...Yes, it is. Next question....
Nah, we wouldn't be so dismissive as to not answer this perfectly reasonable question more fully. Indeed, this question is often raised: not only by lay people, but by health care professionals, too. Like much else in the world of medicine, there are arguments for and against requiring a small intestine biopsy in order to diagnose Coeliac Disease.
We'll start with the argument against requiring a small intestine biopsy to make the diagnosis. People in the camp argue that if someone has symptoms of CD, and has antibodies that are typically present if you have CD, then the probability of CD is high enough that there's no reason to burden the person with an endoscopy (and small intestine biopsy). Instead, the diagnosis can be made on these grounds alone, and treatment with a gluten free diet can begin. In addition, even if the diagnosis is wrong, the person wouldn't come to harm by unnecessarily following a gluten free diet, and if the diet wasn't helping because, in fact, the person didn't have CD, they'd seek medical attention, and the correct diagnosis would ultimately surface anyhow. Fair enough.
Now take a look at the other side of the argument: Those who argue that a small intestine biopsy should always be done prior to diagnosing CD say that symptoms of CD can be seen with many other ailment, too. Further, they point out that the antibodies found in a person with CD can also be seen with a variety of other, unrelated health problems. They may also add, give the great importance of knowing whether on has Coeliac Disease (in terms of the risk of other family members having it, the need to adhere lifelong to a special - and costly - diet, the potential health complications arising from CD and so on), that it doesn't make sense to risk uncertainty regarding diagnosis when a simple, safe, fast, and very accurate endoscopy and small intestine biopsy can almost always provide definitive evidence on way or the other.
These are pretty darn good argument on either side. But we don't think it's a toss-up. In our opinion, the implications of having Coeliac Disease are so great that the diagnosis should only be made if a small intestine biopsy has been performed and found to show appropriate abnormalities.
Case History: Theresa was a 35 year old woman who was referred to Ian because her family doctor thought she likely had Coeliac Disease. This was a perfectly reasonable supposition because Theresa had compatible symptoms (including bloating, cramping, weight loss, and diarrhea) and a positive tissue transglutaminase antibody (this antibody is almost always found if someone has Coeliac Disease). Ian advised Theresa that he thought her family doctor was correct, but still recommended that an endoscopy and small intestine biopsy be peformed to be sure. With some reluctance, Theresa agreed to the procedure. As it turned out, Theresa's small intestine biopsy was normal and further tests revealed that all her symptoms and her positive antibody were actually related to previously undetected liver disease. If Theresa hadn't been biopsied, a wrong diagnosis would have been made, unhelpful therapy (a gluten free diet) administered, her correct diagnosis delayed, and proper therapy (for her liver disease) given only belatedly.
Taken From: Coeliac Disease for Dummies, Chapter 17: Ten Frequently Asked Questions. Written by Dr Ian Blumer MD & Dr Shelia Crowe MD
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Whats in a name: The Different Types of Coeliac Disease
Although most people - including many health care professionals - think of Coeliac disease as being one condition, there are, in fact, several different forms. We will look at the various forms of CD, what they have in common, and how they differ. Most importantly, we discuss why this is important for you to know....
In its classical - and best known - form, CD is associated with abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and malnutrition. And as you may expect, if there is a classical form, there is bound to be one or more non-classical forms. Non-classical forms of CD are the atypical form, the silent form, and the latent form. It is now know that the majority of people with CD do not have the classical variety: rather, they have one of these other types. The table below illustrates the key features of the different forms of CD.
Classical Atypical Silent Latent
Typical
age of
Onset Childhood Adulthood Adulthood Adulthood
Symptoms Primarily Primarily NON- None None
Gastrointestinal Gastrointestinal
Complica- Usually Absent Often Present None None
tions
Coeliac
Disease
Antibodies Present Present Present Present
Small
Intestine
Biopsy Abnormal Abnormal Abnormal Normal
Treat-
ment GF Diet GF Diet GF Diet Uncertain
Treatment of Treatment of
Complications Complications
Extract taken from Coeliac Disease for Dummies Part I: Dealing with the Diagnosis of Coeliac Disease
In its classical - and best known - form, CD is associated with abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and malnutrition. And as you may expect, if there is a classical form, there is bound to be one or more non-classical forms. Non-classical forms of CD are the atypical form, the silent form, and the latent form. It is now know that the majority of people with CD do not have the classical variety: rather, they have one of these other types. The table below illustrates the key features of the different forms of CD.
