I Just Have A Question Please Read!

[aaron]

hey im 16 and i was diagnosed with celiac disease about 2 years ago but i havnt pulled my self together to stop eating it it feels like it dosent really matter so i wanted to know what could happen if i keep eatting gluten please help thanks

[flagbabyds]

Please stop eating gluten it is destroying your intestines and making you sicker and sicker and it will jsut take longer and longer for you to heal because you are constantly eating gluten and destroying your villi.

Sorry to sound mean,

now for the nice part

Welcome to the forum once you decide to go gluten-free you will feel much much much better and you will realize how much you feel better on the gluten-free diet and you will never want to eat gluten again.

I am 16 also and I have been celiac for my entire life (diagnosed with i was 20 months old) and i will never eat gluten because i know what i will feel like if i eat it and it will be very bad and i get violently ill everytime i eat gluten.

Start small, go to the grocery store and buy gluten free foods and start telling your friends and such.

Are your parens supportive of the diet? are they trying to make you eat gluten-free? They need to understand the problem you have and help you out with the diet and be very supportive

How were you diagnosed? Were you sick before? are you sick now?

sorry for all the questions but I am just trying to figure all of this out/

I am always at my computer so you can e-mail me celiacmolly08@mac.com because i can answer your questions and help you out with this diet change.

[gf4life]

Worst case scenario-you could get intestinal cancer. More likely you will start by getting other auto-immune diseases. There is a whole list of them someplace around here. I'll see if I can find it.

You will certainly continue to lose your health, since every time you eat gluten more of your intestines are getting damaged. Even without symptoms. But the intestines are pretty amazing, once you are off gluten they usually heal completely. The longer you stay on gluten though you certainly run the risk of developing complications.

Can I ask why you haven't tried the diet, or if you have tried it why you didn't stick to it?

[Kaycee]

Aaron, welcome to the forum.

And it does matter!

In a nutshell, if you keep eating gluten you are leaving yourself wide open to impaired health in later years.

I know at 16 you feel you are invincible, but in twenty years time you will wish you took notice of your diagnosis. I only wish I knew twenty years ago.

If you were diagnosed 2 years ago, you would've been young. Did your parents not try to ensure you had a gluten free diet? Or did you eat what you wanted behind their backs? What were your symtoms? Surely removing these symptoms would make it worthwhile to stick to the diet, and I guess that this is why you are looking into the diet again.

I think now is as good a time as any to take matters into your hands and look into it. This forum is a good starting place.

I am not saying it is easy, but it does get easier.

Good luck Aaron, and you have picked a good place to start by joining this forum.

Catherine

[gf4life]

Open Original Shared Link

You can use the link to access a list of auto-immune diseases. When you have one (like Celiac) and you let it go untreated you increase the risk of getting more of them. I was undiagnosed for more than 25 years. At age 4 I already had lots of symptoms, but went undiagnosed. by the time I was 13 I developed alopecia areata, fortunately it is isolated on one part of my scalp and I can hide it with my long hair. In my 20's I started to get psoriasis on my elbow. I now have patches of psoriasis around my 4 limbs, and my scalp and recently I have started to get some small patches on my eye browns and below my eye lids. I also have psoriatic arthritis symptoms in the elbow where the psoriasis started. Neither of those will go away. I also have a mild peripheral neurology in my foot, and that is mostly better from the diet, but it was fairly recent when I went on the gluten-free diet.

I also want to urge you to try to stick with the diet. Pretty soon you will be an adult and will need to know how to take care of your medical and dietary needs. It isn't easy to learn, but it does become like second nature once you get the hang of it.

[AndreaB]

Welcome to the forum Aaron!

I second, third, fourth etc.....everyone else.

You need to go gluten free to prevent further damage and autoimmune diseases that can follow. You will want to train yourself to view gluten and anything it is in as poison.

[Canadian Karen]

hey im 16 and i was diagnosed with celiac disease about 2 years ago but i havnt pulled my self together to stop eating it it feels like it dosent really matter so i wanted to know what could happen if i keep eatting gluten please help thanks

You will become me.

If you want to continue on the road you currently are on, be forewarned there are serious repercussions to that route.....

