Celiac Tribute to my HESA Family

Two years ago I started my journey towards earning a Master's degree. In less than 24 hours I will be crossing the stage with 45 amazing individuals. This post is not only a "Thank You" to my HESA family, but also a Celiac confession.

 During our Welcome Month in August of 2013, I remember having a Celiac pitty party. It seemed like all of the events revolved around food, and I just didn't want to be "that girl." I use the saying "that girl" based on a youtube video that I watched during the first year of my diagnosis. You can check it out HERE. It talks about the stigma and labels people place on Celiacs, and how it makes us feel. More than anything it shows that we really do not like being "that girl." I highly recommend checking it out, it kind of shows all the feelings I feel on the daily basis. When starting my HESA journey I did not want my class to think of me as a picky eater, high maintenance, snobby, etc. I wanted them to like me and to just fit in on this brand new journey. You would think as a 22 year old adult I would have been over the whole fitting in phase. What is this high school? 

On a night that I was talking to my mom, and complaining about my celiac disease, she reminded me that this was an oppotunity for me to educate all of my new peers, instead of running away from the opportunity and social engagements.

So "THANK YOU" USC HESA Class of 2015. I know it must get old listening to my Gluten Free rants and request, but I really appreciate you taking the time to listen. You may not realize it but you have helped me come to terms with this disease during these past two years. When I first started here I was still grieving with my past life. Some of the friends I have made in the Celiac Community even called me a "Celiac Baby" due to the fact I was still healing from the emotions that my new lifestyle brought me. However, during these past two years you have shown me patience and kindness with learning about this disease, and I am truly grateful. Even though my diet excludes a lot of food items, you have went out of your way to make me feel included even if I could not indulge in the food aspect of our social gatherings. You have even been willing to try some of my gluten free alternatives like Mac n' Cheese and my Rice Krispee treats, and have even tried to make gluten free items yourself for me to try. Words can never really describe how thankful I am for all of you.

To the USC HESA Class of 2016, I hope you uphold the traditions that we have started implementing at GARP and Orientation. Like letting those with dietary restrictions get their food first and having ingredients listed on food items. I firmly believe it sets our program apart and shows just how family orientated we are at Carolina.

All of my love and appreciation for the whole USC HESA family. I am excited to see where we all end up. Who knows you might meet a student with Celiac Disease in your new role, and you will know how to help!

Always, 

- Jodie

If you have any questions for the blog please submit them HERE.

Life before it was Gluten Free

Commonly when I am sharing my story of how I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a lot of people wonder what symptoms I had prior to my diagnosis and for how long. This is an infographic designed by an awesome Celiac Blogger Gluten Dude. It shows the most common symptoms reported by Celiacs prior to their diagnosis.

From an early age I always had stomach problems. I remember complaining to my parents about a stomachache around my belly button when I was younger. I can't tell you an exact time of when my symptoms started because for as long as I could remember I always felt horrible. However I think that my Celiac went full force during high school. However, I thought the way I was feeling was completely normal and was just how the rest of my life would be.

Using the above infographic as a guide, the symptoms listed below are all the symptoms I experienced prior to my diagnosis. I will also put in parenthesis the prevalence of this symptoms on a daily,weekly, or monthly basis.


Oral Symptoms: 
- Mouth sores (Once every few months)

Female Specific:
- N/A

Intestinal: 
- Acid Reflux (Daily)
- Bloating (Daily)
- Constipation (Daily, would alternate with Diarrhea)
- Diarrhea (Daily, would alternate with constipation)
- Gas (Daily)
- Nausea (Daily)
- Stomach Pain (Daily)

Joint/Muscle: 
- Joint pain/stiffness (Daily)
- Leg cramps (Weekly)

Vitamin Deficiencies: 
- N/A

Brain: 
- ADD (Daily)
-Anxiety (Daily)
- Brain Fog (Daily)
- Depression (Only experienced one case of being severely depressed prior to my diagnosis)
- Irritability (Daily)
- Mood Swings (Daily)

Skin:
- Acne (Developed horrible acne in high school)
- Bruising (Would have bruises for no reason as a child)
- Dandruff (Weekly)
- Skin Rashes (This commonly would happen when I would visit a water park)

Miscellaneous: 
- Chronic Fatigue (Daily)
- Dizziness (This was not a constant thing but would hit me really hard)
- GERD (Daily)
- Headaches (Daily)
- Migraines (Once every 3 months)
- Seizures (Experienced during Childhood)
- Sleeping issues (Always had trouble sleeping growing up)

As you see I experienced a lot of symptoms prior to being diagnosed.  Some Celiac's have experienced more symptoms than me, others have experienced less. When I went gluten free all of these symptoms were either eliminated or greatly reduced. I even remember telling my mom a few weeks into my gluten free lifestyle that I felt awake for the first time in my whole life. There is a saying in the Celiac Community that life starts after going gluten free. For me this was incredibly true! I have felt better the past four years than I did the first twenty. So if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms think about getting tested, because you too can live life wide awake like me.

Until next time,

- Jodie

Submit questions/topics for the blog HERE.

Celiac Awareness Month 2015

 Wow I can't believe it is May already!! Where has the year 2015 gone?

This is a very special month for me because I will be graduating from the University of South Carolina with my Master's Degree! Earning a Master's has been a life long dream of mine, and it is amazing that I am days from achieving it.

This month marks the fourth May of me being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. When you put that into perspective that is the length of High School! Even though it has been four years I still have ups and downs in regards to this disease. I try my hardest to joke about it with my family, friends, and co-workers because I know it is equally hard for them as it is for me. It also sometimes takes the edge off of it.

Now, in previous years I have been very inconsistent when it comes to posting throughout the month of May. Simply because life happens! So I am more than likely not going to post everyday, unless people really want me to talk about something in particular.

This year I wanted to gear my blog more to the audience! What do you want to learn about? What are questions that you have always wanted to ask but never felt comfortable doing so? I have created a Google Form where you can submit request and questions throughout the month. Request are bigger questions that I can dedicate a whole post to, questions are smaller items that I can simply answer in a few sentences.

So welcome to my blog and I hope we get to discuss lots throughout this month!

- Jodie