High School Dropout

[norcalballa23]

Hey anyway im just feeling it was somehow my fault even though i had no chance and just want to vent...Im 18 and i just went gluten free december 26. So it has been about 2 1/2 months gluten free so far, and feeling much better but still recovering!

Anyway I started having trouble going to school and waking up every morning in 7 th grade. At the time i had no clue,i thought it was just me , not that some disease was stopping me. I felt severely drained going to school and just tired all the time. I mean i would sleep in class. Kids would always be like, why are you so tired all the time? I didnt know.

My grades dropped from all A's and B's to D's and F's. and later in high school it would eventually drop down to all F's.

Throughout the school years i missed at least almost half a years school every year.I mean it was THAT hard for me. I was going undiagnosed celiac and trying to force myself to go to school.

Days that i wouldn't and i felt so severly drained and tired. My parents would call the truant officer to force me to go to school some days. I felt so like it was my fault and was just lazy. Often thought suicidal thoughts, lost all my friends. Depression really kicked in this time of my life. Anyways things would stay the same until the beginning of my senior year.

Basically not going to school at all really at this point. Since im so miserable. Staying in my room just laying down and watching tv since im so severly tired. Have dry cracked skin and back aches. Basically i feel like im 70 when im 17.

So eventually and searching online i finally find out about Celiac disease and how eating wheat affects you in so many ways. I self diagnose myself and start feeling better then miserable days after.

So that brings me to now. Still recovering, but things are going good. 2 1/2 months in.

I have no idea what my life is going to be like even when i recover fully.

I have no high school education and its kind of too late to try to finish. I'm still technically in my senior year until june.

It just Sucks that i had to deal with this since i was 13 for 5 years throughout high school. Going UNDIAGNOSED.

Anyway i HAD to vent.

[Phyllis28]

It is never too late to get an education.

When you are feeling better you might consider checking with your school district. Most districts should be able to direct you to an adult school or courses to study for the GED.

You can also check with your local community college. Where I live as long as you are 19 years old you can enroll without a High school diploma. You will probably be required to take additional classes that you might have otherwise taken in High School.

I am sure others will pipe in with other ideas.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

[HAK1031]

Hi and welcome! I'm 16 and a junior so I definitely feel your pain. But it's definitely not worth giving up hope over. Get your GED, enroll in some community college courses when you feel well enough, consider transferring down the road...you can get yourself back on track! Isn't it awful what undiagnosed celiac can do to your life? If I hadn't been diagnose at the beginning of this year I would probably be a C or D student right now (as opposed to A/B in difficult classes) ...I'm exhausted enough as it is without celiac complicating things. I missed 17 days of school in 7th grade, and in high school I pretty much just toughed it out but every day was miserable. Good luck! I'm glad you are on the mend, hopefully that'll continue. Make sure you know all of the nuances of the diet (cross contamination, hidden gluten, etc,) as this will help you heal even faster

[Panopticism]

I dropped out, too. Same story, didn't have the energy, and constantly felt extremely ill. It was just about the least important thing at the time. I also have High Functioning Autism, so that didn't help.

Go and get your GED as soon as you're better. Going on 8 months since going gluten free and I can finally say I'm starting to see some improvements. Improvements in every aspect of my life, though!

[norcalballa23]

Hi and welcome! I'm 16 and a junior so I definitely feel your pain. But it's definitely not worth giving up hope over. Get your GED, enroll in some community college courses when you feel well enough, consider transferring down the road...you can get yourself back on track! Isn't it awful what undiagnosed celiac can do to your life? If I hadn't been diagnose at the beginning of this year I would probably be a C or D student right now (as opposed to A/B in difficult classes) ...I'm exhausted enough as it is without celiac complicating things. I missed 17 days of school in 7th grade, and in high school I pretty much just toughed it out but every day was miserable. Good luck! I'm glad you are on the mend, hopefully that'll continue. Make sure you know all of the nuances of the diet (cross contamination, hidden gluten, etc,) as this will help you heal even faster

Jeez, you sound like a fairy tale compared to me. I remember like 4 years ago in 8th grade. I missed like 2 or 3 straight months unable to go to school and just resting but not getting better.

