Ellen WIlcox

Topics discussed

Common symptoms
Misdiagnoses

Video Text

I was, I think 27 when I was pregnant with my first daughter and I got the typical morning sickness but as my pregnancy continued, the nausea didn’t stop. And in fact it seemed to get worse and I would just vomit a lot. The strange thing is it continued after – you know – after I had my baby and it would be horrible vomiting where it would just hit me shortly after I ate something and it would be projectile and if I didn’t run to the bathroom to throw up I’d be sweaty and pale and very, very ill and nobody really offered much to me of a diagnoses.

I was very concerned, actually that people would think that I was a hypochondriac. Or that something other was wrong with me. I ended up with Protonix because Nexium didn’t work and we increased the dose and it still didn’t work and then we tried the Protonix and increased that so I was taking a lot. And it dawned on me on me, after several years that it seemed to be getting worse and I was feeling that way again everyday, all the time.

So I already had this endoscopy scheduled when my husband’s sister called me – and this was so interesting because she was plagued her whole life with horrible gastrointestinal problems that had gotten very severe – she called me in November to tell me that she was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease. And we see the same gastroenterologist, so I told her that I already had an endoscopy scheduled and we’d make sure we’d look for it and we did and I most certainly had it.

As people started to come up and tell me how much better I looked, I remembered an incident that happened a couple years ago at work. Which was: A woman that I work with, in the elevator, was complimenting me on my new haircut and highlights in my hair and telling me how it just brightened me up so much. And that before I had this done I had always looked so haggard and drawn. And I looked at her and I laughed and I said, “Thank you” and I ran and told all my officemates “Oh my, can you believe that?”

And they all told me: Oh I don’t look haggard and drawn. But they’re coming – people are coming back and telling me how my skin looks so pink, and healthy and “Gee, before” – now they realize it looked so gray all the time. And I think I really must have looked haggard and drawn. And I am so happy not to any more. I feel so happy that at least at my age now I can go forward and start to heal and not fear worse problems happening: What’s going to happen next? And knowing that I’m on the up-swing and healing and I’m just so happy about that.

I’m Ellen Wilcox and I’m living my life with Celiac Disease.