My celiac was undiagnosed for so long that there is so much damage done to my intestines that they are beyond repair. Even being gluten free for almost 4 years and bloodwork well within normal range, the latest biopsy in August showed the insides of my intestines identical to the inside of a garden hose. Nil. Nothing. Zilch re-growth.... Too late for that now.....

Here's the clincher: Due to the complications of celiac disease, I now have collagenous colitis, which is linked to celiac. I have totol fecal incontinence. I wear Depends as I have absolutely no control anymore. Water, nothing but watery diarrhea, and I can't control it. I can't enjoy a day's outing with my family. I can't work. I won't even go into how it affects a relationship with your better half....... I am only 43 yrs old, and this is what I am dealing with......

All you need to do is google up Refractory Celiac Sprue. That should help you decide what's best.....

Food for thought.......

Karen

[Rusla]

Welcome Aaron to the forum.

I will parrot what the others have said and will now add my parts.

You may not think it matters but believe me I would give anything more than 30 years ago to have known what you know now. If I had a diagnosis then I could have kept most of my teeth instead of the disease taking them. I could not have osteoporosis, I could have lived with less pain and debilitating headaches and medical problems. I could not have lived most of my life in the bathroom with horrendous diarreah and gas. Nothing is worse than trying to work and not sure whether you will make it to the bathroom in time or not. All it takes is a few crumbs and I am sick enough to not be able to go to work.

This is not a life I would want you to have. Believe me it will be easier in the long run for you to adjust now than later in life. I have adjusted better than some because I know how sick I get from gluten. Do not let it fool you into thinking you can get away with this in the long run.

[DingoGirl]

Oh my gosh...Karen....I dont' know how you even have the energy to post here.

Or...you could become me .....and suffer a lifetime of psychological demons. Gluten causes deep depression and unclear thinking for me.....extreme panic and anxiety, highs and lows....all kinds of crazy things. It was only when I removed it totally from my life did my head feel CLEAR for the first time.....and I am 44. And even the clearness is not that sharp.....it was hell to get here and not worth it at all. I WISH TO GOD I HAD KNOWN ABOUT WHAT GLUTEN DOES TO THE BRAIN AT YOUR AGE.....my life would have turned out utterly differently, I am sure.

BTW my intestines weren't even affected until about 3 to 4 years ago......it was all neurological stuff for me.

Please give yoruself the best chance for the rest of your life.....at your age it's impossible to think about the future.......but trust us, it can be bad. Change it for the good!

[Saz]

Hi.

I was diagnosed when I was 6. I don't get big reactions, so when I was about your age I started to eat gluten and a lot of it untill 2months ago. Part of the reason for me was that I thought hey I'm only young it wont happen for years etc. However now that I'm 19, I have matured and realised that I need to stop eating gluten to prevent something going wrong in the future, none of us are invincible. Another thing that made me think was that I'm still only young, I havn't travelled or anything like that. Thats not going to happen in the next few year and what if I ended up with cancer or other illness from eating the gluten and never got the chance to do these things? I know I am sounding like a major hypocrpte at the moment but I am kicking myself now. I feel better in myself because I know that Im not cheating (Im still getting there with a few sauces but Im getting there)

I understand how hard it can esp being younger when you want to go to dinner with your mates, but I've found that all mine have been really supportive since going gluten-free. If you want to go out find restaurants that say offer a grilled chicken breast and veggies for you but still has other things on the menu that your mates can enjoy.

You will get there, good luck and good health!

[Aerin328]

Aaron,

I had Celiac's disease when I was 16, but I had no idea. I didn't notice any impairing effects until I was in my early 20's. And then when I had just turned 26, I was hit with the worst illness of my life that dragged on for months and months. It is now going to take me a very long time to heal - some say 1-2 years. I have been gluten free for almost 4 months, and I am only now getting my mind back.

SO... if you want to avoid getting sick for 6 months, then go gluten free now!

There are huge systemic health implications that are very subtle. If you go gluten-free now you will be doing yourself a huge favor.

