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Lasted Year In The Air Force

*Daniella*

By *Daniella*
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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*Daniella* Apprentice
*Daniella*
Posted

I've been in the Air Force for 14 years. Well, two years ago I was diagnosed with celiac. I've been through two medical boards to determine my fate in the Air Force. I just got the results of my last medical board and they have decided to keep me in...well, for at least another year. YAY!!! Anyway, just wanted to share my good news. :D

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jststric Contributor
jststric
Posted

Congratulations!! I would think you have times where eating is very challenging....like at college?? You seem happy with this outcome, so I'm happy for you. And btw, thank you very much for your service!!

Charlie's Girl Apprentice
Charlie's Girl
Posted

Thanks for volunteering!

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Thanks for your service!

Want ot ask a question. How do they handle the food? Do they not deploy you? Not sure MREs are gluten-free. Asking cause I have a teenage son who is interested in military service. Along with a few other careers. I am not genetically test ing him because I fear it will limit him even without active celiac disease.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

That's great news, and I'll join in thanking you for your service!

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Great, sounds like there is some positive understanding about the condition around the AF. Congrats!

modiddly16 Enthusiast
modiddly16
Posted

You rock! I absolutely LOVE to hear from our folks in the armed services who are happy and enthustiastic about what they do. Thank you for keeping us all safe! I hope your gluten free life in our Air Force treats you well :)

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*Daniella* Apprentice
*Daniella*
Posted
  • Author

Thank you everyone! I haven't deployed since I was diagnosed. However, I'm going on one in a few months. The Air Force medical boards put me on a profile. Basically what the profile says is I can deploy however, the gaining unit medical commander must approve me. Another words,they have to be able to feed me and give me proper medical care. I'll bet this deployment will be far different from my Iraq deployment.

As far as joining the AF with celiac, I believe that's one medical issue you CAN NOT join with. I wasn't diagnosed or showed signs of celiac when I joined. However, I would always ask the recruiter if it's still a possibility.

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    • cristiana
      Coeliac or not coeliac

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi @CC90 Ah... that is very interesting.  Although it is very annoying for you to have to go through it all again, I would say that almost sounds like an admission that they didn't look far enough last time?   I could be wrong, but I would not be at all surprised if they find something on the next attempt.  Coeliac damage can be very patchy, as I understand it, so that's why my own gastroenterologist always likes to point out that he's taken lots of samples!  In the kindest possibly way (you don't want to upset the person doing the procedure!) I'd be inclined to tell them what happened last time and to ask them in person to take samples lower down, as  if your health system is anything like the one in my country, communication between GPs, consultants and hospitals isn't always very good.  You don't want the same mistake to be made again. You say that your first endoscopy was traumatic?  May I ask, looking at your spelling of coeliac, was this done at an NHS hospital in England?  The reason for the question is that one of my NHS diagnosed friends was not automatically offered a sedative and managed without one.  Inspired by her, I tried to have an endoscopy one time, in a private setting, without one, so that I could recover quicker, but I had to request sedative in the end it was so uncomfortable.    I am sorry that you will have to go through a gluten challenge again but to make things easier, ensure you eat things containing gluten that you will miss should you have to go gluten free one day. 😂 I was told 2 slices of normal wholemeal bread or the equivalent every day in the weeks before , but I also opted for Weetabix and dozens of Penguin chocolate biscuits.  (I had a very tight headache across my temple for days before the procedure, which I thought was interesting as I had that frequently growing up. - must have been a coeliac symptom!)  Anyway, I do hope you soon get the answers you are looking for and do keep us posted. Cristiana  
    • CC90
      Coeliac or not coeliac

      By CC90 · Posted

      Hi Cristiana   Yes I've had the biopsy results showing normal villi and intestinal mucosa.  The repeat endoscopy (requested by the gastro doc) would be to take samples from further into the intestine than the previous endoscopy reached.      
    • Wheatwacked
      Coeliac or not coeliac

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Transglutaminase IgA is the gold-standard blood test for celiac disease. Sensitivity of over 90% and specificity of 95–99%. It rarely produces false positives.  An elevated level means your immune system is reacting to gluten.  Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) does not typically cause high levels of tTG-IgA. Unfortunately the protocols for a diagnosis of Celiac Disease are aimed at proving you don't have it, leaving you twisting in the wind. Genetic testing and improvement on a trial gluten free diet, also avoiding milk protein, will likely show improvement in short order if it is Celiac; but will that satisfy the medical system for a diagnosis? If you do end up scheduling a repeat endoscopy, be sure to eat up to 10 grams of gluten for 8 - 12 weeks.  You want  to create maximum damage. Not a medical opinion, but my vote is yes.
    • trents
      Coeliac or not coeliac

      By trents · Posted

      Cristiana asks a very relevant question. What looks normal to the naked eye may not look normal under the microscope.
    • cristiana
      Coeliac or not coeliac

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hello @CC90 Can I just ask a question: have you actually been told that your biopsy were normal, or just that your stomach, duodenum and small intestine looked normal? The reason I ask is that when I had my endoscopy, I was told everything looked normal.  My TTG score was completely through the roof at the time, greater than 100 which was then the cut off max. for my local lab.  Yet when my biopsy results came back, I was told I was stage 3 on the Marsh scale.  I've come across the same thing with at least one other person on this forum who was told everything looked normal, but the report was not talking about the actual biopsy samples, which had to be looked at through a microscope and came back abnormal.
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