So, it’s invisible illness awareness week. It’s a bigger thing on Twitter than in real life, though.
Basically, an invisible illness is a medical condition that is not easily observed by the general public. They have no obvious physical symptoms to observers, and the illnesses last longer than a year. They limit what you can do in your life and how you act in public.
I have a invisible illness that’s not really well known. It’s called Celiac Disease. I’m highly allergic to gluten. Gluten is this protein that’s in wheat, barley, rye, and malt. So, it’s in things most people eat on a daily basis. It’s in bread, pastas, Poptarts, pizza, donuts, and a whole lot more. It really limits what the people with Celiac Disease can eat.
We do have other options. We can have corn, rice, and tapioca based products. There’s this brand of cereal that came out with nearly all gluten-free cereal types and it made me so happy it’s not even funny.
If someone with Celiac Disease does happen to eat gluten, the results can be terrifying or barely noticeable. The symptoms vary every single time. I’m one of the lucky ones whose symptoms don’t really show (except for some bad acne sometimes, UGH). Some ‘good’ symptoms are headaches, being really sleepy all the time, being really awake all the time, stomach pains, and a lot more crap. Some bad ones usually happen over time. You can get diabetes or even cancer from not treating your Celiac Disease. For example, I didn’t learn that I had Celiac Disease until I was 8 years old. If that had continued, it’s very possible I could’ve had diabetes by the age I am now.
I’ve done a lot of research on my disease. IT’S NOT CONTAGIOUS. If one more person asks me if its contagious I think I’ll go insane. However, most medics think it is genetic. My mom, my two sisters, and I have it. My dad and brother do not.
Celiac Disease is my invisible illness. Most people besides my close friends and family don’t even know I have it. I try to hide it, because when I don’t, it’s really, really, really, really, really weird to them.
Yea, I pretty much hate Celiac Disease. It’s the worst discovery I’ve had in my life. Going from Poptarts and donuts on Sunday mornings to cereal and eggs is a bigger change than it seems. Celiac Disease isn’t as life-threatening as some of those other invisible illnesses out there, but it’s my life, and it’s a huge part of it. Sometimes I feel like it still takes over my life. Sleepovers and parties are hard because, no I can’t have the pizza and cake you guys are ordering. I’ll sit here munching on my potato chips, thanks. And this will last the rest of my life. Unless somehow someone creates a ‘cure’….. *aggressively hopes*
So, now you’re aware of Celiac Disease. That’s my part of Invisible Illness Awareness Week. Hope you guys actually read this and learned something. I don’t like serious posts like this, but it’s worth it to take part in something like this.