- Joined
- Apr 5, 2004
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Okay, folks. It just so happens that May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. This is for you, your loved ones, the guys at work, or anyone else you think might be affected. Spread the word 
Please be aware that I'm not a doctor, nor am I afflicted with this disease (I think,) so I might not have all my facts straight. But the basic premise is sound.
So, what is Celiac Disease, you might ask? Basicly, it's an auto-immune disorder that causes folks to have a bad reaction to gluten. This reaction damages the small intestine, and can produce a wide array of symptoms, which might include:
Diarrhoea or constipation,
Abdominal pain or cramping,
Fatigue,
as well as others too numerous to mention.
Now then, on to the gluten part. As you might already know, gluten is a protien found in wheat, rye, barley, and a couple of other grains. This is the stuff that makes your bread chewy. It's also damn near everywhere. If a food product comes in a box or a bag, chances are decent that it has gluten in it. Most processed foods pick it up somewhere along the assembly line. This isn't normally a big deal, but to a person with Celiac Disease, the stuff is basicly poison. If I recall correctly, as few as twenty parts per million can trigger a reaction. So, even foods that are normally gluten-free can be contaminated quite easily. It doesn't take more than a crumb off your sandwhich to do it.
Okay, and now the really bad news. Here in the USA, the medical community has a pretty poor track record for diagnosing (and mis-diagnosing,) this illness. My mother spent about five years of her life in near-constant brutal agony until they figured it out, and unfortunately, her experience isn't uncommon.
There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the symptoms are so diverse that it can mimic a lot of other disorders (If you have IBS, I'd urge you to look into this.)
The second reason is something of a sore subject with me. Simply put, there's not much money to be made on Celiac Disease, so doctors aren't trained to look for it. If your doctor has a certain degree of apathy, this can be even worse. (One doctor's advise to my mother ammounted to; "Eat more fiber and come back in a month when I can bill your insurance again.":grumpy: ) There's no miracle cure they can sell you, no corrective surgery. About the only treatment you can count on is to stop eating gluten.
Well, that's about all I have to say on the subject. I apologise for my scatter-brained approach to this thread. There's a lot more to this than I can bring to mind in just one session. For a more concise overview, here's a link to the Wikipedia article on the subject, and another for The Celiac Disease Foundation. A Google search will turn up more information than you can shake an armadillo at.
I'd like to ask y'all to educate yourselves about this. Even if you don't have it, chances are you know someone who does. This disease probably won't kill you, but it can have a tremendous impact on your quality of life. Like I said before, help spread the word.
Oh, and if there's anyone here with Celiac's, I'd like to welcome them to relate their advise and experiences, or to chime in with anything I might have left out
Please be aware that I'm not a doctor, nor am I afflicted with this disease (I think,) so I might not have all my facts straight. But the basic premise is sound.
So, what is Celiac Disease, you might ask? Basicly, it's an auto-immune disorder that causes folks to have a bad reaction to gluten. This reaction damages the small intestine, and can produce a wide array of symptoms, which might include:
Diarrhoea or constipation,
Abdominal pain or cramping,
Fatigue,
as well as others too numerous to mention.
Now then, on to the gluten part. As you might already know, gluten is a protien found in wheat, rye, barley, and a couple of other grains. This is the stuff that makes your bread chewy. It's also damn near everywhere. If a food product comes in a box or a bag, chances are decent that it has gluten in it. Most processed foods pick it up somewhere along the assembly line. This isn't normally a big deal, but to a person with Celiac Disease, the stuff is basicly poison. If I recall correctly, as few as twenty parts per million can trigger a reaction. So, even foods that are normally gluten-free can be contaminated quite easily. It doesn't take more than a crumb off your sandwhich to do it.
Okay, and now the really bad news. Here in the USA, the medical community has a pretty poor track record for diagnosing (and mis-diagnosing,) this illness. My mother spent about five years of her life in near-constant brutal agony until they figured it out, and unfortunately, her experience isn't uncommon.
There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the symptoms are so diverse that it can mimic a lot of other disorders (If you have IBS, I'd urge you to look into this.)
The second reason is something of a sore subject with me. Simply put, there's not much money to be made on Celiac Disease, so doctors aren't trained to look for it. If your doctor has a certain degree of apathy, this can be even worse. (One doctor's advise to my mother ammounted to; "Eat more fiber and come back in a month when I can bill your insurance again.":grumpy: ) There's no miracle cure they can sell you, no corrective surgery. About the only treatment you can count on is to stop eating gluten.
Well, that's about all I have to say on the subject. I apologise for my scatter-brained approach to this thread. There's a lot more to this than I can bring to mind in just one session. For a more concise overview, here's a link to the Wikipedia article on the subject, and another for The Celiac Disease Foundation. A Google search will turn up more information than you can shake an armadillo at.
I'd like to ask y'all to educate yourselves about this. Even if you don't have it, chances are you know someone who does. This disease probably won't kill you, but it can have a tremendous impact on your quality of life. Like I said before, help spread the word.
Oh, and if there's anyone here with Celiac's, I'd like to welcome them to relate their advise and experiences, or to chime in with anything I might have left out
