Adjusting To a Celiac Disease Diagnosis

How to emotionally and physically handle your first few months

Photo by Pierre Herman on Unsplash

I was diagnosed with Celiac disease on December 13th, 2020, the day my intestinal biopsy results came in. I’ll always remember the date. If 2020 wasn’t a crazy enough year, this autoimmune diagnosis certainly threw a wrench in my year.

It’s a condition where your body has an autoimmune reaction to gluten, destroying your small intestine.

I was scared. I was frustrated. I was mad (bread was quite literally my favorite food). I did some of the “why me?” I was sad. I mourned the loss of foods I had loved to eat. I mourned the loss of easy meals and eating out and traveling.

Now, 10 months later, I’ve adjusted a bit. To be honest, I think it’ll be a lifelong adjustment. But I do think that after the first 3 months I became significantly more comfortable, and more accepting.

I know everyone’s journey is different. Here is how I personally coped.

Day 1

The first day I cried a lot, I’m not going to lie. I laid down on my bed and I let myself be sad. I can’t stress how important I think this is. It’s okay to grieve. No, it’s not a fatal cancer diagnosis. But it is something that will alter your everyday life drastically.