Thiamine Thiamine Thiamine

Yes, I do have Celiac disease.  I had symptoms since infancy, but they were explained away as character flaws.  I was told my stomach aches were faked to avoid going to school and other responsibilities, or to spoil family fun, and that my Dermatitis Herpetiformis was caused by being dirty and not bathing properly. 

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I wasn't diagnosed with Celiac until midlife. My various health problems for which I sought medical attention were treated as separate entities.  No medical professional looked for the root cause of any one of my various health problems, much less connect the dots to a systemic illness.  They simply treated the immediate symptoms, much like putting a bandaid on.  No medical professional tied them together as being related to Celiac disease and the nutritional deficiencies caused by Celiac disease.  I have already had unnecessary surgeries for health problems that could have easily been resolved by treating the nutritional deficiencies caused by Celiac Disease Malabsorption and a gluten free diet.  

I have suffered permanent damage to the optic nerve caused by vitamin deficiencies.  I have functional eye damage from an eye infection.  Specialists at the Helen Keller Institute did not recognize nutritional deficiencies as part of the problem.  Eye surgery is out of the question because the eye infection would most certainly recur and eye removal would be necessary. 

I do use adaptive devices.  Light from electronic devices, indoor LED lights, outdoor LED lights like street lights and signage, and sunlight over-stimulate my optic nerve permanently damaged by nutritional deficiencies.  This triggers ophthalmic migraines with aura and a type of seizure.  My optic nerve shuts down and I lose my vision completely.  My vision returns after an (increasing) time period, but there's always the chance it won't return at all after such an episode. (Apologies if I don't respond to posts immediately.)

I studied nutrition at university, but earned a degree in Microbiology because I was curious what the vitamins were doing inside the body.  I'm not a doctor, although I have been ridiculed by doctors for even suggesting Celiac Disease and malnutrition were the underlying problems.  Pharmaceutical bandaids, only made nutritional deficiencies worse as many medications are known to block absorption and function of different vitamins.  When I presented with B12 Deficiency Dementia and Wernicke's Encephalopathy,  I was diagnosed with "Depression" and briefly institutionalized.  When I presented with Casal's necklace, I was hurriedly ushered out the backdoor of the clinic, and sent to be tested for Syphilis.  Afterwards, I threw out all my medications.  I started supplementation based on what I had learned at university and started a gluten free diet.  My health miraculously improved. 

I am now here, thanks to the grace of  G*d and @Scott Adams, to help others find their way on this journey.  If I can clear a few stumbling blocks out of their way, my journey has been worthwhile.