Today Is My Anniversary!

[angel-jd1]

Today begins my third year of being healthy and gluten free. On December 31,2002 I visited the doctor for test results and was sent on my merry way with a small piece of paper and a diagnosis of Celiac Disease. Thank God for the internet or I do not think I would have made it to where I am today. I have learned so much from others with Celiac, not from Doctors.

It is sort of odd that my new life began on New Years Eve day, but it was a great way to usher in a new year and new life for myself. A life filled with hope, health, and new friends because of the disease. Thank you to each of you for helping me learn. It is great to be healty and have my life back!!

-Jessica

[Carriefaith]

Congratulations on 3 years gluten free! I too have learned a lot about celiac from the internet and from this board.

[darlindeb25]

congrats--keep up the good work and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!! DEB

[Canadian Karen]

Congratulations on celebrating the day your life changed for the better!!! I also learned my diagnosis during the Christmas holidays (many years ago!!!) It was a message on my answering machine on Christmas Eve from the dr. giving me the diagnosis of celiac disease.....

Happy New Year!

Karen

[celiac3270]

Yes, congratulations!

Karen, when were you diagnosed? I didn't realize that you had been on this diet for years and were STILL having symptom problems.

[Canadian Karen]

Well, it's kind of a long story, but in a nutshell:

I was first diagnosed with celiac disease and endometriosis in my early 20's. After 1 1/2 years on the gluten-free diet with no change or improvement, that when the "diagnosis roller coaster" started. It then was "Okay, we think you have Crohns' disease.... then is was IBS......." So off the gluten-free diet I go. Years after, still no improvement, just getting worse.....

Three years ago, I finally went to another GI dr. By this time, the bloodtests were available to easily detect celiac. When the results came back, my numbers were through the roof! So back on the gluten-free diet I go again. After three years and AGAIN no improvement, that's when my GI dr. sent me down to St. Mike's to the celiac specialist (this is where he was discussing with me the strong possibility of refractory celiac......). It was only then that the collagenous colitis was discovered. So obviously, it was celiac AND collagenous colitis from the beginning, but because the collagenous colitis wasn's detected and treated, that's why there was no improvement. So when I say that I have had permament diarrhea for years, IT REALLY HAS BEEN YEARS!!!!! lol!

One thing that I consider myself very lucky for is that for all three of my pregnancies (especially the twin pregnancy), things turned out okay despite the fact that I was not on the gluten-free diet for all my child bearing years. I thank God that all my pregnancies resulted in healthy, strong babies (the boys were nine weeks early due to it being twins, but despite the fact that they both weighed only 3 1/2 lbs each, they were really quite strong from the beginning). Knowing what I know now, the outcome certainly could have been very different.... Thinking back, for my first pregnancy, I lived off of chicken on a bun. For the second pregnancy, I lived off of bread and peanut butter. For the twin pregnancy, I constantly ate chinese food with LOTS of soy sauce.....

So, after so many years of dealing with this, I really have such high hopes for 2005. I really see a light at the end of this long tunnel I have travelled.....

Happy New Year!

Karen

[Maggie1956]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ANGEL

That's great! Good for you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone as well.

[celiac3270]

Oh, wow! Before, when I saw you joined in June, I just assumed that you were diagnosed around that time...you've been through a lot

[Canadian Karen]

June is when I started taking this disease as seriously as I should have from the beginning.....

It was when the dr. started talking to me about refractory, it kind of woke me out of my indifference and into the reality that this stuff could be really serious..... That's when I started searching the internet for everything I could get my hands on and that's how I came to this site.... Thank goodness I found it!!!

Karen

[tarnalberry]

Congrats on three years!

[angel-jd1]

Thanks to all for the kind words, just wanted people to see that it CAN be done and we can be healthy and happy. It is such a struggle, but very worth it.

-Jessica

[ryebaby0]

Hey! My son's "anniversary" is also Dec. 31 (but of '03). In another month he will have his tTg repeated to see if it is within normal range (last May it was still positive) but after a year gluten-free he has normal zinc, iron, and folate levels, normal B12 and calcium density; his sed rate is back in normal range, grown 3.2 inches and he has gained (from his low weight) 30 pounds! He is still only in the 25th percentile for weight, but hey, we'll take that. Happy anniversary Bring on the Truffle Brownies!

joanna

mom and wife to celiacs (DH has been gluten-free 6 weeks now. "I can't believe how much better I feel and I didn't even know I was sick")

[angel-jd1]

AMEN to the truffle brownies!! YUM!! We had "New Years Eve Food" at our house. Velveeta cheese with rotel, hillshire farms little smokies in sweet baby ray's bbq sauce, a cheese ball with blue diamond almond thins, and vegetable soup!! ha Great celebration.

-Jessica

PS. Happy Anniversary to your son!!