Classical Atypical Silent Latent
Typical
age of
Onset Childhood Adulthood Adulthood Adulthood
Symptoms Primarily Primarily NON- None None
Gastrointestinal Gastrointestinal
Complica- Usually Absent Often Present None None
tions
Coeliac
Disease
Antibodies Present Present Present Present
Small
Intestine
Biopsy Abnormal Abnormal Abnormal Normal
Treat-
ment GF Diet GF Diet GF Diet Uncertain
Treatment of Treatment of
Complications Complications
Extract taken from Coeliac Disease for Dummies Part I: Dealing with the Diagnosis of Coeliac Disease
Monday, October 24, 2011
Comparing Coeliac Disease, Food Allergy & Food Intolerance
In order to explain why they are on a special diet, many people with Coeliac Disease understandably (and perfectly reasonably) try to make things easier for their friends, co workers, and restaurant staff by just saying they are "allergic to wheat" rather than describing in detail what their condition is all about. Although saying you are allergic to wheat is perfectly fine, the statement is not perfectly accurate.
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease, meaning that your immune system has turned against - and is attacking - your own, health tissues. Autoimmune diseases, including CD, typically cause chronic problems, not sudden, life-threatening crises. Food allergies are caused by a different problem with the immune system and can indeed lead to immediate catastrophic situations. A food intolerance (such as lactose intolerance) on the other hand is not related to the immune system and although it leads at times to unpleasant symptoms, is not life-threatening in nature. We illustrate the key differences between these three conditions..
Coeliac Disease Food Allergy Food Intolerance
Time to Onset Days, months to Seconds to Minutes to hours
after consuming years! minutes
the Triggering
Food
Common Variable but Shortness of Abdominal cramps
Symptoms often abdominal breath, swelling diarrhea
cramping diarrhea of the lips and
tongue, hives
Immune T Cell mediated Immediate None
Problem disease hypersensitivity
reaction
Technically speaking, a food allergy is a special type of immune reaction (called an immediate hypersensitivity reaction) that involves immune system cells called basophils and mast cells (these are special types of white blood cells involved with the body's allergic response and certain other conditions). An immediate hypersensitivity reaction results, upon exposure to a certain stimulus, in the immediate release into the bloodstream of a substance called histamine, which causes instantaneous - and sometimes life-threatening - symptoms such as shortness of breath, a swollen tongue, and skin rash (hives). Perhaps you know people who are allergic to peanuts. They have this type of food allergy. people can also be allergic to wheat, which is different from Coeliac Disease because the reactions to wheat are immediate and cause problems with breathing, hives and swelling of the mouth and lips. Unlike in Coeliac Disease, wheat does not cause intestinal damage in people with wheat allergy.
As you know from your own experiences living with CD (or living with someone who has CD) this is entirely different from what happens if a person with Coeliac Disease consumes a gluten-containing food (such as wheat) in which case, such instantaneous, life-threatening symptoms don't occur. Although, the immune system plays a role in CD, it is of an entirely different nature.
The one exception to Coeliac Disease and food intolerance being unrelated is if you have newly diagnosed and therefore untreated Coeliac Disease in which case you may have temporary lactose intolerance.
Taken from Coeliac Disease for Dummies Part I: Dealing with the Diagnosis of Coeliac Disease
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease, meaning that your immune system has turned against - and is attacking - your own, health tissues. Autoimmune diseases, including CD, typically cause chronic problems, not sudden, life-threatening crises. Food allergies are caused by a different problem with the immune system and can indeed lead to immediate catastrophic situations. A food intolerance (such as lactose intolerance) on the other hand is not related to the immune system and although it leads at times to unpleasant symptoms, is not life-threatening in nature. We illustrate the key differences between these three conditions..
