i have been having all the symptoms of celiac since 1999.just was told it was celiac

[Jane Phillips]

i have had these symptoms since 1999. i thought the shock of my husband dying did it to me. it continues all these years tho. i have eaten so much immodium over the years since that is the only thing that woud calm my diarrhea and cramps down, i took my mom to a gastro dr and asjked him before he left room what he thought was wrong with me. that i thought i might have ibs. he immediately said i think you are celiac. take all gluten out of your diet. plus eggs corn and anything else i have noticed has bothered me out f diet.  so i did and i got better. then today i ate with my mother and had corn and one piece of fried chicken. well i have been in bathroom since leaving her house. i did not dissect the food before eating. now im paying for it, of course as soon as i got hit with an attack i knew what had happened. the chicken was battered with flour and i ate corn,  so im back on high alert of all food again.

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @Jane Phillips!

Though gluten (a protein found only in wheat, barley and rye) is the kingpin food ingredient that must be avoided in celiac disease, many celiacs find there are other foods they do not tolerate well. Common among them are dairy, oats, soy and eggs. Some of these additional sensitivities often disappear in time as healing of the small bowel villous lining progresses, which can often take two years or more, even after going gluten free. 

Without formal testing, it is impossible to tell for sure whether or not you have celiac disease or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). They share many of the same symptoms. NCGS is 10x more common but there is no definitive test for it. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. But if you wanted to be tested for celiac disease you would need to go back to eating heavy amounts of gluten for several weeks or the testing would be invalid. It may not be worth it. At the end of the day, the antidote for both conditions is the same: total abstinence from gluten for life. 

It is easy to avoid "macro" amounts of gluten gut it is included in the food supply in so many ways that are hidden or not obvious there needs to be some education. Then there is the whole problem of cross contamination. Eating out safely is the biggest challenge. Here is a primer that may help: 

 

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear about your husband.

Make sure that your mother and other first degree relatives also get tested for celiac disease, as 30-40% of first degree relatives also have celiac disease. 

Also, you can still have fried chicken, but it needs to be made with gluten-free ingredients. Here are some recipes:

https://www.celiac.com/search/?&q=fried chicken&type=cms_records2&quick=1&search_and_or=and&search_in=titles&sortby=relevancy