Celiac Disease

So, recently a good friend of mine began experiencing Celiac Disease-type symptoms. While it is not officially confirmed that she in fact has Celiac Disease (she is awaiting the test results) this is another example of a female who may have developed a chronic autoimmune disease in her early 20s. This also brings my grand total of close Friends With Autoimmune Diseases (it’s like the Justice League only they fight off their own attacking bodily defense systems instead of Lex Luthor or Dr. Octopus or…. Rick Santorum) to 4.

 

FOUR people, who are all young women in their 20s, developed chronic conditions without warning. It’s like after 9/11 when people began receiving those packages filled with white powder and everyone thought, “ANTHRAX! AHHHHHHHHHHH!” even though it was usually just flour. But then…sometimes it WAS anthrax. Now, every possible flu-related symptom makes me nervous, like that sore throat isn’t a bacteria build-up, it’s my body eating its own vocal chords. BWWAHAHAHAHA! But I digress…. (Autoimmune diseases are serious and my throat is not eating itself).

CELIAC DISEASE! What is it? Who gets it? What are the symptoms? How do you fight it? All these facts and MORE will now be reveled to you.

1) What is Celiac Disease? Celiac disease is a lifelong inherited autoimmune condition affecting children and adults. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. Even small amounts of gluten in foods can affect those with CD and cause health problems. Damage can occur to the small bowel even when there are no symptoms present.

2) What is Gluten? Gluten is the common name for the proteins in specific grains that are harmful to persons with celiac disease. These proteins are found in ALL forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn and faro) and related grains rye, barley and triticale and MUST be eliminated.

Imagine saying goodbye forever to bread. Pancakes, waffles, pasta, pizza, even things you wouldn’t think have gluten in them like pickles, blue cheese, soy sauce, and some kinds of chocolate. SOME KINDS OF CHOCOLATE!?!?! That one…that one hurts.

3) What are the symptoms? Oh, these symptoms are loads of fun ‘yall. There’s bloating, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, anemia, bone or joint pain, irritability, fatigue, infertility, canker sores, tooth discoloration and unexplained weight loss or weight gain. To me, some of these symptoms seem kind of vague and, each one on its own, or even some combined, could be caused by a plethora of other wonderful ailments, such as the flu, herpes, eating McDonalds or a hangover. I can guarantee you that if you ask any college student, they will tell you they experience one of these symptoms on a weekly basis (I work with them, I know). Doctors urge you NOT to self-diagnose and get specific blood tests to determine if you have CD or not. On a side note, who invented WebMD? Talk about a way to freak yourself out. 

PROGRAMING NOTE: Drawing comics is mentally and physically challenging for me. I am only so capable people. So, the remainder of my FABULOUS accompanying pictures will be internet wrought. I know, I know, laziness.

But I guess it’s better than that time I was at camp and whenever a girl would get a fever or nauseous the MALE on-staff doctor would immediately ask, “Are you pregnant?” followed by “Are you suuuuuuuuuure?” Gee, I didn’t know you could get a medical license from watching the 16 And Pregnant All Day Marathon (curse you MTV!) Thanks Doctor Shamesyoualot. How fortunate my roommate was to have you there to insinuate she was a silly, unknowing slut and not someone suffering from a head cold.

4) Who gets CD? 1 out of 133 people have CD and 97% of them go undiagnosed. 97%! Furthermore, more people have CD than those with Crohn’s Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease COMBINED! Given the commonality of some of the symptoms, and depending on how severe and frequent they are, some people just experience mild discomfort after they eat a bowl of pasta. But, it’s more than just mild discomfort and the need to reach for the TUMS…..

5) What does CD do to your body? When people with CD eat gluten, the villi (tiny hair-like projections in the small intestine that absorb nutrients from food) are damaged. Damaged villi do not effectively absorb basic nutrients – proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and, in some cases, water and bile salts. If CD is left untreated, damage to the small bowel can be chronic and life threatening, causing an increased risk of associated disorders – both nutritional and immune related.

Left untreated CD can also turn into Dermatitis Herpetiformis, the skin manifestation of CD. DH is characterized by blistering, intensely itchy skin. The rash has a symmetrical distribution and is most frequently found on the face, elbows, knees and buttocks.  What gets me is that it’s symmetrical. Why symmetrical? It’s like some evil gypsy curse.

Down Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Williams Syndrome are also linked to CD. Talk about the Family Tree from hell.

6) What are the treatments? So, good news is, while there is no cure there is a non-medication related solution to managing CD. The only treatment is the lifelong adherence to the gluten-free diet. When gluten is removed from the diet, the small intestine will start to heal and overall health improves.

Adapting to the gluten-free diet requires some lifestyle changes. It is essential to read labels which are often imprecise, and to learn how to identify ingredients that may contain hidden gluten. Even small amounts of ingested gluten can affect those with CD and cause health problems.

So, while there is a lot of research you have to do, and a strict vigilance you must maintain to not eat foods with gluten (it’s even in beer…AND Root Beer!) at least you normally don’t have to start a cycle of pills. But… still, how do you watch Top Chef after being diagnosed with CD and not want to throw your gluten-free beer at Padma Lakshmi’s head.

Also….WE REACHED OUR GOAL! $1000 DOLLARS HAS BEEN RAISED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS FEDERATIONS! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who donated. And, no worries, my charity will still take your money so please, to all of you who haven’t yet donated GO HERE TO DO SO!

Next up…the actual marathon! The running will begin at 9am at the Coliseum on March 18. So, yeah…I said I was gonna run that thing…so...no turning back now, right? (p.s. my mother is coming to watch me run and she will literally kick my butt if I so much as emit a whiny sigh about it, so yeah, I’m running 26 miles next Sunday).