I mean the best way possible i can describe my situatuion is in 5th brade i had like 20 friends over. Then in 7th grade i had 2. It was that big a meltdown of my life. Just sucks.

[cyberprof]

Hey anyway im just feeling it was somehow my fault even though i had no chance and just want to vent...Im 18 and i just went gluten free december 26. So it has been about 2 1/2 months gluten free so far, and feeling much better but still recovering!

Anyway I started having trouble going to school and waking up every morning in 7 th grade. At the time i had no clue,i thought it was just me , not that some disease was stopping me. I felt severely drained going to school and just tired all the time. I mean i would sleep in class. Kids would always be like, why are you so tired all the time? I didnt know.

My grades dropped from all A's and B's to D's and F's. and later in high school it would eventually drop down to all F's.

Throughout the school years i missed at least almost half a years school every year.I mean it was THAT hard for me. I was going undiagnosed celiac and trying to force myself to go to school.

Days that i wouldn't and i felt so severly drained and tired. My parents would call the truant officer to force me to go to school some days. I felt so like it was my fault and was just lazy. Often thought suicidal thoughts, lost all my friends. Depression really kicked in this time of my life. Anyways things would stay the same until the beginning of my senior year.

Basically not going to school at all really at this point. Since im so miserable. Staying in my room just laying down and watching tv since im so severly tired. Have dry cracked skin and back aches. Basically i feel like im 70 when im 17.

So eventually and searching online i finally find out about Celiac disease and how eating wheat affects you in so many ways. I self diagnose myself and start feeling better then miserable days after.

So that brings me to now. Still recovering, but things are going good. 2 1/2 months in.

I have no idea what my life is going to be like even when i recover fully.

I have no high school education and its kind of too late to try to finish. I'm still technically in my senior year until june.

It just Sucks that i had to deal with this since i was 13 for 5 years throughout high school. Going UNDIAGNOSED.

Anyway i HAD to vent.

Norcalballa,

You do have a lot to vent about and certainly you have had a rough time. I hope your health and energy come back totally and quickly.

My son is almost 15 and was just diagnosed officially today, although I've been certain he was celiac for about 6 months now. Your case is exactly what I am trying to avoid for him by getting a diagnosis and having him go gluten-free.

Regarding the degree, Phyllis28 is exactly right. Try your local Community College or start working on your GED. I teach for our local college and I teach online classes. They are great because you don't have to go to campus, which is good if you don't have the energy! Although, as you get stronger, going to school would be good to help you make friends. You might also try an alternative high school and I believe that legally you can go until you're 20 or so. It might be weird to be so "behind" in grade for your age but it WILL pay off later in your life. You will have a long, healthy life ahead of you. All the best.

~Laura

[Ursa Major]

My youngest daughter was doing terrible in highschool. In grade nine she managed to get seven credits, but she failed all but one subject in grade ten, and didn't manage to get any in grade eleven.

Towards the end of the first term in grade eleven I finally ordered the Enterolab tests for her, even though we couldn't really afford it. She had a blood test for celiac disease nearly two years ago, but because it came back negative she wouldn't try the diet, being stubborn.

Now she is on the gluten-free diet and living in a different town with her older sister (by ten years), her husband and two little girls (22 months and eight months old). She started high school, taking all grade ten classes and one grade eleven one (art) in February.

So, she is nearly two years behind (she is 16). But she is planning on taking some summer school to fast track. I am so proud of her, she is getting all A's now! Strangely, NOBODY believes me that it was her constant diarrhea, stomach aches and gluten affecting the brain that stopped her from doing well.

They all think that she just stopped being lazy and is getting more disciplined now. Which makes me mad.

Anyway, it is absolutely NEVER too late to finish your education! There are adult schools you can do in the evening after a job, there are community colleges with lots of options, and maybe you can even go back to highschool for part of it.

Why don't you go to the highschool and talk to a guidance counselor to find out what your options are?

So what you will be a little older when you are done, that is not your fault. But you can't just forget about your dreams of what you wanted to do (whatever it is you want to become), because you can still do it!