Coeliac Disease Food Allergy Food Intolerance
Time to Onset Days, months to Seconds to Minutes to hours
after consuming years! minutes
the Triggering
Food
Common Variable but Shortness of Abdominal cramps
Symptoms often abdominal breath, swelling diarrhea
cramping diarrhea of the lips and
tongue, hives
Immune T Cell mediated Immediate None
Problem disease hypersensitivity
reaction
Technically speaking, a food allergy is a special type of immune reaction (called an immediate hypersensitivity reaction) that involves immune system cells called basophils and mast cells (these are special types of white blood cells involved with the body's allergic response and certain other conditions). An immediate hypersensitivity reaction results, upon exposure to a certain stimulus, in the immediate release into the bloodstream of a substance called histamine, which causes instantaneous - and sometimes life-threatening - symptoms such as shortness of breath, a swollen tongue, and skin rash (hives). Perhaps you know people who are allergic to peanuts. They have this type of food allergy. people can also be allergic to wheat, which is different from Coeliac Disease because the reactions to wheat are immediate and cause problems with breathing, hives and swelling of the mouth and lips. Unlike in Coeliac Disease, wheat does not cause intestinal damage in people with wheat allergy.
As you know from your own experiences living with CD (or living with someone who has CD) this is entirely different from what happens if a person with Coeliac Disease consumes a gluten-containing food (such as wheat) in which case, such instantaneous, life-threatening symptoms don't occur. Although, the immune system plays a role in CD, it is of an entirely different nature.
The one exception to Coeliac Disease and food intolerance being unrelated is if you have newly diagnosed and therefore untreated Coeliac Disease in which case you may have temporary lactose intolerance.
Taken from Coeliac Disease for Dummies Part I: Dealing with the Diagnosis of Coeliac Disease
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Myth #4 Eat Gluten and You Feel Immediately Ill
If you have Coeliac Disease, you should consume not gluten: it is the consumption of gluten that leads to damage to your gut and the symptoms that then arise. Having said that, it is a Myth that all people with CD immediately develop symptoms after ingesting gluten. here are some important reasons for this:
*Not everyone with CD has symptoms. You may well be one of the many people who were diagnosed wither through screening, or after an unexpected, abnormal test result was found. So if you felt fine when you were consuming gluten before you were diagnosed with CD, it's quite possible that you will continue to feel well when you consume gluten after you were diagnosed(NOTE: This is not a reason to resume ingesting gluten! If you have CD you should consume no gluten at all!)
*Although ingesting gluten triggers your immune system and leads to damage to your intestine, this isn't instantaneous. For most people with CD, it takes days, weeks or even months before the damage becomes severe enough to cause symptoms. This is unlike the immune problem seen if you have a peanut or bee sting allergy, in which case you have an immediate reaction upon exposure to these agents.
After reading the preceding list,you may have come to the conclusion that ingesting gluten will not make you feel immediately unwell. Excellent: we're glad we convinced you. But - well yeah there's a but - SOME people with CD for reasons that are unclear do in fact start to feel unwell with symptoms of bloating, abdominal discomfort, and indigestion developing with hours of ingesting gluten.
.....So is it a myth that if you consume gluten you will feel immediately unwell? For most people yes! its a myth. But for some people it is a reality.
Taken from: Coeliac Disease for Dummies, Chapter 19 Ten Myths, Misperceptions, and Falsehoods about Coeliac Disease
*Not everyone with CD has symptoms. You may well be one of the many people who were diagnosed wither through screening, or after an unexpected, abnormal test result was found. So if you felt fine when you were consuming gluten before you were diagnosed with CD, it's quite possible that you will continue to feel well when you consume gluten after you were diagnosed(NOTE: This is not a reason to resume ingesting gluten! If you have CD you should consume no gluten at all!)
