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My best friend has been dealing with anorexia and bulemia for the past three
or four years now.  We were talking about our tempermental guts (we have
both had problems for years) and I was explaining celiac disease to her (I
have just recently been diagnosed) and it really sounds like she has celiac
disease -- and much worse than me.  In addition to the regular malabsorption
symptoms of stools, she also sometimes stays constipated for weeks at a time
(this may have something to do with her eating habits too), regularly has
blood in her stools, and most of the food, if not all of the food, that she
binges on centers around wheat.  I have been trying to convince her to go
for testing, etc, and she keeps telling me that she will, but she hasn't
yet.  I think that she is scared because food is already such an issue for
her, and the thought of limiting her diet so much scares her -- but I think
that if she goes off of gluten, she may find that she suffers less from food
cravings, etc anyways.  I think she is also concerned of the cost and
inconvenience of CD.  I have tried to argue "what is the price of health"
and that the consequences in the long run of untreated celiac disease are
much worse, but I don't feel that I am getting through to her.  Any ideas?

Anyone else out there who has dealt with eating disorders and discovered
that they were celiac?  Any inspirational stories for my friend?  Any other
comments?  I know that I went off of gluten before getting diagnosed with
CD, and that the few times that I challenged myself (and by challenge I only
mean 1 meal or 2) before getting a blood test done, I found that I had
insatiable food cravings - a hollow leg, so to speak, for any and all food,
gluten free or otherwise.  I wouldn't consider that I had an eating disorder
before I was diagnosed with celiac, although I have always been the type of
person who could eat a LOT of food and not gain weight (which may not be
that envious of a condition if it was because my digestive system is
severely damaged - I am still waiting for the results from my biopsy).

Anyways, any comments you have or stories you would like to share would be
greatly appreciated.  I can summarize if I get requests for it, but
otherwise may just show my friend some of the comments if I think they will
be helpful.

Thanks,

Genevieve