[ravenwoodglass]

Vent away, that is one of the best things about the board, we can vent and we know that others have been in the same spot, and come out of it.

I also would advise checking into your GED and also check into community colleges. Here in NY after you have completed a certain number of hours of community college you automatically get your high school diploma, don't know if it works the same in all states. You also may want to make a call to VESID, they may be able to give you some assitance in finding out what sort of educational programs are available to you.

Don't let your healing time be an idle time, read as much as you can on subjects that interest you, whether that is history or how to rebuild an engine or how to decorate a house doesn't matter, what matters is that you take in info and gain knowledge.

You will get stronger and your brain will start to function normally again but it will take a bit of time. Try not to be too hard on yourself.

I had the same experience as you school wise. But for me the worst was at about 4th grade. I went from a A student to a D student almost overnight. Math was the worst for me and I went into the 8th grade before a teacher finally realized there was something wrong and I really didn't know how to add or subtract a column of numbers or how to divide or multiply. He spent hours after school for about 3 months teaching me how to do these actions in my own way. It took longer but I got the right answers. Over 30 years later after I had been gluten-free for about 6 months I realized I could now add numbers in my head.

The point is that we often don't realize how severely this disease impacts us until the effects are gone. You are now at the point where you are healing, you know what is wrong. There will be ups and downs but you will succeed. Just don't ask too much of yourself to soon. Little steps taken to a final goal work much better than just looking at the final goal and being overwhelmed.

[Ridgewalker]

Norcalballa,

I eventually dropped out of school too. Combine fatigue and chronic diarrhea with the fact that I was shy as a child, and I was misdiagnosed at the age of 12 with Social Anxiety Disorder. Psychiatrists, phsychologists, medication... nothing really helped. I have developed ongoing problems with depression.

It's only been in the past few months that I've realized that most of those problems I had were due to undiagnosed Celiac. I was homeschooled for awhile, and when my mom wasn't able to do that anymore, I eventually dropped out.

I got my GED when I was 17, took the the SATs when I was 19. My GED scores were high enough that they earned me an academic scholarship to the local community college. I eventually took advantage of that when I was 20. As an adult, I was better able to force myself through.

Met my husband in college and we had two children. Come to find out, my mom had Celiac. Both of my kids probably do, and myself.

I don't blame you for venting. A lot of us have been through it, and we understand how you feel.

Give yourself some time to get better, and then you can figure out what you want to do with your education. You've got plenty of time. (((hugs!)))

BTW, I grew out of the shyness, and couldn't figure out as an adult why I still had all these other symptoms, when I was such a social people-lover. If only we knew then, what we know now...

[dbmamaz]

My daughter is 15 and her only symptoms are needing 12 hours of sleep, being stick-skinny and always hungry, and a late period. She is not interested in dropping gluten, and had agreed to testing until she remembered it would involve needles. I doubt she could handle the enterolab testing alternative either, she's so squeemish. she's missed about 3 weeks this winter due to being just generally sick, but all the tests came out negative (anemia, mono, thyroid - not sure why i didnt think to ask for a celiac test lol). She's failing several classes mostly due to the missed work, and i'm ready to let her drop out of HS and enroll her in a local community college - but there arent any less than 90 minutes from here that offer the classes she wants (computer graphic design). Just frustrating.

I'm sure, tho, that you will find a way - i almost failed out of hs, dropped out of several colleges, and it wasnt until I had kids that I was motivated enough to really do something with myself. Focus on what you want, eventually you'll find a way to get there.

[Hippie]

I am experiencing the exact same thing right now. The only thing is I am a few months away from graduating. I don't have the strength to be there. I am in so much pain and I have terrible diarrhea. It hits me out of nowhere. I don't know when it's going to happen, so now going to school really scares me, because if it does happen, I don't want anyone to know. To me that's the most embarassing thing that can happen. And none of my teachers really let anyone go to the bathroom. We're supposed to during passing periods. And sometimes it feels like it's going to happen but it doesn't. I haven't really been to school at all in the past month. I always think I'm going to wait until I feel better and then go in late, but that usually doesn't happen either. And This is messing with my job too. My intestines feel so uneasy all the time. I can hear stuff moving around in them, and I have a little bit of rectal bleeding. I feel like such a failure though. I am so close to graduating and I can't even do it. And I don't want to tell anyone because it's too embarassing for me. None of my tachers will ever understand. And people that I go to school with that aren't my friends. and even some of my friends, probably think that I'm just some lazy idiot that doesn't want to go.

