Who Am I & How I Found Out I Had Celiac

     Hey friends! My name is Sophie Stazzone and I am currently a junior at High Point University studying Social Media and Digital Communications. I love all things content creation and graphic design. I grew up in Tewksbury, New Jersey constantly going to New York City where I loved the atmosphere. After college, I plan to move back to NJ or NYC and pursue a career working behind the scenes in the social media world. This is definitely a lifelong passion and I look forward to my life post-grad. Currently, at HPU, I am a part of Alpha Chi Omega and Alpha Lambda Delta where I am able to grow new relationships and bonds with the members of the chapter. I am planning to study abroad in Florence, Italy next fall and I am so excited to have the opportunity to embrace new cultures and foods while also learning about the social media world in Europe. Besides traveling, in my free time, I enjoy being with my friends, reading, exercising, and of course playing with my dog.

    A significant moment in my life thus far is when I was diagnosed with celiac disease in my senior year of high school. For those who do not know, celiac is an autoimmune disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. It triggers an immune response that damages the lining of the GI tract. In order to live with celiac you do have to change your entire diet to avoid gluten and as difficult as it is was it's liveable I have been able to become more aware of what I am putting in my body and I am able to eat healthier as a result. Celiac isn't always the easiest to diagnose because of all of the different symptoms people show and many times people are asymptomatic and go their entire lives not knowing they have celiac. This can be extremely dangerous because of the damage gluten does to someone's body who has celiac. For me, I dealt with symptoms for months before I was diagnosed. October of my senior year of high school I started to have horrible stomach pains every time I ate. I also was diagnosed with depression, my hair would not grow and I was tired all the time. All of these causes were because I was eating gluten and I wasn't supposed to be.

    Finally, in February 2019 I was fed up with the fact that I couldn't eat without getting stomach pain and went to the doctor. There they took my blood and were able to see I had high celiac levels. After that, I had to get an endoscopy done where they confirmed I in fact had celiac. The process after finding out I had celiac was harder than I had imagined. I had to meet with a dietitian where I learned about all the foods I could and could not eat. Things such as soy sauce and certain grains that I was eating every day, I no longer could eat. I also learned the harm of cross-contamination and how I and others around me needed to be careful when touching my food. 3 years later I am still gluten-free and happier and healthier than I have ever been. I am extremely careful when it comes to my food and I am so much more knowledgeable on the topic than I was when I was first diagnosed. Having celiac is inconvenient, annoying, and hard but it is amazing to be able to eat food again without the pain and anxiety I had dealt with before. 

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