Your doctor tells you your stomach problems are from Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (IBS). So he treats (or mistreats) you for your symptoms when
in fact you don't have IBS. What your doctor may have missed is that you
have a little known condition, celiac disease, and you don't have to
suffer anymore because relief of your problems is only a change of diet
away.
The National Institute of Health, estimates that over three million Americans have undiagnosed
celiac disease. Why so many? Because on average it takes 11 years to
get a proper diagnosis. That's 11 years millions of people are
needlessly suffering. Could you be one of them?
The symptoms of
celiac disease are very similar to a host of other intestinal disorders.
They are: diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas, bloating, and weight loss. And
many patients don't experience those signs but instead report so-called
atypical symptoms, including: a blistering, itchy skin rash, anemia,
short stature, delayed puberty, infertility, and tooth enamel defects.
Because there are a broad range of symptoms that may be readily
associated with other conditions or ailments, celiac can be difficult to
diagnose and often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
So what exactly is celiac disease?
It's
a genetic autoimmune disorder also known as gluten-intolerance. Gluten
is found in wheat, rye, and barley and its derivatives. Therefore foods
and ingredients to be avoided include such staples as most flours,
bread, and pasta. If you have celiac disease your body recognizes gluten
as a toxin. Toxins are essentially poisons to your body. Gluten reeks
havoc on a celiac's body by causing the villi, which line the intestinal
wall, to become flattened and lose the ability to absorb nutrients from
food.
It is important to properly diagnose and treat celiac
disease for two reasons. First, with proper treatment the small
intestine will heal and your symptoms will disappear over time. The
other more important reason is that if a persona with the disorder
continues to eat gluten, chances of gastrointestinal cancer can increase
by 40 to 100 times that of the normal population. In addition,
gastrointestinal carcinoma or lymphoma develops in up to 15 percent of
patients with untreated celiac disease. Osteoporosis is another
condition that can be caused by failing to treat this disease.
The
only acceptable treatment for celiac disease is strict adherence to a
100% gluten-free diet for life. That measure can prevent almost all
complications caused by the disease - without medication - as the small intestine will steadily heal and start absorbing needed nutrients and, therefore, eliminate painful symptoms.
But
a gluten-free diet is not easy. It means avoiding all products that
contain wheat, rye, and barley or any of their derivatives. That
challenge can prove to be a daunting task as many hidden sources of
gluten are found in the ingredients of several processed foods. However,
the health rewards are tremendous.
Being diagnosed with celiac is
a life-changing experience. Imagine having to give up bread, pasta, and
beer among other things. Where can you go out to eat? Where can you
vacation? Where can you find substitutes for the foods you crave? The
doctors will not have the answers to these questions. The best source of
information on living with celiac is hearing from others who have "been
there, done that."
If you have been suffering from intestinal
problems and have not gotten relief, find out all you can about celiac
disease. Educate your doctor about it. It can be diagnosed with a simple
blood test. There are many support groups across the country and
several books that can give you information and put you on the road to
recovery.
