This morning Good Morning America did a piece on....

[Judy]

celiac. Wonderful to know it's finally finding it's way to the mainstream.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1543835
_________________
Judy

[Professor]

I don't know how the segment on TV was, but this article is pretty bad.

"Gluten is found in lipstick, gum, and processed foods." That's not so tough, right? Well, what ever happened to wheat, rye, barley, and oats? A person reading this would think we can eat everything else. Might they have mentioned bread, pizza, pasta, baked goods, etc?

And the symptoms they mentioned were all GI related -- all of us know that only half of people with celiac have GI symptoms -- the remainder have none, or other stuff. Grrr. I appreciate that they are trying, but let's be a bit more factual, especially since this is journalism!

[Judy]

I only saw a portion of the show, but the woman did talk about wheat, etc. Sorry the article wasn't more helpful...
_________________
Judy

[Noatak]

I saw that piece also and got all excited at the thought that they were bringing Celiac's to national attention....until I saw the story. I agree with Lexi in that they only mentioned the GI symptoms of an active, in distress Celiac and not the more obscure but persistent symptoms. Do you think people are going to go running to their doctor's when they realize the dietary changes that have to be made? NOT! When that young woman that was featured said, "You just can't stop and pick up a sub or pizza to eat anymore...." I could just imagine the denial snapping into mode!

I am going through this now with my family. I sent a letter at the beginning of the week to my relatives who should be tested, outlining the disease and what could happen if they don't find out if they have it or not. I have suspicions of who may have it already as there are a few who have autoimmune diseases and have some symptoms. I have now been elevated to the position of pariah in my family.....some are not happy I am pressing this. Luckily, I am a strong person emotionally and although disappointed, I'll move on and not hold it against them too much. But it's getting tiring swimming upstream all the time!

[cruelshoes]

Noatak, I know exactly what you are going through. I have begged my first degree relatives to get tested, but none of them will do it. My dad told me flat out that there was no way he would get tested because "they'd probably tell me I have it, and I couldn't possibly deal with it". My sister and mother don't seem too interested either. The only thing I could do was get my kids tested because, contrary to their belief, I AM THE BOSS OF THEM. Lo and behold, my son was positive.

Maybe the rest of my family will have to wait to get really sick before they get tested. I have dropped it for now, but I have to bite a hole in my tongue every time they complain about their acid reflux or IBS or colitis....
_________________
-Colleen

Where are we going, and what am I doing in this handcart?

[Noatak]

Yeah, Colleen, I have scars all over my tongue from the same thing!!!!!
I cannot imagine anyone getting that upset over ditching Wonder bread from their diet! My mother has flaming symptoms and sometimes cannot leave the house because of the D problem AND her sister has had colon cancer but she always tells me someone is at the door when I phone her and talk about CD. It's becoming quite comical for my husband and myself.....in a weird way.

Good work with your kids! If you hadn't had your son tested, think how sick he could have become. You can always take him to Outbacks for that killer brownie sundae when he's craving a gooey dessert! It would be a great place for a kids birthday party. The other kids wouldn't even know they were eating sans gluten.

[Professor]

[Noatak]

You have a good attitude, Lexi! It's a hard sell for many Americans though as I find our culture trains people to become food addicts from a young age.
And all the wrong foods to boot. Then we have the medical profession pushing medication all the time so if the problem cannot be cured with a pill, many people are not interested in fixing it.

I would put a month's pay on the fact that my mother has Celiac's yet she just does not want to hear it. It makes it very hard for me to feel sorry and offer comfort when she has her "bouts" of intestinal distress. Actually, she hides things from me now, like an addict hides their behavior, so I won't even bring it up. I was going to send her the "Wheat Free, Worry Free" book to read but why bother....she'll put it aside and ignore it. I am finding that and "The Gluten Free Bible" a wealth of good information...in fact, sometimes I think there are too many good GF foods available. Once the intestines start to heal and a person starts some weight gain, you'll be wanting to avoid those for the most part or end up with a weight problem!

I sent the infamous letter to my family a week ago and now they are just plain out ignoring me! I swear they'd rather have cancer than change their diet a bit!