I have an appointment with a GI doctor, finally, tomorrow though. I had to wait about two months this was the soonest the doctor had time to see me, so hopefully it will be worth it. My reglar physician thinks this is all stress-related. But this is the only thing that is casing stress for me!

[Phyllis28]

For those who wrote that you were too sick to go to school it might be possible for the school district to send teachers to your home. You or your parents would have to contact the school district to find out if this service is provided and, if available, the eligibilty requirements and how to apply.

Hope all of you feel better very soon.

[fedora]

I am sorry for all your problems in school. I hope it gets better soon.

In school, I missed soooooo many days. The school let it slide because I made good grades. I was sick a lot too. My problems got worse in college. I just could not commit. I dropped out so many time and never finished a year of classes. I know now I wasn't just a loser after all- I was sick.

But now at 32 I am taking college classes online!!! It is through a local accredited community college. There are so many more options now then when I was in high school and a teenager.

when you get better you may want to look into this option. I don't have to go anywhere, so if I have to make a mad dash for the bathroom, it doesn't matter. I am highly self motivated which helps, but I am much healthier now.

Good luck. Please look into your options. And I hope you are better soon.

[norcalballa23]

Vent away, that is one of the best things about the board, we can vent and we know that others have been in the same spot, and come out of it.

I also would advise checking into your GED and also check into community colleges. Here in NY after you have completed a certain number of hours of community college you automatically get your high school diploma, don't know if it works the same in all states. You also may want to make a call to VESID, they may be able to give you some assitance in finding out what sort of educational programs are available to you.

Don't let your healing time be an idle time, read as much as you can on subjects that interest you, whether that is history or how to rebuild an engine or how to decorate a house doesn't matter, what matters is that you take in info and gain knowledge.

You will get stronger and your brain will start to function normally again but it will take a bit of time. Try not to be too hard on yourself.

I had the same experience as you school wise. But for me the worst was at about 4th grade. I went from a A student to a D student almost overnight. Math was the worst for me and I went into the 8th grade before a teacher finally realized there was something wrong and I really didn't know how to add or subtract a column of numbers or how to divide or multiply. He spent hours after school for about 3 months teaching me how to do these actions in my own way. It took longer but I got the right answers. Over 30 years later after I had been gluten-free for about 6 months I realized I could now add numbers in my head.

The point is that we often don't realize how severely this disease impacts us until the effects are gone. You are now at the point where you are healing, you know what is wrong. There will be ups and downs but you will succeed. Just don't ask too much of yourself to soon. Little steps taken to a final goal work much better than just looking at the final goal and being overwhelmed.

Thanks for the info. I Definitely have been reading everyday about things im going to succeed at doing. Yeah it sucks what this disease does to everyone physically and mentally. All the friends i grew up with are now gone, like i just faded away from them. The disease really did change me, before 7th grade as a kid, i was always outgoing and laughing . But once celiac hit me. I just became shy and isolated. Hopefully i get better iv been gluten free for about 2 1/2 months now. I remember reading it takes about 3 months to get fully better? That should be coming up soon so yeah i hope for the best.

[cruelshoes]

It is never too late to finish high school. In our school district, they have an online high school for kids that cannot attend on a normal schedule. It is free to all the students in the district. Maybe you have something similar in your school dsitrict. Nearly all the community colleges offer some kind of GED or diploma program. Classes are in the evenings or online.

When I was in High School, I had cancer. I was unable to attend classes for 2 years. The school district provided me with a tutor that came to my house once a week and worked with me on homework. I completed my assignments at my own pace within a timeline we agreed upon. I received PE credits for the physical therapy I had to use to build myself up after being confined to a bed for many months. When I was healthier and could begin to attend classes again, I had an arrangement (what I now understand was probably a 504 or IEP) with the school that I got extra time for assignments and tests and was not penalized for missing school due to illness. I would recommend that you talk to your school district office to see what resources are available to you.

