He asked my symptoms (nausea, constipation, etc...), said he didn't think I had but was willing to test me for if I wanted. Of course I agreed, it's just a simple blood test, shouldn't be too difficult.