“When I’d experience pain, it was like my body was on fire and everyone around me would say, ‘What fire? You look fine.'”

“I had a senior dog and I knew I wanted another dog, and I started to seriously think a gluten detection service dog may be an option.”

“It would be so nice to not stress about what I am eating when I am away from home. To just be able to order food and not worry if I am going to feel sick later because of cross-contamination.”

“Even if there isn’t a cure yet, there are things we can do to make life easier for people with celiac disease. We should push for better labeling on food packages so it’s easier to know what’s safe to eat. Schools and restaurants should also be more educated about celiac disease.”

“Living with celiac is incredibly difficult at times, mostly in social settings. Getting sick and experiencing that trauma never gets easier.”

“[A cure] would mean going out and not worrying every second about what is gluten-free. Not worrying if the cooks or servers even know what gluten or cross-contamination is. I could go to restaurants with friends or celebrate milestones at work without feeling like a burden.”

“The most challenging part was knowing that something wasn’t right, but it took her getting very sick for a provider to dive deeper.”

“Living with this has been very difficult. Compared to other people with celiac, I have found that I fall on the extremely sensitive side, where even trace amounts of cross-contamination will set me off.”

“All I heard was ‘just eat gluten-free,’ but there was a lot of emotion and hard work involved to heal.”

“I never knew anybody my age who also had celiac, and so I felt alone.”

“I have been living with celiac disease for six years now. About one year after diagnosis and eating 100% gluten-free, I felt like myself again.”

“Switching to a fully gluten-free diet and educating others on my daughter’s celiac at such a young age has been challenging. Her life has completely changed since being diagnosed. Her GI and behavioral issues have improved greatly, if not completely resolved.”