People Really Do Listen, Yay

[ravenwoodglass]

I was talking to a woman today about celiac, she heard me talking to someone else about my recovery and said 'Gee that sounds like me' After we had been talking for a few minutes she mentioned her son had recently been diagnosed and had been on the diet about a month and called him over. Imagine my surprize when I recognized this young man as the one who had been shopping with his grandmother a couple months ago at the grocery store. We had gotten into a detailed conversation about celiac, (I will bring it up with anyone who will listen) and she had evidently gotten him tested and he was put on the diet. Needless to say since the Mom was undergoing testing for MS I heartily reccomended she also do the diet. Some people might think I am too pushy on the celiac issue but this time my 'sticking my nose into a strangers business' has really paid off for this family.

[gfp]

I was talking to a woman today about celiac, she heard me talking to someone else about my recovery and said 'Gee that sounds like me' After we had been talking for a few minutes she mentioned her son recently been diagnosed and had been on the diet about a month and called him over. Imagine my surprize when I recognized this young man as the same one who had been shopping with his grandmother a couple months ago at the grocery store. We had gotten into a detailed conversation about celiac, (I will bring it up with anyone who will listen) and she had evidently gotten him tested and he was put on the diet. Needless to say since the Mom was undergoing testing for MS I heartily reccomended she also do the diet. Some people might think I am too pushy on the celiac issue but this time my 'sticking my nose into a strangers business' has really paid off for this family.

woooohoooo

Great... keep up the good work...

award yourself one gluten-free forum gold star

[jerseyangel]

Wow--that's great, Ravenwood!! Way to go!

[CarlaB]

That's great!!

[GFBetsy]

Good for you! And isn't it nice to know that all that talking about celiac has had a positive impact? There are conversations that I have had with people that I STILL wonder about . .. wonder if they ever did anything with the information I overwhelmed them with . So it's nice to know that sometimes those conversations do pay off!

[ravenwoodglass]

I'm known as a gluten nag on some other boards and to freinds and family. My family eventually listened (it was hard to deny the evidence of my recovery) but it's nice to know that sometimes the folks I don't know listen also. What's hard is when you are very sure someone needs to be gluten-free but they just say something like "well I don't eat much wheat and I feel much better" or "I had that when I was a kid and I outgrew it" and then follow it up with a list of tests for other celiac related stuff that they could most likely get rid of if they went that one step farther. Oh well it's like I used to tell my Mom when she said 'You know you can't save the world' I always replied "Oh yes I can, one little step at a time".

[Guest ~jules~]

My sister in law has a friend who has had gi problems for years, almost exactly the same as me. She's skinny and sickly looking, has had a colonoscopy, and got sent home with the Ibs dx. She's still sick The minute I was dx, I called my sis- in-law and told her about it, and asked her to pass it on to her friend. I hope she follows through with the testing...Kudos to you!!!

[ravenwoodglass]

My sister in law has a friend who has had gi problems for years, almost exactly the same as me. She's skinny and sickly looking, has had a colonoscopy, and got sent home with the Ibs dx. She's still sick The minute I was dx, I called my sis- in-law and told her about it, and asked her to pass it on to her friend. I hope she follows through with the testing...Kudos to you!!!

When are doctors going to understand they need to scope both ends. This happened to me also and relying on the results of the colonoscopy and the IBS diagnosis delayed my celiac diagnosis by over 5 of the most miserable years imaginable and resulted in some permanent damage. I hope she paid attention to you and doesn't just get tested but trys the diet. I never showed up in blood tests so I was almost dead before it was found.

[queenofhearts]

What a heart-warming story! It must make you feel so good.

I'm currently debating about mentioning this diet to a friend whose daughter is diagnosed with depression & schizophrenia. Here's the thing... her husband seems kind of celiac to me too... but he's a doctor! And very much of the pull-up-your-socks-&-no-whining persuasion. So I feel a little bit buttinski to bring it up... especially since it's kind of a long shot & her daughter doesn't fit the classic, underweight profile... but given her daughter's misery, I just feel it would be worth trying the diet. Do I even mention it? She is a very close friend, but not very health-food oriented... & I'm afraid she might take offense & think I was somehow making light of the diagnosis or disrespecting her or her husband... what would you guys do?

[penguin]

What a heart-warming story! It must make you feel so good.

I'm currently debating about mentioning this diet to a friend whose daughter is diagnosed with depression & schizophrenia. Here's the thing... her husband seems kind of celiac to me too... but he's a doctor! And very much of the pull-up-your-socks-&-no-whining persuasion. So I feel a little bit buttinski to bring it up... especially since it's kind of a long shot & her daughter doesn't fit the classic, underweight profile... but given her daughter's misery, I just feel it would be worth trying the diet. Do I even mention it? She is a very close friend, but not very health-food oriented... & I'm afraid she might take offense & think I was somehow making light of the diagnosis or disrespecting her or her husband... what would you guys do?

I take the make-it-seem-like-their-idea approach. I've found this method particularly handy for doctors . Bring up how much better you're feeling, and that you didn't realize how connected to everything gluten and celiac was. Casually mention that you've read that celiac can cause neuro and psychological problems, even without a classic presentation....

Then just wait for the lightbulb if it's there to be turned on, if it clicks with them, then great! If it doesn't, you were just making conversation

[queenofhearts]

Here's the tough part-- neurology is his specialty!-- when I mentioned my diagnosis he was asking ME about neurological stuff! Balance, that sort of thing. But I don't think he's making the psychological connection. And unless he's tested himself & just not mentioned it, I think he's kind of in denial about his own symptoms. (He's very thin & has trouble with a lot of foods...)

[CarlaB]

I agree with Chelsea ... keep feeding them information on your progress and whenever you find out something new, tell them about it in a "Did you know ..." kind of way. That way you're not assuming that he doesn't know. Then, at the right time, ask if he thinks it's a possibility ... you've already set the stage for the question.

[ravenwoodglass]

Here's the tough part-- neurology is his specialty!-- when I mentioned my diagnosis he was asking ME about neurological stuff! Balance, that sort of thing. But I don't think he's making the psychological connection. And unless he's tested himself & just not mentioned it, I think he's kind of in denial about his own symptoms. (He's very thin & has trouble with a lot of foods...)

Has he read this paper that's in this post? If not I would show it to him.

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I hope you can find a way to bring this up.