If you get USA Today, you probably noticed the large insert dedicated to Celiac Awareness. If you don’t, no worries, you can read the insert here. This insert will reach over 1 million readers nationwide! I just can’t say enough how happy this makes me! The thought of someone needlessly suffering because they don’t know what is wrong makes me sad. Have then been to the doctor and they doctor didn’t test them? Is the doctor not familiar with Celiac or did the doctor brush them off? With the help of this ad, hopefully anyone that is suffering can go to their doctor armed with this information and ask for the test.

I know that I have mentioned it before, but I want to mention it again. I had to practically beg our pediatrician to test Jon for Celiac Disease. Even though I found out about myself 6 months earlier and started asking then, he said that Jon didn’t fit the “classic symptoms”. Classic symptoms can be defined as diarrhea, weight loss, malnourishment or dermatitis herpetiformis. Jon had none of the above. Jon was in the 95% for weight & height and had no diarrhea. Jon did have constipation and had some ADHD like symptoms. In May of 2006, we had Jon evaluated for ADHD. His grades had dropped & he couldn’t sit still in class. He was always been active, but his grades were always good. I put my foot down and said there would be no medication for ADHD until we did the blood work for Celiac. I had read in many places that sometimes children can have ADHD like symptoms with untreated/undiagnosed Celiac. We did the blood work and the doctor called me himself. He apologized and told me that Jon had a very positive result. His ttg number was supposed to be under 20 and his was 222. We scheduled his endoscopy & biopsy and confirmed that he did indeed have Celiac disease.

So, if you or a friend or family member has unexplained symptoms and has not been feeling right, don’t be afraid to speak up! Be an advocate for your health. You can view a symptom checklist here.