I worked my skinny, bald, puking arse off and was able to graduate with my class despite of my illness. I know you can do the same. There is always a way to get your education.

[norcalballa23]

My youngest daughter was doing terrible in highschool. In grade nine she managed to get seven credits, but she failed all but one subject in grade ten, and didn't manage to get any in grade eleven.

Towards the end of the first term in grade eleven I finally ordered the Enterolab tests for her, even though we couldn't really afford it. She had a blood test for celiac disease nearly two years ago, but because it came back negative she wouldn't try the diet, being stubborn.

Now she is on the gluten-free diet and living in a different town with her older sister (by ten years), her husband and two little girls (22 months and eight months old). She started high school, taking all grade ten classes and one grade eleven one (art) in February.

So, she is nearly two years behind (she is 16). But she is planning on taking some summer school to fast track. I am so proud of her, she is getting all A's now! Strangely, NOBODY believes me that it was her constant diarrhea, stomach aches and gluten affecting the brain that stopped her from doing well.

They all think that she just stopped being lazy and is getting more disciplined now. Which makes me mad.

Anyway, it is absolutely NEVER too late to finish your education! There are adult schools you can do in the evening after a job, there are community colleges with lots of options, and maybe you can even go back to highschool for part of it.

Why don't you go to the highschool and talk to a guidance counselor to find out what your options are?

So what you will be a little older when you are done, that is not your fault. But you can't just forget about your dreams of what you wanted to do (whatever it is you want to become), because you can still do it!

yeah your kids lucky to have parents that know about their condition. I had to find out by myself. In fact i self diagnosed myself in December. I even tested myself if i had it a few months back with some cookies that had wheat in it holy crap, Yeah i can safely say i have it. Iv also had a few slip ups in the past few months That had me laying in bed just like before. so yeah hopefully your kid doesn't suffer as much as i did.

[Ursa Major]

I am experiencing the exact same thing right now. The only thing is I am a few months away from graduating. I don't have the strength to be there. I am in so much pain and I have terrible diarrhea. It hits me out of nowhere. I don't know when it's going to happen, so now going to school really scares me, because if it does happen, I don't want anyone to know. To me that's the most embarassing thing that can happen. And none of my teachers really let anyone go to the bathroom. We're supposed to during passing periods. And sometimes it feels like it's going to happen but it doesn't. I haven't really been to school at all in the past month. I always think I'm going to wait until I feel better and then go in late, but that usually doesn't happen either. And This is messing with my job too. My intestines feel so uneasy all the time. I can hear stuff moving around in them, and I have a little bit of rectal bleeding. I feel like such a failure though. I am so close to graduating and I can't even do it. And I don't want to tell anyone because it's too embarassing for me. None of my tachers will ever understand. And people that I go to school with that aren't my friends. and even some of my friends, probably think that I'm just some lazy idiot that doesn't want to go.

I have an appointment with a GI doctor, finally, tomorrow though. I had to wait about two months this was the soonest the doctor had time to see me, so hopefully it will be worth it. My reglar physician thinks this is all stress-related. But this is the only thing that is casing stress for me!

Hippie, don't let ANYBODY tell you it is all in your head! Doctors seem to be especially good at that. Too many of us have heard it for years and years, and many here were on antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs, when really they needed to be on a gluten-free diet.

If the doctor you are seeing is another idiot, go to the next one. Your illness is definitely not just caused by stress.

And even if your tests come back negative, you still should try the gluten-free diet!

[susieg-1]

dropped out in 10th grade and have suffered with this disease undiagnosed and untreated for 30 yrs. the anxiety, depression caused me to become a heavy drug user for years and the combined effects have been physically and emotionally devestating. i now have a bachelor degree and want you to know that you have many many years to live with your decision to drop out and many many years to correct the situation be getting GED. my advice thank god you have discovered your disease and move forward knowing that you can do great things!!

