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Celiac Success Stories
Hilary Davidson
New York, NY
Diagnosed in 2004
Tell us about your symptoms before you were diagnosed with celiac disease?
When I was eight, my parents took me to specialists to figure out why my mouth and tongue were often coated with ulcers. After antibiotics for bacterial infections and treatments for thrush failed to clear up the problem, my parents were told that the real culprit was stress. Later, a naturopathic doctor suggested that the ulcers were a symptom of malnutrition, which baffled us at the time.

As a teenager I started to have migraine headaches. I also developed hypoglycemia, and I occasionally had a rash on my legs. The problem with mouth ulcers got worse, not only because they were painful, but because they sometimes prevented me from eating or speaking. In my early twenties, I started having stomach problems. I didn't consider myself a sickly person - I'd earned a brown belt in karate and was involved in other martial arts - but my health problems seemed to get worse every year. By the time I was 29, I'd had two deep-vein blood clots, which mystified hematologists. I'm a journalist, and I joked with my editors that my many health issues gave me fodder for articles, since they caused me to write about my problems and medical mysteries.

Ironically, I found out about celiac disease through my work. An editor from Living Without magazine asked me to write a profile of a woman who'd experienced three decades of celiac symptoms before she was diagnosed with the disorder. I talked to her extensively after our interview, telling her about my symptoms. She strongly recommended that I get tested. Journalists often joke that we're the world's biggest hypochondriacs, since we're the first to hear about new studies and we wonder if we might have some exotic new illness. I was astonished when I tested positive for celiac disease.


Tell us what has your life been like since being diagnosed with celiac disease?
I couldn't believe how much my life changed when I went on the gluten-free diet. My migraines vanished, along with my hypoglycemia and stomach problems. I hadn't thought of myself as fatigued before, but suddenly my energy level went through the roof. Most amazingly, the mouth ulcers, which had tormented me for years, disappeared completely.

After the diagnosis, I had a bone-density scan, which was in the normal range. However, one problem didn't clear up very easily: I've had ongoing problems with anemia. My doctor and I have discussed the possibility that the two deep-vein blood clots I had were related to celiac disease, but this is an issue that needs medical study before anyone can answer it conclusively. (There has been research about celiac disease and blood clots at a handful of medical centers around the world, including the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the studies have been limited in scope.)

While I was deeply grateful for the vast improvements in my health, I was worried about my career. I was a journalist who specialized in restaurant reviewing and travel writing. I wondered if I'd ever eat out again, let alone go on a trip. As it turned out, mainstream restaurant reviewing wasn't something I could do with celiac disease—but travel writing was. My editor at Frommer's Travel Guides was completely supportive, as were the editors at the various magazines I contribute to. I wrote my first feature article about celiac disease for Fitness magazine; it was published in August 2005. Several readers wrote to the magazine in the months that followed, saying that they had since tested positive for celiac disease.

Since being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2004, I've traveled to Peru, Chile, Easter Island, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. I've also traveled extensively through North America. I started my Website, Gluten-Free Guidebook, in March 2009 because I wanted to help others with celiac disease/gluten intolerance travel well, too. I don't feel that anyone should ever have to limit their enjoyment of life because of celiac disease—I haven't!


Favorites

What is your favorite GF restaurant?
Risotteria in New York
and Il Fornello in Toronto

What is your favorite menu item?
Carnaroli risotto with roasted chicken, porcini and pine nuts
and The Fudgie (two giant GF chocolate-chip cookies held together
with chocolate fudge)

Where do you buy your food?
Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Fairway in New York

What is your favorite GF store bought cookie?
Trader Joe's Ginger Snaps

What is your favorite specialty GF food?
Papadini lentil bean pasta by Adrienne's Gourmet Foods



If you would like to submit your own Celiac Success Story,
please use the form below.

Name:
City, State, Country:
Date Diagnosed:
Tell us about your symptoms before you were
diagnosed with celiac disease:
Tell us what your life has been like
since being diagnosed with celiac disease:
What is your favorite GF restaurant?:
What is your favorite menu item?:
Where do you buy GF food?:
What is your favorite GF cookie or biscuit?
What is your favorite GF specialty food?:

By submitting your story and photo, you agree to allow Celiac Handbook to publish them for an indefinite period of time to its Website, www.celiachandbook.com.

If you would like to submit a photo, please email it to us. Acceptable file formats are .jpg, .tif or .psd. All images should be cropped to 150 x 150 pixels without a border (all larger images will be cropped to fit these dimensions. If a photo is not submitted, a generic silhouette image will be used.




 
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