A Personal Touch On...Celiac Disease: The Misdiagnosed Intestinal Disorder

by Peter Berlin

Book Overview

Celiac disease is a condition that presents itself with a variety of symptoms including but not limited to diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, headaches, malnutrition, and the list goes on. Members of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0974856606
• ISBN13: 9780974856605
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Personal Touch Publishing, LLC
• Length: 343 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Like Lurking on an Internet Support Group

This is a collection of personal experiences with celiac disease. The writers are ordinary people who either are gluten-intolerant or live with someone who is. The accounts are interesting. If you ever spent time in an internet group for a health-related condition, you will find the general tone of the stories familiar, except that they do not attack or otherwise comment on each other. The newly-diagnosed celiac will find encouragement within these stories. I learned from the writers that some celiacs get sick from trace amounts of gluten, even from a single crumb that gets on their food. This is alarming for those of us who sometimes eat out or who live with someone who loves wheat-based foods. Even occasional consumption of gluten can prevent a celiac's digestive tract from healing. Although the book was published in 2004, some claims are already out of date. Several people stated that McDonald's fries are gluten-free, but McDonald's now warns that the fries contain traces of both wheat and milk. So readers need to supplement this sort of book with current research. Personally I became impatient with the people who felt traumatized when they had to give up wheat. (They gave up certain other grains too but these were not missed as much.) I am allergic to over a dozen different foods and if I could eat everything except wheat, rye and barley, I would be thrilled. There were a couple of writers who did not tolerate dairy along with gluten, and I could relate to them a bit more. The best tip I found in this book was to look for celiac websites before you travel overseas. Many countries have celiac support groups and supposedly some of them list restaurants that can accommodate us. Also, I found a URL in the book for a list of "contaminated products" which should be useful except that it hasn't been updated in four years. This book is easy to understand. It should increase awareness of celiac disease. For those who need information on coping with this condition, it should be very helpful.

Excellent!

Superb for anyone diagnosed with celiac's disease or dermatitis herpetiformis or anyone with undiagnosed intestinal problems. As it says on the cover "Millions have it and don't know it." I was one of those undiagnosed for probably 10-15 years. Divided into chapters, you can select the ones most relevant to your symptoms, situation, or issue. Personal stories are written by every age group from kids through seniors, with valuable information also provided. Diagnosed folks will find it an inspiration; family and friends can be shown relevant parts to better understand the necessity for a gluten-free lifestyle - and what it feels like to make that change; and people with intestinal problems can raise questions with their doctors based on what they've learned. The only improvement I would suggest is a glossary of websites for celiac's and DH support and information at the end. There are a couple of them "hidden" within the stories and foreward.

Good for sufferers

The book is a good read for sufferers needing support. It gives various scenarios, symptoms, and suggestions from those who have been mis-diagnosed for as many as 30 or 40 years. The book does not, however, have much technical discussion of the disease or the protocol for treatment nor the prognosis for recovery or cure.

Great Book - Covers all the bases

I got this book last week and couldn't put it down. After a long struggle getting doctors to believe I wasn't crazy my IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)was finally diagnosed as celiac disease. It was wonderful, comforting and reassuring to read stories from so many others who have gone through what I went through. The book is extremely well-organized with lots of tips and tricks to help make gluten-free living easier. There are practical tips for traveling, eating out, setting up your kitchen, and planning vacations among other things. It addresses issues that seniors, teenagers, college students, parents of kids with celiac, and young children would face. It even has a piece written by a six year old about their first gluten-free Halloween. This is the information you need that you will not get from your doctor who has never spent a gluten-free day in his life. I loved this book and highly recommend it to all those with celiac whether you've just been diagnosed or have had it for a while.

Wonderful Book! A Must Read!

This book is wonderful! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has Celiac Disease, knows someone with Celiac Disease or for someone who just likes to broaden their medical knowledge. This book really does have a personal touch and is a joy to read, cover to cover. There is so much information in this book and reading others personal stories makes Celiac Disease sufferers feel like they are not alone. I hope that this book and others like it on Celiac Disease will bring more awareness to the topic and will help others to understand what living with this disease is like. I would HIGHLY recommend reading this book. You won't regret this purchase!