I'm An Undiagnosed Newbie.

arfellman · November 3, 2013

Hello, my name is Ashlyn and I am 19, (20 next week) and I recently found out I possibly have celiac disease. I found that out in August from a friend's post on facebook and ever since then, I've lost 36 pounds, and it all makes sense..

Let me start when I was 6 months old. At such a young age, I gained a lot of weight so my mother took me to several doctors and they all told her, "You're feeding her too much!" They didn't even listen to what she was telling them, that I had diarrhea, I easily bruised, and I was always sick. I ate bananas, lemons, jalepenos, graham crackers, and formula when I was a year old. From when I was 1 till I was almost 6, I was always sick. I would be sick every month for about 4-5 days, not being able to keep anything down. I would throw up hours on end and the doctors never figured out why. My mom figured out that it was a small intolerance to dairy but that went away when I was 7. I was also tested for diabetes and thyroid problems 12 different times but they all said I did not have them.

From then on till now, I have been gaining weight every year like crazy and am clinically obese.I was in ballet for 9 years, gymnastics for 3, soccer for 1 season, swimming for 6 years, basketball for 3 years, and volleyball for 1 year. I did all these sports plus Curves, Weight Watchers, walking every morning before school, and I had PE 5 days out of the week at school. Throughout all of this, I lost no more than 10 pounds and then gained it back with even more. I did all those things while being overweight and obese and never quit. In the last 2 months of going gluten free, I lost 36 pounds, no more excema, no more unexplained bloody noses or headaches, water retention in legs went down, no more bloating, gas, acid reflux, diarrhea, & constipation. I sleep better and my head is clearer. I have ADD, Aspergers syndrome, dyselxia, anxiety, and bouts of depression. Almost all of it has stopped and I am doing better in my college courses..

Right now I am in North California, where I was born and raised, but I live in North Idaho. I am in the middle of getting insurance and finding a doctor that can help me. It would be nice to find some people my age that live close by that can help me.