Always Waiting For This To Kill Me!

[alanalynch]

Does anyone else out there ever think that maybe this is going to eventually kill them even though they are gluten free? I personally am always just expecting the day to come when I find out that yes I do have cancer. I'm only 31 but my mother died of breast cancer when she was 42 (too young) and we have a long list of illness's in my family. All of which I am sure stemmed from celiacs. Too be perfectly honest, even though the gluten free diet is supposed to reverse all the problems, I really don't think I feel as well as the people around me do who don't have gluten intolerance. I never seem to have their healthy glow (unless I use the tanning salon...lol) In fact, looking back, I don't think I ever looked very well. I wonder if this is going to shorten our lives even on the diet.

Any thoughts??

[Mongoose]

Does anyone else out there ever think that maybe this is going to eventually kill them even though they are gluten free?

<snip>

I wonder if this is going to shorten our lives even on the diet.

I suspect you are right. I've been gluten-free now for 3 and a half years. The improvement in my health has been just tremendous, yet there's damage from all the decades before going gluten-free. Some of this is slowly iimproving, some not improving too much at all. But we all die of something. I don't dwell on it. I'm just so glad to have these good years and intend to keep making life the best it can be.

[Guest Viola]

Does anyone else out there ever think that maybe this is going to eventually kill them even though they are gluten free? I personally am always just expecting the day to come when I find out that yes I do have cancer. I'm only 31 but my mother died of breast cancer when she was 42 (too young) and we have a long list of illness's in my family. All of which I am sure stemmed from celiacs. Too be perfectly honest, even though the gluten free diet is supposed to reverse all the problems, I really don't think I feel as well as the people around me do who don't have gluten intolerance. I never seem to have their healthy glow (unless I use the tanning salon...lol) In fact, looking back, I don't think I ever looked very well. I wonder if this is going to shorten our lives even on the diet.

Any thoughts??

I think it depends on how young you were diagnosed and how much damage was done. I've been on the diet for 17 years, but it took 25 years for a proper diagnosis, so there is a lot of damage done to my joints etc. Having said that, I am now almost 60 (June) and I have no signs of cancer, or any deadly disease. But I am extremely careful of my diet.

I must change that slightly, I have had surgery for Basil Carcinnoma (sp) Skin Cancer, and will be having some more. Doctor says that I was born with the eventuality of that as I am very fair skinned and blue eyed. But whether or not you have fair skin and blue eyes, you are asking for the same thing with a Tanning salon! Tans may look nice, but can be deadly.

[WLJOHNSON]

Hi,

I'm 61 years old and have had symptoms of Celiac since I was age 8 (though I didn't learn until later that what I had was this geneticaly inherited disease). I started eliminating certain foods from my diet in my early 30s, after suffering with Asthma from the age of 8. Eventually I learned that all grains, all milk and dairy products, egg whites, and yeast were dangerous for me. It took years to get to the point of feeling really well, but now I have more energy than most people around me, and that includes many people who are younger than I.

I think that once you finally learn that sticking to the diet is easier than dealing with the consequences of eating forbidden foods, life gets much easier. The social stigma that I used to feel, when I had to stay away from whatever foods were being presented at a party or gathering, turned into a challenge and quest to take good care of myself, regardless of what others said or thought. This disease has made each one of us stronger, I am sure, or is in the process of doing so!

Now I take my own foods wherever I go, and my family and friends just know that I will do that, because I am sincerely taking good care of myself, so I can be around for years to come. Now my grandson, sister, and cousin have learned that they have Celiac. It is rewarding to be able to help others who have just been newly diagnosed, and to know that they will soon feel better.

So, my answer is: I think that we will all be better off for learning what our bodies will tolerate, and I am happy to know that my body will immediately start wheezing if I eat something which I am not supposed to have. Though it is uncomfortable to experience the symptoms of Celiac, each of our early-warning systems is designed to see us to and through each stage of life, and I truly believe that once we are on the diet, a miraculous transformation begins to take place, which means longer lives for each of us. And, just think, each of those years we have should be more enjoyable and joy-filled, because, hopefully, we will feel so much better spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Always, Welda Lou

[Ursa Major]

Well, it is possible that many of us won't live as long as we would have, had we been diagnosed as a toddler. But at the same time, I am sure we will live longer than we would have, had we continued eating gluten! So, be glad of the better life you have now, and the added years, rather than dwelling on the lost ones.

And you know, many people who look perfectly healthy, have their heart suddenly quit on them in their thirties, for no apparent reason, and at the same time, many others who seemed sickly all their lives live to be 100. It is impossible to know how long you live.

Just live each day as well as you can, and stop worrying about tomorrow, because there really is no point in that. Each of us could be dead tomorrow, for whatever reason, accidents happen, sudden illnesses, lightning could strike us!

I hope you can manage to think of the positives!

[Lollie]

I want to add my feelings! I was so sick for the past few years. Sick to the point of thinking I was definantly going to die young. I didn't know what to do. I didn't retain any of my food for more then 30 minutes....We all know the drill, but that was before I knew anything about Celiac.

For the first time in my adult life, I feel like I'm going to have a "normal" life expectancy. I lost my Dad to cancer this past September, I can't think of anything I'd rather not have then cancer. I figure I am doing all that I can to protect myself against the chance of stomache cancer. I have hope for the first time......I can actually attribute that to Celiac. I think it's a whole lot better to know what your battleing, then just going around completely sick. That said, I wish I didn't have any disease at all, but like an earlier poster said, your going to die of something, just don't dwell on it.

Lollie

[ianm]

I was so sick that i have no doubt that I would have been dead by 40 and I am 38. Now that I am healthy I live each day as fully as I possibly can. I don't have time to dwell on how many days i have left. There is just too much to do right now that I could not do when i was sick and I am not about to waste time worrying.