The First Diagnosis

People have been encouraging me for quite a while to share my experiences. As you can see I have finally relented. Let me first start by telling you all a little about myself and why I want share my story...

I am 25 years old and I live in St. Louis, MO. Due to my various medical conditions I have been out of work since April 2010, have had to quit school and have been placed on disability. This was definitely not the life I planned on or envisioned for myself! But as most of you are well aware life is never as you expect it and you have to adapt to survive.

Pretty much since the day I was born I have struggled with various medical conditions. From chronic ear and sinus infections, being a strep carrier, endometriosis and chronic bronchitis. None of medical conditions seemed connected and no one, not parents or doctors, really believed something was seriously wrong. Not until New Years Day 2007. At first I figured I had the "stomach flu". But after weeks of not keeping food down I decided to see my PCP who sent me to my very first gastroenterologist.

I met with the gastroenterologist and he ordered an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy), which is where under anesthesia they insert a camera down your esophagus into your stomach and your small intestine to look for abnormalities and signs of disease.  After the procedure he went over the results of the EGD and the biopsies he took and explained there were no abnormalities. Nothing to explain the "stomach flu" type symptoms I had been having for about 6 weeks. He then proceeded to tell me based on my weight loss that it was all in my head or that I was bulimic and claiming to have a medical condition to cover it up. He subsequently referred me to a psychiatrist

Needless to say I was somewhat less than impressed with him and refused to contact the psychiatrist. I decided to just deal with it and cope as best as I can. My coping lasted only another three weeks before I had to be admitted to the hospital. I had lost close to 20 lbs, (being 5'3'' and only weighing about 125lbs) was dehydrated, and in severe stomach pain. In the hospital I was assigned to a new gastroenterologist and had another EGD. This time instead of finding absolutely nothing she said there was significant sign of disease, my entire abdominal tract looked red and "angry" and there was definitely something going on. Her first impression was Crohn's Disease and I was discharged from the hospital with that initial diagnosis and would follow up at her office a couple weeks later.

I began doing Crohn's research immediately to see what my prognosis would be. In one book I purchased there was a section of diseases that were often misdiagnosed as Crohn's. There was a short little paragraph about Celiac Sprue an autoimmune condition that caused the body to attack and destroy the intestines when the patient consumed gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. I thought to myself, man that disease would SUCK! and never gave it another thought!

When my follow up appointment came I felt I was prepared to deal with Crohn's and was maintaining a positive outlook. The last thing I was expecting was for her to come into the room, place her hand on my shoulder and say "Angela, you have Celiac Disease. You will need to follow a strict gluten free diet for the rest of your life, starting immediately!" It was like all the wind was knocked out of me! And thus my Celiac and autoimmune journey began!