*Although ingesting gluten triggers your immune system and leads to damage to your intestine, this isn't instantaneous. For most people with CD, it takes days, weeks or even months before the damage becomes severe enough to cause symptoms. This is unlike the immune problem seen if you have a peanut or bee sting allergy, in which case you have an immediate reaction upon exposure to these agents.
After reading the preceding list,you may have come to the conclusion that ingesting gluten will not make you feel immediately unwell. Excellent: we're glad we convinced you. But - well yeah there's a but - SOME people with CD for reasons that are unclear do in fact start to feel unwell with symptoms of bloating, abdominal discomfort, and indigestion developing with hours of ingesting gluten.
.....So is it a myth that if you consume gluten you will feel immediately unwell? For most people yes! its a myth. But for some people it is a reality.
Taken from: Coeliac Disease for Dummies, Chapter 19 Ten Myths, Misperceptions, and Falsehoods about Coeliac Disease
Monday, October 17, 2011
Complimentry Medicine Be Realistic!
As a Licenced Nurse the information I rely on is always based on Medical and scientific facts. Though on the other hand I fully support the use of complimentry medicine as a useful tool to assist in the management of Coeliac Disease. Unfortunatley finding a good practioner is difficult and just like the Medical profession, there are bad ones out there.
Take into account what the Complimentry Medicine was designed to do in the first place.
Sometimes in our need to be what we think is "normal" we will grab at any advise we are given even though it has no bases in fact nor proof. Some would argue that that is called "Faith". I would say this, there is always room for Faith and hope, but when its concerning your health and the management of your Coeliac Disease, travel carefully, listen to what your body is saying and confirm the results with your GP. And theres aways the question of whether your Coeliac disease was definitively confirmed in the first place.
Take into account what the Complimentry Medicine was designed to do in the first place.
Sometimes in our need to be what we think is "normal" we will grab at any advise we are given even though it has no bases in fact nor proof. Some would argue that that is called "Faith". I would say this, there is always room for Faith and hope, but when its concerning your health and the management of your Coeliac Disease, travel carefully, listen to what your body is saying and confirm the results with your GP. And theres aways the question of whether your Coeliac disease was definitively confirmed in the first place.
Myth #3 You Can "Outgrow" Coeliac Disease
Doh! yes some people are actually told this!....
You likely recall how much better you felt soon after starting a gluten free diet (differs for each person). And the odds are darn good that as you continued your diet, all your previous symptoms gradually resolved and you remained well thereafter. It could be - human beings being human afterall - that at some point you inadvertently (or maybe even intentionally) resumed consuming gluten. It's likely that in short order your old symptoms came back to haunt you, reminding you that you had not been cured of your Coeliac disease, but rather that you still had it and needed to look after it. But what if you had resumed eating gluten and your symptoms, in fact, did not return? Or perhaps you have a child with CD and after being entirely well for years whilst on a gluten free diet, you are now wondering whether your child need to continue it? Could it be that you or your child have "outgrown" Coeliac Disease?
So then with that in mind, can you in fact, outgrow Coeliac disease?....Alas, although you will outgrow your high chair, your first bike, adolescence (thank goodness) your wedding day tuxedo (sigh) and a million other things, you will not outgrow your Coeliac disease. Similarly, if you have a child with Coeliac disease, your child won't outgrow it either.
If you are middle aged person and were diagnosed in your youth with Coeliac disease it is quite possible that you recall long ago being told by a doctor that you could - or would - out grow your Coeliac disease. At one time this possibility was entertained by some health care providers. Nowadays we know this is incorrect.
So what might happen to you if, feeling completely well, you decide to resume eating gluten containing food? The answer is, you will develop one or more of the following problems:
*Your symptoms will return, possibly becoming severe and exceptionally difficult to settle
*You will develop complications of Coeliac disease (such as iron deficiency anemia or osteoporosis)
*You may expose yourself to an increased risk of several types of Cancer.
The bottom line: As much as we wish to were otherwise, you cannot in fact, outgrow Coeliac disease and it is potentially dangerous to resume eating gluten even if, having don so, you feel perfectly well.
