Tony Oteri had severe stomach cramps and couldn't keep food down until blood tests revealed celiac disease. He learned he'll need to avoid gluten for life, and that his close relatives each have a 1-in-10 chance of having it too.
1 in 10
This year we've met several clients of Total Nutrition and Therapeutics who have shared their personal stories with us. One of those clients was Tony Oteri. We first brought you Tony's story back in August. After battling a list of painful symptoms, Tony finally learned he had celiac disease. Here's a look back at Tony's story.
What brought me to TNT is my weight at the time was getting out of control. I've tried to lose weight and just nothing would come off and I'd go through my old diet habits and just nothing would happen. And I just didn't understand why. And I thought maybe, just maybe there's more to it than what I thought. I had been diagnosed with celiac disease, so I knew that I had an intolerance to gluten. I had a month long episode of cramping, stomach cramping and not holding anything down, not being able to digest food, knowing there was something wrong. And I just went back and forth to my primary care physician, oh, at least three times going back, nothing's happened. I've had, you know, all kinds of, you know, CT scans and X rays, nobody. He did not know what it was until he finally referred me to a gastroenterologist who said, I know, I think I know what you have. Let me take a blood test and find out. And that's what it was. She's the one that said absolutely, positively, beyond a reasonable doubt, do not, you cannot, should not ever have any gluten the rest of your life. Period. End of story. I'm thrilled that I finally, as I said, found a place that is genuinely concern for your well being. I look at food now with gluten and I think that's poison to me. And if it's poison, I can't even have a little of it. TNT has a special place in my heart because I do get that feeling that they really care about you and they want you to be better. All of them.
The specialists at TNT also note that celiac disease is hereditary, meaning that it runs in families. People with a first degree relative with celiac disease, a parent, child or sibling, have a 1 in 10 risk of developing celiac disease. For more information on celiac disease and contact information for Total Nutrition and therapeutics, please click on the celiac disease story link icon on our homepage YourHometownHealth.com.
Does Estrogen Cause Breast Cancer? Dr. Felice Gersh on Hormone Therapy, and Risk.
Spirulina in the Morning, Chlorella at Night? How to Use Algae in Your Daily Routine
