A woman has discovered she has been "poisoning" herself for the past ten years after being incorrectly told she did not have celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition triggered by the consumption of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. This causes the body's immune system to mistakenly attack the small intestine.
Over time, this immune reaction damages the lining of the small intestine, making it harder for the body to absorb nutrients from food. Symptoms can include diarrhea, bloating, stomach pain, fatigue, headaches, anemia, and weight loss. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 2 million Americans have celiac disease, while roughly 1 percent of the global population is affected.
In a post shared to Reddit under the handle u/rebelnori, a woman explained that she was originally diagnosed with celiac disease when she was 12-years-old, but everything changed after a blood test ordered by her doctor indicated she was slightly above the normal range. She adopted a strict gluten-free diet for the next 10 years but experienced no meaningful relief from her symptoms. That was when she consulted a gastroenterologist, who ordered a series of tests, including multiple blood tests, fecal testing, and an upper endoscopy with biopsies.
The results appeared to show no evidence of celiac disease. I was just misdiagnosed all those years ago!" she recalled thinking. "I can eat gluten again!" Seeking reassurance, she contacted her gastroenterologist's office and said a nurse confirmed there were no signs of celiac disease and that she could resume eating gluten.
Relieved, she returned to a normal diet. But 10 years later, after continuing to struggle with gastrointestinal issues and developing new symptoms, she returned to the same specialist for further investigation. This time, blood tests, an upper endoscopy, and a colonoscopy produced a very different outcome.
According to the Redditor, the results were "strongly supportive" of celiac disease. Confused, she questioned how the condition could have apparently disappeared only to reappear years later. Her gastroenterologist then explained that the earlier testing had been performed while she was already following a strict gluten-free diet.
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