You likely recall how much better you felt soon after starting a gluten free diet (differs for each person). And the odds are darn good that as you continued your diet, all your previous symptoms gradually resolved and you remained well thereafter. It could be - human beings being human afterall - that at some point you inadvertently (or maybe even intentionally) resumed consuming gluten. It's likely that in short order your old symptoms came back to haunt you, reminding you that you had not been cured of your Coeliac disease, but rather that you still had it and needed to look after it. But what if you had resumed eating gluten and your symptoms, in fact, did not return? Or perhaps you have a child with CD and after being entirely well for years whilst on a gluten free diet, you are now wondering whether your child need to continue it? Could it be that you or your child have "outgrown" Coeliac Disease?
So then with that in mind, can you in fact, outgrow Coeliac disease?....Alas, although you will outgrow your high chair, your first bike, adolescence (thank goodness) your wedding day tuxedo (sigh) and a million other things, you will not outgrow your Coeliac disease. Similarly, if you have a child with Coeliac disease, your child won't outgrow it either.
If you are middle aged person and were diagnosed in your youth with Coeliac disease it is quite possible that you recall long ago being told by a doctor that you could - or would - out grow your Coeliac disease. At one time this possibility was entertained by some health care providers. Nowadays we know this is incorrect.
So what might happen to you if, feeling completely well, you decide to resume eating gluten containing food? The answer is, you will develop one or more of the following problems:
*Your symptoms will return, possibly becoming severe and exceptionally difficult to settle
*You will develop complications of Coeliac disease (such as iron deficiency anemia or osteoporosis)
*You may expose yourself to an increased risk of several types of Cancer.
The bottom line: As much as we wish to were otherwise, you cannot in fact, outgrow Coeliac disease and it is potentially dangerous to resume eating gluten even if, having don so, you feel perfectly well.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Another Myth!
You Can Have Borderline Coeliac Disease
I actually hear this one alot, and most people have been told this by their GP! **slaps head in utter frustration** but here I will try to explain why this phrase is completely incorrect!
We never take exception when a person advises us that they or a loved one has "borderline" celiac disease. Oh sure it's a myth and one can no more have borderline celiac disease than one can be borderline pregnant!, but the person with this misperception got it from ssomewhere and and that somewhere is typically a well-meaning but misinformed friend, relative or - more commonly in years gone by - doctor. Like pregnancy, when it comes to celiac disease, you either have it or you don't. And speaking of the myth of borderline celiac disease, it is also a myth that you can "outgrow" it.
If ever you have been told you had borderline celiac disease, most likely this happened because you had some other condition (a bowel infection, for example) or were too-quickly labeled as having celiac disease without benefit of a small intestine biopsy: then, when you got better, you were told that you got better because you only have borderline celiac disease.
Another possibility is that you do in fact have the real deal: that is you were told you had borderline celiac disease,but you actully do have celiac disease. This is most likely to occur if the type of celiac disease you have is either silent or latent, form of the disease. These types of celiac disease are unassociated with symptoms.
Because celiac disease is so important a condition with so many health implications, if you've been diagnosed with "borderline celiac disease" we encourage you to speak to your physician to find out on what basis this determination was made. If you have a small intestine biopsy, ask your physician what it showed. If you didn't have a biopsy, ask what, if any, antibody studies were done.
If you were told long ago that you had borderline celiac disease, it may (or may not) be worth your while to be retested for celiac disease beginning with having appropriate antibody or genetic testing done. (Often a genetic test is a particularly good way to start since, if you don't have certain genes, you almost certainly cannot have had, or ever get, celiac disease) Be sure to speak to your current Doctor about this.
Reproduced from Celiac Disease for Dummies
I actually hear this one alot, and most people have been told this by their GP! **slaps head in utter frustration** but here I will try to explain why this phrase is completely incorrect!