Christian

[Confused in Iowa]

hey im 16 and i was diagnosed with celiac disease about 2 years ago but i havnt pulled my self together to stop eating it it feels like it dosent really matter so i wanted to know what could happen if i keep eatting gluten please help thanks

Aaron, I imagine you are alot like my son, have Celiac but don't have any symptoms that you know of. That's where my son is at. He's 11 and also has Juvenile Diabetes. I'm going to be quite honest with you, IT SUCKS! I feel so sorry for my son, to have to miss out on pizza parties, etc. with his friends and to have to eat something different than everyone else at lunch during school. But do you know what. I've seen such a change in my son's personality since we've gone gluten free...He is a pleasure to be around now, and he's almost like a different boy. He used to have a very short temper and would get mad over the tiniest things. His grades have also improved so much. Last year he struggled to get D's in school, was put into the resource room for some subjects. This year, since we've gone gluten free, he is getting A's and B's in all of his classes and he will probably not need to have resource help. In as much as it is hard to try and figure out creative cooking for him, I see how happy he is and how well he is doing in not only school, but his sports also, I think it's SOOOO worth the minor inconvenience of food changing.

When he first was diagnosed, I was just sickened by the idea.....I kept thinking about quality of life for him and how unfair this was, etc. etc. etc. But now, I think he has the absolute best quality of life....You have to just try and tell yourself that food is a necessity and not a pleasure. It's hard to do....but once you get in the right mindset, you'll be sooo glad you made the change to gluten free!

Aaron, I hope your family is supportive of you with this. It really takes a lot of support, and use this message board....You have the support of a lot of people here. I don't write on it very much, but I know when I get to feeling bad about my son's lifelong situation, I come here and I feel better and more positive and ready to tackle it.

Good luck with it Aaron! Once you get started, it really isn't as bad as it seems. Keep up your spirits!!!!!

[aaron]

hey yah i have tried to stop but i moved out and im lving with ym cousin and from now i just havnt really bought anythign with out gluten

Worst case scenario-you could get intestinal cancer. More likely you will start by getting other auto-immune diseases. There is a whole list of them someplace around here. I'll see if I can find it.

You will certainly continue to lose your health, since every time you eat gluten more of your intestines are getting damaged. Even without symptoms. But the intestines are pretty amazing, once you are off gluten they usually heal completely. The longer you stay on gluten though you certainly run the risk of developing complications.

Can I ask why you haven't tried the diet, or if you have tried it why you didn't stick to it?

[happygirl]

Aaron,

There is a book that really goes into the details of Celiac and its related disorders. Its called "Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic" and was written by Dr. Peter Green of Columbia University. For me (age 25), it really helped me to see it all "in black and white" and have a reference guide to go back to. You can order it online through amazon and some borders/barnes and nobles carry it---or they can order it for you. I highly recommend it .... Education is power...esp. with this disease!

Laura

[Sweetfudge]

Aaron, you've got tons of support here for you Remember that YOU are the only one who can make you change!

After ditto-ing everything already said, I would suggest you try to start out eating naturally gluten-free foods. My husband and I love mexican food! We eat tons of tacos, nachos, enchiladas, salads, quesadillas...all pretty much made from the same ingredients! Fresh veggies, some beans, meat, salsa and tortillas or tortilla chips. Very easy to buy and make! That was the first great discovery I made after being diagnosed...I can still eat chips and corn tortillas Just be sure and read those labels! Mission brand makes gluten-free tortillas and chips. Good luck to you! Hope to see you on more

[gf4life]

well after hereing all this pretty much convinces me to stop my cousins that im living with at the moment read these and now is really tryign to convince me to stop and thanks for all your support im sure that it saved me from ruing my life

Aaron, you must have accidentally hit report instead of reply, so I cut and pasted your reply here. (Report sends your message to all of the moderators instead of posting it on the board. It is usually for reporting someone breaking a rule.)

And I am glad to hear that your cousins are supportive of getting you on the gluten-free diet. That is great.

Please do not hesitate to ask for any help you need to get going and keep going!

That is why we all come here to support each other!

[Kimiko]

I have the very same problem. My Grandma has celiacs disease, and so we wondered if I did. I am not sick all of the time. Just every once in a while. I seem to have the problems one week, then not have them the next. But after reading about all of the problems and complications that I can have if I don't take care of it has made me want to go on the diet. Thanks!!