Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Depressed Over Celiac And People's Reactions

LucyGoose

Recommended Posts

LucyGoose Newbie
LucyGoose
Posted

I was excited to be diagnosed with celiac three years ago, because I had been sick and bouncing around to different doctors and specialists for almost a decade before getting an answer. As much as I miss gluten, I'm just happy to be feeling better!

However, I've been shocked by the reaction some people have had. I never imagined people could be hated on for having a disease, and I'm having a hard time dealing with it.

To give a couple of examples, my boss at my previous job told me that the time I took off feeling ill and seeing doctors was unjustified, because I ended up not having a "real" illness, like cancer or something. She said that any more time I took off related to my illness would have to come out of vacation and not sick time. Needless to say I quit that job - and I had worked there for over a decade!

A few weeks ago a friend's wife offered me a cookie she had baked. When I declined she asked if I would take some home for later. I explained that I appreciated the offer, but I have celiac and wouldn't be able to eat them. A few days later a mutual friend told me that she had been telling everyone behind my back that I'm stuck up and I'm an attention seeker with a fake disease. A couple of days after that her husband - who I thought was a friend - posted a video on Facebook about people who whine about being gluten intolerant.

Now I'm afraid to tell anyone about my celiac, because I don't want to alienate myself from people or be accused of just following a fad diet.

Has anyone else dealt with this spitefulness? What did you do to overcome it?

I'm feeling really discouraged right now :(

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Jays911 Contributor
Jays911
Posted

Most folks get it. If someone acts like that, they are not worth worrying about. Interesting how character isn't revealed.

BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

If anybody doesn't understand your dietary restrictions and respect them, then they're not a true friend. Make sure that those close to you know and understand about celiac and why you need to be careful. Then limit your associations with those who feel the need to say spiteful things. My mother-in-law got accused of faking her cancer once. (though she was biopsy diagnosed with it) She passed away of cancer last fall.  :(

 

Some people are hateful and angry and will take it out on whomever, whenever. Seriously, if people have no better things to do than to worry about what others eat or what people's medical conditions are, they need to get a life. 

 

I don't even have a diagnosis, but I carefully emphasize to people that gluten nearly brain damaged me (had a mini-stroke during a gluten challenge) and most people really don't question me much. They see me stick to my diet consistently and faithfully, so of course I'm not a fad dieter. I'm been gluten free for almost 5 1/2 years now and I really don't care much what people's opinions are of the gluten free diet. I don't need a doctor's note to do what's best for me and since other people don't have to suffer my symptoms or pay my medical bills, I don't really pay much attention to what they think. 

 

Luckily, the gluten free diet has done one thing for me, it's taught me to stand up for myself and be confident in my decisions. Remember if someone is mean and spiteful they will find something to pick on, regardless of if it's celiac or something else.

 

Keep on keeping on and know that you're doing the absolute best thing for your health!

bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

They did that to my Mom when she was diagnosed back in the 80's. You would THINK now that celiac is much more widely recognized that people would have a clue, but the gluten-free fad has hurt us in that way. I don't have any answers for you (at least answers that can be printed on a family friendly forum), but at least I can tell you that WE all understand.

nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

:(  Try to remind yourself that they are coming from a place of ignorance.  Hopefully they would behave more kindly if they fully realized how hurtful their behavior was.

 

Still... It makes me want to serve her something that most people find distasteful, like tongue, and then act insulted when she won't eat it.  LOL ;)

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. xxnonamexx
      - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      4

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      I read that as well but I saw the Certified Gluten free symbol that is the reason I ourchased it.
    2. cristiana
      - cristiana replied to sha1091a's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      Issues before diagnosis

      I agree, it so often overlooked! I live in the UK and I have often wondered why doctors are so reluctant to at least exclude it - my thoughts are perhaps the particular tests are expensive for the NHS, so therefore saved for people with 'obvious' symptoms. I was diagnosed in 2013 and was told immediately that my parents, sibling and children should...
    3. chrisinpa
      - chrisinpa commented on Scott Adams's article in Skin Problems and Celiac Disease
      2

      Celiac Disease and Skin Disorders: Exploring a Genetic Connection

      Maybe they can attribute certain skin conditions to either being susceptible to getting Celiac......or the other way around....but I have to ask if certain people are prone to Celiac because of genetics and some people aren't. It's kind of the same thing as what came first.....the chicken or the egg.?
    4. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      4

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      @xxnonamexx, There's labeling on those Trubar gluten free high fiber protein bars that say: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, milk, soy, fish, WHEAT, sesame, and other tree nuts." You may want to avoid products made in shared facilities. If you are trying to add more fiber to your diet to ease constipation, considering...
    5. trents
      - trents replied to sha1091a's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      Issues before diagnosis

