If you have recently been diagnosed as suffering with coeliac disease, you might feel worried about what comes next. There are a few steps you can take, from speaking with the experts to enquiring if you are eligible for a gluten free prescription.
What are symptoms of coeliac disease?
People suffering with coeliac disease will experience an immune response when ingesting gluten, damaging the lining of the small intestine. Each person is unique, and symptoms of coeliac disease can be severe in one person and quite mild in the next, making it difficult to diagnose. Some common symptoms include:
Constipation, excessive wind, diarrhoea
Persistent nausea and vomiting
Stomach pain, bloating and cramping
Anaemia
Tiredness
Unexpected weight loss
Mouth ulcers
Skin rash
What are the next steps once you have been first diagnosed with coeliac disease?
Visit a dietitian
You’ll have received your coeliac diagnosis from your GP or gastroenterologist and the likelihood is that you will be referred to see a dietitian. This is where you can talk in detail about the steps ahead, what you can expect to from a gluten free diet and how to go about that. This is personalised advice that helps you remove gluten from your diet carefully, step-by-step. If you are not sure if you have been referred, double check with your GP who will advise further.
Be prepared
Before visiting the dietitian, it can be a good idea to keep a food diary that covers a few days and gives an accurate depiction of your diet and the normal things you would eat prior to your diagnosis. Write down any questions that you have and use this appointment to ask as many questions as you feel necessary.
Learning what to avoid
The starting point of a gluten free life is learning what to look out for and which foods contain gluten. There are also many naturally gluten-free foods out there that you can look towards as you begin to live a gluten free lifestyle. It will take time to understand what to look out for, to always check food labels, and to appreciate gluten-free alternatives, of which there are now many available in supermarkets, health food stores, and through a gluten-free prescription service.
What about access to a gluten free prescription?
What you might not realise is that once you have been diagnosed with coeliac disease, you might be entitled to a gluten free prescription to help you adapt to your new gluten free diet depending on which area of the country you live in. Suppliers of gluten free products that provide this service often offer a free taster box with a variety of gluten free products for you to sample.
It might seem daunting at first to be diagnosed with coeliac disease, but there is help available. Make sure you speak to your GP and dietitian about the help that is out there for you, including a gluten free prescription service.
