TITLE: Hi folks
AUTHOR: Possum
DATE: 8/22/2004 06:24:08 PM
-----
BODY:
Hi everyone, Some of you reading this will have already read about me on my other diary, "What's MALToma?" Well I also have another condition called celiac disease. It does not allow me to process gluten and if I do eat it I become sick. Gluten is found in a lot of foods. It is a protein that is in a lot of cereals. As you can imagine it can make for a very boring diet if you are not into experimentation with food!!!

I was diagnosed one year ago this month. I had suffered years of chronic gastric reflux and acid indigestion (about 10 years). I got a bad dose of gastro and after two weeks when I still had not gotten over it I went to my local doctor and asked them to find out what was wrong. They were not to interested so I also asked them to test me for celiac disease. They did the test which checks for an enzyme in your blood and it came back positive. The doctor was rather surprised by this but I almost felt relieved. The only absolute test for coeliac is to have a gastroscopy. I was booked in for one and the biopsies that they took from my small intestine confirmed the initial diagnosis.

Since then I have been on a bit of a hit and miss with my diet. I was not really sure of what I should be eating and what I shouldn't. I finally joined the celiac society of Victoria and they sent me out a heap of information and recipes.

I am really starting to get the hang of this diet now but sometimes I forget to read the labels on things before I eat them and I sure have to pay for it for the next couple of days.

Anyway that is a little about my coeliac and I will update this as I navigate my way through the mine field of food additives!!!!

-----
--------