My Mum Might Be Celiac But Wont Get Tested

[MissBonnie]

i was diagnosed 4 months ago after 22 years of no problems, i all of a sudden ended up in hospital on a drip close to death from not being able to eat a thing. my mum has always had problems with bloating and pain. and since you are supposed to get celiac from a family memeber im almost certain she has it. she is in denial and wont get tested. im worried she will cause damage like i did and have a huge recovery to look forward to. ive been off work for 6 months now and am still struggling. how do i get her to get tested and she how serious this is??

[Roda]

Unfortunately you can't make her get tested. What you can do is give her all the information and lead by example. Sadly I have given up on trying to convince my father and brother to get screened. Neither want to hear it. It makes me sad, but that is the reality. Here is a link to a topic about this very thing.

[rosetapper23]

When I was diagnosed, I knew immediately that my mother and son also had the same condition because they'd both exhibited the same symptoms for years. My son tested positive and has been gluten free ever since. My mother told me that she didn't know what I was talking about and claimed that she hadn't had any of the symptoms that she'd complained about for years. I tried to convince her several times, but she adamantly refused to believe that she had celiac. Fast-forward to a year later. She called me and declared tearfully that a test had revealed that her bones were 70% decalcified, and she asked me what could have caused this to happen. When I explained that celiac was probably at fault, she finally broke down crying. She said that she hadn't wanted to accept that she has celiac because the thought of giving up sourdough bread and wheat pasta made her too upset. After that discussion, she went gluten free, learned to cook fantastic gluten-free meals, bake tasty desserts, and regained her health. She had been plagued for years with constant sinus infections, terrible arthritis, chronic diarrhea, anemia, tooth breakage, dark circles under eyes, and fatigue. Today she is in excellent health at age 75 and looks ten years younger than the day she accepted that she had celiac. She's so happy with her good health, she never seems to miss her old way of eating at all.

So...don't give up. Your mom might eventually come around.

[Roda]

Glad to hear your mom is doing well and is thriving gluten free. Gives me some hope that someday my father and brother may change their minds.

[kareng]

When I was diagnosed, I knew immediately that my mother and son also had the same condition because they'd both exhibited the same symptoms for years. My son tested positive and has been gluten free ever since. My mother told me that she didn't know what I was talking about and claimed that she hadn't had any of the symptoms that she'd complained about for years. I tried to convince her several times, but she adamantly refused to believe that she had celiac.

Sounds like my mom. Can't come to Thanksgiving dinner because she was up all night with diarrhea. Can't eat lots of different things without stomach distress. But she doesn't have any symptoms. Can't imagine where I might have gotten it from. Dad with gas & bloating all the time. They won't tell their doctor about my Celiac. Even if they did, I doubt he would do anything unless they insisted.

Oh well. Not much I can do about it.

[MissBonnie]

yeh its hard, my mum generally eats gluten free anyway ecuse if her stomach problems but she will eat wraps nd things still. it pains me to see her anxiety and bloating could easily be fixed

[come dance with me]

My mum's the same. I was tested when my daughter was diagnosed but don't have it and my mother has gone gluten free but won't get tested even though I'm pretty sure it's from her because she has problems with bread and pasta. Things have improved for her since going gluten free but she wouldn't even have the blood test.