      Welcome to celiac.com @sha1091a! Your experience is a very common one. Celiac disease is one the most underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed medical conditions out there. The reasons are numerous. One key one is that its symptoms mimic so many other diseases. Another is ignorance on the part of the medical community with regard to the range of symptoms that celiac...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,697
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Nicole Poirier
    Newest Member
    Nicole Poirier
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • xxnonamexx
      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      By xxnonamexx · Posted

      I read that as well but I saw the Certified Gluten free symbol that is the reason I ourchased it.
    • cristiana
      Issues before diagnosis

      By cristiana · Posted

      I agree, it so often overlooked! I live in the UK and I have often wondered why doctors are so reluctant to at least exclude it - my thoughts are perhaps the particular tests are expensive for the NHS, so therefore saved for people with 'obvious' symptoms.  I was diagnosed in 2013 and was told immediately that my parents, sibling and children should be checked.  My parents' GP to this day has not put forward my father for testing, and my mother was never tested in her lifetime, despite the fact that they both have some interesting symptoms/family history that reflect they might have coeliac disease (Dad - extreme bloating, and his Mum clearly had autoimmune issues, albeit undiagnosed as such; Mum - osteoporosis, anxiety).  I am now my father' legal guardian and suspecting my parents may have forgotten to ask their GP for a test (which is entirely possible!) I put it to his last GP that he ought to be tested.  He looked at Dad's blood results and purely because he was not anemic said he wasn't a coeliac.  Hopefully as the awareness of Coeliac Disease spreads among the general public, people will be able to advocate for themselves.  It is hard because in the UK the NHS is very stretched, but the fallout from not being diagnosed in a timely fashion will only cost the NHS more money. Interestingly, a complete aside, I met someone recently whose son was diagnosed (I think she said he was 8).  At a recent birthday party with 8 guests, 4 boys out of the 8 had received diagnosis of Coeliac Disease, which is an astounding statistic  As far as I know, though, they had all had obvious gastric symptoms leading to their NHS diagnosis.  In my own case I had  acute onset anxiety, hypnopompic hallucinations (vivid hallucinations upon waking),  odd liver function, anxiety, headaches, ulcers and low iron but it wasn't until the gastric symptoms hit me that a GP thought to do coeliac testing, and my numbers were through the roof.  As @trents says, by the grace of God I was diagnosed, and the diet has pretty much dealt with most of those symptoms.  I have much to be grateful for. Cristiana
    • knitty kitty
      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @xxnonamexx, There's labeling on those Trubar gluten free high fiber protein bars that say: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, milk, soy, fish, WHEAT, sesame, and other tree nuts." You may want to avoid products made in shared facilities.   If you are trying to add more fiber to your diet to ease constipation, considering eating more leafy green vegetables and cruciferous vegetables.  Not only are these high in fiber, they also are good sources of magnesium.  Many newly diagnosed are low in magnesium and B vitamins and suffer with constipation.  Thiamine Vitamin B1 and magnesium work together.  Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine has been shown to improve intestinal health.  Thiamine and magnesium are important to gastrointestinal health and function.  
    • trents
      Issues before diagnosis

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to celiac.com @sha1091a! Your experience is a very common one. Celiac disease is one the most underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed medical conditions out there. The reasons are numerous. One key one is that its symptoms mimic so many other diseases. Another is ignorance on the part of the medical community with regard to the range of symptoms that celiac disease can produce. Clinicians often are only looking for classic GI symptoms and are unaware of the many other subsystems in the body that can be damaged before classic GI symptoms manifest, if ever they do. Many celiacs are of the "silent" variety and have few if any GI symptoms while all along, damage is being done to their bodies. In my case, the original symptoms were elevated liver enzymes which I endured for 13 years before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. By the grace of God my liver was not destroyed. It is common for the onset of the disease to happen 10 years before you ever get a diagnosis. Thankfully, that is slowly changing as there has developed more awareness on the part of both the medical community and the public in the past 20 years or so. Blessings!
    • knitty kitty
      Dizziness after eating green beans?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @EndlessSummer, You said you had an allergy to trees.  People with Birch Allergy can react to green beans (in the legume family) and other vegetables, as well as some fruits.  Look into Oral Allergy Syndrome which can occur at a higher rate in Celiac Disease.   Switching to a low histamine diet for a while can give your body time to rid itself of the extra histamine the body makes with Celiac disease and histamine consumed in the diet.   Vitamin C and the eight B vitamins are needed to help the body clear histamine.   Have you been checked for nutritional deficiencies?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.