We never take exception when a person advises us that they or a loved one has "borderline" celiac disease. Oh sure it's a myth and one can no more have borderline celiac disease than one can be borderline pregnant!, but the person with this misperception got it from ssomewhere and and that somewhere is typically a well-meaning but misinformed friend, relative or - more commonly in years gone by - doctor. Like pregnancy, when it comes to celiac disease, you either have it or you don't. And speaking of the myth of borderline celiac disease, it is also a myth that you can "outgrow" it.
If ever you have been told you had borderline celiac disease, most likely this happened because you had some other condition (a bowel infection, for example) or were too-quickly labeled as having celiac disease without benefit of a small intestine biopsy: then, when you got better, you were told that you got better because you only have borderline celiac disease.
Another possibility is that you do in fact have the real deal: that is you were told you had borderline celiac disease,but you actully do have celiac disease. This is most likely to occur if the type of celiac disease you have is either silent or latent, form of the disease. These types of celiac disease are unassociated with symptoms.
Because celiac disease is so important a condition with so many health implications, if you've been diagnosed with "borderline celiac disease" we encourage you to speak to your physician to find out on what basis this determination was made. If you have a small intestine biopsy, ask your physician what it showed. If you didn't have a biopsy, ask what, if any, antibody studies were done.
If you were told long ago that you had borderline celiac disease, it may (or may not) be worth your while to be retested for celiac disease beginning with having appropriate antibody or genetic testing done. (Often a genetic test is a particularly good way to start since, if you don't have certain genes, you almost certainly cannot have had, or ever get, celiac disease) Be sure to speak to your current Doctor about this.
Reproduced from Celiac Disease for Dummies
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Myths, Misperceptions & Faleshoods About Coeliac Disease
I have been lucky enough to have received a copy of "Celiac Disease for Dummies" and excellent plain speaking guide to the newly diagnosed or, like me, managing the disease down the track. I wanted to share some of its wisdom with you so over the next few weeks I will reproduce some of the areas that I most commonly get asked about, especially the Myths, misperceptions and faleshoods. Unfortunately with the availability of the world wide web its extremely easy to find incorrect and sometimes dangerously wrong information. As I have said before, research, read, question the information you are given don't accept what you are told as Gospel truth, especially by non Medical groups or individuals, only a licensed Doctor can give you a diagnosis of any disease! The information I will state here for you is all proven medical information....
Myth #1 YOU MUST AVOID ALL PRODUCTS WITH GLUTEN
Sometimes it seems to us that gluten is about as ubiquitous as the air we all breathe. Gluten, can be found not only in foods, but also in some shampoos, creams and lotions. A commonly held myth is that if you have Coeliac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) using such gluten-containing products can triger your Coeliac Disease or your DH. In a word (well, two actually) IT CAN'T.
The only way that your Coeliac disease will be triggered is by you ingesting gluten. So long as your shampoo, cream, lotion, and so forth stay on your skin and out of your mouth (as if!), they won't come in contact with your small intestine and thus, will be unable to cause your disease to flare. This is also true of DH which, is a skin disease very closely linked with Coeliac disease. If you have DH it is safe for you to use gluten-containing topical products.
Lipstick may also contain gluten, but so long as your lipstick does as its name says it should - that is, stick to your lips - your insides will remain a stranger to your lipstick's gluten and thus, your use of lipstick won't pose a risk.
For the sake of completeness, we'll add on qualifier here: Albeit very rare it is possible that some speck of gluten-containing lipstick will, indeed, find its way into your insides and lead to problems. So if you're strictly avoiding gluten yet you continue to have gastrointestinal symptoms, make sure your lipstick is gluten free. you'll need to contact the lipstick manufacturer to find this out.
Reproduced from "Celiac Disease for Dummies"
Myth #1 YOU MUST AVOID ALL PRODUCTS WITH GLUTEN
Sometimes it seems to us that gluten is about as ubiquitous as the air we all breathe. Gluten, can be found not only in foods, but also in some shampoos, creams and lotions. A commonly held myth is that if you have Coeliac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) using such gluten-containing products can triger your Coeliac Disease or your DH. In a word (well, two actually) IT CAN'T.