[kari]

wow - if I hadn't known better, I would have thought that I had written that myself!! You're probably... 17 or 18? and you probably don't realize it but you are very fortunate to have figured this out at this time. You have your whole life ahead of you, though you may not realize it. And believe me, there is life beyond high school. I also dropped down to a D student somewhere around my sophomore year, and stopped waking up and getting out of bed most days by halfway through my junior year. I was so miserable and depressed most of the time, and so frustrated and embarrassed at my lack of motivation that I stopped trying and since most of my friends at the time (and their parents) thought I was going downhill fast and was not a good influence because I was doing nothing in my life, I started hanging out with the wrong people and getting into trouble, all the while just feeling sick, and tired, and sick of being sick and tired, which just left me hating everyone and everything. My senior year a guidance counselor called me and my mom into school for a meeting and suggested that I was too independent for the structure of high school, and that if I were to take intensive courses at the local community college I could get high school credit for them and graduate with my class. I tried, and really put a sincere effort in, but about halfway through my occasional absences and tardies turned into just not going at all again. I took a year off, no high school degree, at 18, and realized that this whole quasi-grownup world just really was not for me. I wanted to do what other kids my age were doing, I wanted to experience college, and accomplish something with my life somehow. I took the test for my GED and passed, took classes for a year at another community college to get some sort of ground to get into a regular 4 year university, and with the afternoon classes and flexible schedule, I was able to pull it together for a little while. By my sophomore year, again, it was the same thing. I would set 3 alarms and not hear any of them - my roomates even thrrew my alarm out the window out of frustration with me, because it would go off all day and I just would not hear it or have the energy to turn it off and get up. I was failing again, only this time my failure was costing me thousands of dollars in tuition.

I went to the school psychologist, which was useless. I went to the health office, where they realized my blood levels for everything were all out of whack. I overheard them on the phone trying to schedule appointments for me to see specialists in every possible area and saying "no, you don't understand; if you can't fit this girl in sooner than that, she will be dead.", and, finally, after two more years of part time classes and barely passing grades, I almost got my diagnosis. I was going to doctors in a pretty bad area near my college which was far from home, and who were not up on celiac disease or what it was. They told me I MIGHT have a 'wheat allergy called celiac disease" (moron comment number one), and after several expensive outdated tests and a lot of waiting, they still had no difinitive answer for me. I researched celiac disease on my own, brought my blood test results to my regular doctor back home, and my self-diagnosis was confirmed. I stopped eating gluten on February 15, 2006, and I am now a completely different person than I was for my entire life. I was 23 and had wasted at least 7 years of my life failing to function in everyday daily things that other people take for granted.

I am now 25 years old, doing my student teaching as a high school art teacher, where I work all day with unmotivated kids like myself, and try to get them to enjoy high school and to succeed here. No one here knows what my grades were in high school or why it took me so long to get here. No one needs to know how much I despised going to high school and everything about it; but I can relate to these students because I understand them. I graduate with my BFA in Art Education in May, and will have my teaching license at that time. I get up every morning at 6 am, get to school at 7am, and I haven't missed a day yet for the 8 weeks I have been here. I work hard here all day, and when I leave, I work another full time job and I pour myself into my homework for my senior seminar, which i am excelling in also. This is the most rewarding thing I have done yet, I love every second of it, and none of it would have been possible without my diagnosis.

I run into people I was friends with in high school, who had tried to get me to go to school, to do my homework, to do anything, and who eventually gave up on me. Before I tell them anything about my diagnosis, they immediately comment on how healthy I look, how happy I am, and how much I have changed.

You are young. You have such a great opportunity in that you have figured this out as early as you have. You've been through the tough part. The good news is, now all you have to do is take care of yourself and start living your life!

Hey anyway im just feeling it was somehow my fault even though i had no chance and just want to vent...Im 18 and i just went gluten free december 26. So it has been about 2 1/2 months gluten free so far, and feeling much better but still recovering!

