The Letter
It said :-
"The blood tests suggest that you are malabsorbing Vitamin B12 and that you have coeliac disease."
Just like that!
Not much further explanation, although he did say I should continue with the injections. No suggestion I ring or visit my GP!
I do know about coeliac disease having met several in the last few years and also a friend of ours had a son that way in the 1970's.
It really is a gluten intolerance, where gluten irritates the small intestine and causes it to not work properly. As gluten is found mainly in wheat, barley and some other cereals, you just avoid them. This means basically no bread, cakes, biscuits, puddings, pasta and beer!
Cakes, biscuits and puddings are not that important to me, I like pasta, but beer and bread will be the difficult ones.
In many cases the Internet is a good resource for this type of problem. Type 'coeliac disease' into Google and you get a lot of results, mostly from the States and a lot of them commercial and fear-inducing.
The Coeliac UK site is a rather flash site with music, which always puts me off. Too many sites like this are all 'Style and no Substance'. Their site is not, but to join and get the information I want you have to be a registered sufferer!
The latter just annoyed me!
I've definitely got something wrong as I don't absorb B12. But then I always claim I'm a scientist and engineer, who likes to do research, so why don't I just work it all out for myself!
First research showed that at least wine, provided it was from grapes, was OK, so at least I wouldn't have to become tee-total!
Link to External Site
posted by James Miller | 7:35 am
2 Comments:
Actually, I believe that coeliac disease is an allergy; I don't have the disease - I am gluten intolerant (which always makes me think that I should stand opposite the bread in a supermarket and shout at it in a huffy manner).
The difference..? I need a gluten free diet, but cannot get any food on prescription (so I pay outrageous prices instead - over £1 per bread roll). I also cannot register with thee coeliac society to get the publications which tell me what is safe for me to eat.
Go figure!
On the UK-Coeliac list there are quite a few like you. Join and you may get some help.
Coeliac disease though is a many-headed hydra and symptoms show themselves in many ways. I had chronic dandruff for a start!
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