The only way that your Coeliac disease will be triggered is by you ingesting gluten. So long as your shampoo, cream, lotion, and so forth stay on your skin and out of your mouth (as if!), they won't come in contact with your small intestine and thus, will be unable to cause your disease to flare. This is also true of DH which, is a skin disease very closely linked with Coeliac disease. If you have DH it is safe for you to use gluten-containing topical products.
Lipstick may also contain gluten, but so long as your lipstick does as its name says it should - that is, stick to your lips - your insides will remain a stranger to your lipstick's gluten and thus, your use of lipstick won't pose a risk.
For the sake of completeness, we'll add on qualifier here: Albeit very rare it is possible that some speck of gluten-containing lipstick will, indeed, find its way into your insides and lead to problems. So if you're strictly avoiding gluten yet you continue to have gastrointestinal symptoms, make sure your lipstick is gluten free. you'll need to contact the lipstick manufacturer to find this out.
Reproduced from "Celiac Disease for Dummies"
Canadian Celiac Association
I just received my new Member kit from the Canadian Celiac Association and I must say I'm impressed. Amongst the many sheets of information, Celiac Disease for Dummies and Acceptability of Food and Food Ingredients for the Gluten free diet books, is this wonderful no nonsense guide that I will reproduce for you.
10 FIRM WAYS TO MANAGE CELIAC DISEASE SO IT DOESN'T MANAGE YOU!!
1. Find a Doctor you trust, follow his or her medical advice, and try to stop worrying.
2. Accept the fact that you will probably have to do more cooking and baking "from scratch" than you used to. Take on the challenge and concentrate on the art of finessing gluten.
3.Read labels on all processed foods you may decide to try.
4. Guard against paranoia, which can be an uncomfortable burden. Prudence, not paranoia, is guidance to take to heart.
5. Resolve to stay as gluten-free as possible, then relax. In other words, don't cheat but try to be flexible.
6. Join a support group and go to meetings. Virtually all support groups need more help than they get. Pitch in.
7. Work on anger (with help if necessary): at the Doctors who misdiagnosed you or said you were nuts: at the family members who were also unbelieving: at the current society that sometimes dismisses gluten freedom as a bit of an eccentricity.
8. Have your first-degree child relatives tested. Explain the dangers to your first-degree adult relatives and encourage them to be tested. Recognise that the decision is theirs.
9. Focus on the benefits of the GF diet, not the burdens. It's a very healthy diet.
10. Accept the current reality of a gluten-filled world.
Interesting, that the Canadians focus on the emotional effects of CD, something I think we lack slightly here. The Australian mind set is more focused on the physical aspects rather than the emotional, something we should do more of!
10 FIRM WAYS TO MANAGE CELIAC DISEASE SO IT DOESN'T MANAGE YOU!!
1. Find a Doctor you trust, follow his or her medical advice, and try to stop worrying.
2. Accept the fact that you will probably have to do more cooking and baking "from scratch" than you used to. Take on the challenge and concentrate on the art of finessing gluten.
3.Read labels on all processed foods you may decide to try.
4. Guard against paranoia, which can be an uncomfortable burden. Prudence, not paranoia, is guidance to take to heart.
5. Resolve to stay as gluten-free as possible, then relax. In other words, don't cheat but try to be flexible.
6. Join a support group and go to meetings. Virtually all support groups need more help than they get. Pitch in.
7. Work on anger (with help if necessary): at the Doctors who misdiagnosed you or said you were nuts: at the family members who were also unbelieving: at the current society that sometimes dismisses gluten freedom as a bit of an eccentricity.
8. Have your first-degree child relatives tested. Explain the dangers to your first-degree adult relatives and encourage them to be tested. Recognise that the decision is theirs.
9. Focus on the benefits of the GF diet, not the burdens. It's a very healthy diet.
10. Accept the current reality of a gluten-filled world.
Interesting, that the Canadians focus on the emotional effects of CD, something I think we lack slightly here. The Australian mind set is more focused on the physical aspects rather than the emotional, something we should do more of!
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