What is Celiac and why do you have to be gluten free?

I am often asked what is Celiac and what happens when you eat gluten? I'll give you a crash course. Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease. It was once thought that it was extremely rare and that it was a childhood illness. Well that can't be further from the truth. It turns out that 1 out of every 133 people in the U.S. has Celiac. Unfortunately about only 1% of those people are diagnosed. It can develop at any age as well.

Why do I have to stay gluten free? Gluten is in wheat, rye, barley and some oats. It is the protein that causes the auto-immune reaction in a person that has Celiac disease. This only happens if I eat it. Some people get a skin problem, even if it just touches them. I guess I'm lucky I don't have that problem.

Any who, many people ask what happens if I eat gluten. Well it's pretty ugly really. For me a few different things happen. There is as many as 120 different symptoms that can happen. Personally I end up in the bathroom. I feel as if I will turn inside out, with horrible stomach cramps. I often wish I could take my intestines out and give them a good scrubbing and put them back inside. LOL.

That is the main reaction I have. But if I get a real good reaction, then I will toss my cookies as well. It is always such a great time when you sit on the john with a bucket on your lap, because you have both ends going. If I'm real lucky, I end up super dehydrated. Then it's a trip to the emergency room. This is the only way the reaction will stop. I get an I.V. with all the good lactated ringers to juice me back up. The most I have ever had to get was 3 full I.V. bags before I had to pee. That was the time my blood pressure dropped so bad, they thought I was going to die. Good Times, let me tell you.

So needless to say I avoid gluten like the bubonic plague. The wacky thing about Celiac disease is no 2 people have the exact same symptoms. So it makes it very hard to diagnose. It's sad when your food is what is making you sick.