Anyway I started having trouble going to school and waking up every morning in 7 th grade. At the time i had no clue,i thought it was just me , not that some disease was stopping me. I felt severely drained going to school and just tired all the time. I mean i would sleep in class. Kids would always be like, why are you so tired all the time? I didnt know.

My grades dropped from all A's and B's to D's and F's. and later in high school it would eventually drop down to all F's.

Throughout the school years i missed at least almost half a years school every year.I mean it was THAT hard for me. I was going undiagnosed celiac and trying to force myself to go to school.

Days that i wouldn't and i felt so severly drained and tired. My parents would call the truant officer to force me to go to school some days. I felt so like it was my fault and was just lazy. Often thought suicidal thoughts, lost all my friends. Depression really kicked in this time of my life. Anyways things would stay the same until the beginning of my senior year.

Basically not going to school at all really at this point. Since im so miserable. Staying in my room just laying down and watching tv since im so severly tired. Have dry cracked skin and back aches. Basically i feel like im 70 when im 17.

So eventually and searching online i finally find out about Celiac disease and how eating wheat affects you in so many ways. I self diagnose myself and start feeling better then miserable days after.

So that brings me to now. Still recovering, but things are going good. 2 1/2 months in.

I have no idea what my life is going to be like even when i recover fully.

I have no high school education and its kind of too late to try to finish. I'm still technically in my senior year until june.

It just Sucks that i had to deal with this since i was 13 for 5 years throughout high school. Going UNDIAGNOSED.

Anyway i HAD to vent.

[Hippie]

dropped out in 10th grade and have suffered with this disease undiagnosed and untreated for 30 yrs. the anxiety, depression caused me to become a heavy drug user for years and the combined effects have been physically and emotionally devestating. i now have a bachelor degree and want you to know that you have many many years to live with your decision to drop out and many many years to correct the situation be getting GED. my advice thank god you have discovered your disease and move forward knowing that you can do great things!!

I was a heavy drug user too, but before this happened. Now I have to smoke pot in order to eat. Otherwise I have no appetite at all and the thought of food makes me sick to my stomach.

[norcalballa23]

dropped out in 10th grade and have suffered with this disease undiagnosed and untreated for 30 yrs. the anxiety, depression caused me to become a heavy drug user for years and the combined effects have been physically and emotionally devestating. i now have a bachelor degree and want you to know that you have many many years to live with your decision to drop out and many many years to correct the situation be getting GED. my advice thank god you have discovered your disease and move forward knowing that you can do great things!!

30 Years? i would have killed myself earlier the that...im not kidding. IDK about you guys but celiac was driving to insane. I wouldent be suprised if i woulda killed myself within a year of not finding out.

Im glad you found out, no one should have to deal with this disease and have it misdiagnose as DEPRESSION! and a bunch of ther BS. Doctors really dont know it all.

[norcalballa23]

wow - if I hadn't known better, I would have thought that I had written that myself!! You're probably... 17 or 18? and you probably don't realize it but you are very fortunate to have figured this out at this time. You have your whole life ahead of you, though you may not realize it. And believe me, there is life beyond high school. I also dropped down to a D student somewhere around my sophomore year, and stopped waking up and getting out of bed most days by halfway through my junior year. I was so miserable and depressed most of the time, and so frustrated and embarrassed at my lack of motivation that I stopped trying and since most of my friends at the time (and their parents) thought I was going downhill fast and was not a good influence because I was doing nothing in my life, I started hanging out with the wrong people and getting into trouble, all the while just feeling sick, and tired, and sick of being sick and tired, which just left me hating everyone and everything. My senior year a guidance counselor called me and my mom into school for a meeting and suggested that I was too independent for the structure of high school, and that if I were to take intensive courses at the local community college I could get high school credit for them and graduate with my class. I tried, and really put a sincere effort in, but about halfway through my occasional absences and tardies turned into just not going at all again. I took a year off, no high school degree, at 18, and realized that this whole quasi-grownup world just really was not for me. I wanted to do what other kids my age were doing, I wanted to experience college, and accomplish something with my life somehow. I took the test for my GED and passed, took classes for a year at another community college to get some sort of ground to get into a regular 4 year university, and with the afternoon classes and flexible schedule, I was able to pull it together for a little while. By my sophomore year, again, it was the same thing. I would set 3 alarms and not hear any of them - my roomates even thrrew my alarm out the window out of frustration with me, because it would go off all day and I just would. not hear it or have the energy to turn it off and get up. I was failing again, only this time my failure was costing me thousands of dollars in tuition.

