READ MY STORY!

June 30 ---1st installment to my story.

From my heart and soul to yours.
My gluten intolerance nightmare started in 1986.
I was working a full time job at General Motors Purchasing. I felt sick all day every day. How I got up every morning at 4 am and worked all day is unbelievable to me as I think back. I was very weak and doubled over at my desk in pain but I never let anyone in the office know because I did not want to loose my job. There were many trips to ER. After a while they knew me by name which is not a good thing in the medical world.
Doctors told me time after time that I may have an ulcer or I may have irritable bowel problems from stress. I knew I was not stressed or worried about anything. My family was great and I loved my job.
Finally, I was referred to the University of Michigan Hospital Department of Internal Medicine. Because the University of Michigan Hospital is a teaching hospital, I was assigned to a resident for history and exam before the staff Dr. came in to see me. My doctor of record talked with the resident for his recommendation. My Dr. told me that the resident was ordering a biopsy of my small bowel because he found evidence in the exam I may have Celiac Disease (CD). He also told me he would not have ordered a biopsy because the symptoms of (CD) are so widely varied among patients. There are no typical symptoms. And a biopsy was not a routine test. My exam was not conclusive. My stomach was very blotted and painful and my blood work showed a B vitamin deficiency with anemia. These symptoms could be associated with many other problems or mean nothing at all.
The symptoms I did not think was important enough to tell them was;
* The start of psoriasis, which my mother had all over her entire body.
* Night vision deminished
* Very tired & weak all the time; I really didn't know how I worked a 40 hour a week job and continued to function.
* Lose of concentration
* Nervous and anxious for no reason
* Can not stay focused
I did learn that any changes in who are and how you are functioning should always be part of your exam.
An other point not in my favor was my weight. I was considered obese. He said the majority of people with CD are anorexic or very thin. I think since 1986 even this belief has changed.
The biopsy was positive. The Dr. did not believe the results. He ask if I would work with him. He gave me a very strict gluten free diet for one month. On and off the diet and 4 more biopsies, he finally agreed CD was my diagnosis.