Ellie

Ellie Celiac Story

My name is Ellie, and I’m 25 years old. I was diagnosed with coeliac in 2015 after a long and horrible journey of stomach problems. As a child and at school, I was sick an awful lot. I suffered from extreme fatigue, stomach pains, bloating, headaches, brain fog, diarrhea, constipation, mood changes, anxiety, and depression, to name a few.

I was in and out of hospital with stomach-related issues, and each time, there was never a conclusion as to what was causing me discomfort. I would be back and forth to the doctors, and every time, I was told that it was suspected IBS and to keep a food diary.

I looked extremely malnourished and ill, and I had lost a considerable amount of weight, weighing only 6 stone. I remember my parents telling me I looked grey.

Anything I ate came straight back up or out. I was starting to worry for my health as I couldn’t work out why I was the way I was.

One day, I had blood in my stool, and that’s when the doctors finally decided to take action. I was immediately referred to the hospital, where they started to run tests as they suspected a stomach ulcer. They tested me for Crohn’s, coeliac, and my vitamin levels.

After a few weeks, I had a phone call about my results. The lady on the other end of the call told me that I tested ‘extremely positive’ for coeliac disease and that I should stop eating gluten immediately. I didn’t know what coeliac was at the time, so I was a bit confused as to what I had just been told. I remember sitting in the car with my mum, and we googled what coeliac disease was and the strict gluten-free lifestyle that I would have to live by. I remember just bursting into tears and realizing how life would change. Going on holiday wouldn’t be the same, going out for dinner wouldn’t be the same, and everything felt overwhelming.

Gluten-free food has come such a long way since I was first diagnosed. I remember looking at the aisle in the shops and thinking, ‘Why me? Why do I have to live like this, and everyone else can eat whatever they want? At the time, I hated my body for attacking itself over gluten! I couldn’t understand it.

I had my appointment with the specialist who explained more about coeliac and how important it is to maintain a gluten-free diet to improve my health and well-being. It made me realize that it was a condition I would have to learn to love.

Because it wasn’t going to go away. I was booked in for a colonoscopy and endoscopy, which showed my villi completely nonexistent! He explained that my villi needed to look like ‘fingers’ again; therefore, following a gluten-free diet would allow them to flourish like normal.

After a few months of following the correct diet, I started to feel so much better; my skin color changed from grey to glowing, my brain felt clearer, the headaches stopped, and the bloating went down. My relationship with my coeliac became a lot better, and I realized that getting your menu at a restaurant and being catered for specifically is great!

It has definitely ups and downs like trying new restaurants, potentially being gluten, flare-ups, and traveling to different countries. But life doesn’t have to stop with coeliac.

If you’re careful, you can still enjoy delicious food and travel without gluten!