I went to the school psychologist, which was useless. I went to the health office, where they realized my blood levels for everything were all out of whack. I overheard them on the phone trying to schedule appointments for me to see specialists in every possible area and saying "no, you don't understand; if you can't fit this girl in sooner than that, she will be dead.", and, finally, after two more years of part time classes and barely passing grades, I almost got my diagnosis. I was going to doctors in a pretty bad area near my college which was far from home, and who were not up on celiac disease or what it was. They told me I MIGHT have a 'wheat allergy called celiac disease" (moron comment number one), and after several expensive outdated tests and a lot of waiting, they still had no difinitive answer for me. I researched celiac disease on my own, brought my blood test results to my regular doctor back home, and my self-diagnosis was confirmed. I stopped eating gluten on February 15, 2006, and I am now a completely different person than I was for my entire life. I was 23 and had wasted at least 7 years of my life failing to function in everyday daily things that other people take for granted.

I am now 25 years old, doing my student teaching as a high school art teacher, where I work all day with unmotivated kids like myself, and try to get them to enjoy high school and to succeed here. No one here knows what my grades were in high school or why it took me so long to get here. No one needs to know how much I despised going to high school and everything about it; but I can relate to these students because I understand them. I graduate with my BFA in Art Education in May, and will have my teaching license at that time. I get up every morning at 6 am, get to school at 7am, and I haven't missed a day yet for the 8 weeks I have been here. I work hard here all day, and when I leave, I work another full time job and I pour myself into my homework for my senior seminar, which i am excelling in also. This is the most rewarding thing I have done yet, I love every second of it, and none of it would have been possible without my diagnosis.

I run into people I was friends with in high school, who had tried to get me to go to school, to do my homework, to do anything, and who eventually gave up on me. Before I tell them anything about my diagnosis, they immediately comment on how healthy I look, how happy I am, and how much I have changed.

You are young. You have such a great opportunity in that you have figured this out as early as you have. You've been through the tough part. The good news is, now all you have to do is take care of yourself and start living your life!

Yeah i definitely know about all the suffering. I feel like iv been through it all at the age of 18. I mean im young but i doubt many people had it as hard as suffering with a disease that young. Its kinda like i felt like i was 30 with all the crap iv been through when im only 18.

There were so many things out of wack with me that are now healing, Like dry skin because of lack of nutrients,dry scalp wich meant flaky hair. Even my testosterone was completely wrong. 4 or 5 months ago i felt like a girl to what i feel like now. I was so jacked up im really not over exaggerating.

Im glad you made it through and are doing well. that means you can beat what the disease did to your life. Really now i see how well you have to take care of yourself, i mean im taking a multivitamin everyday. as soon as im ready im going to the gym. Eat healthy, ect.... You cant mess around with health. I already know im gonna be a future health nut. But thats what i want to be.

hope you continue to live life strong ... i know i am.

[susieg-1]

30 Years? i would have killed myself earlier the that...im not kidding. IDK about you guys but celiac was driving to insane. I wouldent be suprised if i woulda killed myself within a year of not finding out.

Im glad you found out, no one should have to deal with this disease and have it misdiagnose as DEPRESSION! and a bunch of ther BS. Doctors really dont know it all.

Having been in the emergency room no less than 15 times in 30 yrs with vomiting so severe that i was treated with compazine suppositories, morphine, and fluids and released without one single Dr testing me for celiacs.

This is a sad commentary on the medical profession. And to top it off I diagnosed myself after much research because i couldn't stand the fact that the dx I was getting and being treated for did not work. Have now been confirmed with lab work. Completely gluten-free for 8 mos and better but not 100% and have requested testing for Myasthenia Gravis after my reasearch led me to suspect that I have this autoimmune condition also. preliminary tests confirm my suspicians.