How to get support if you have Coeliac Disease..

Have you recently been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease (CD) or have had a diagnosis for a while and are developing new symptoms or looking to change up your diet or your weekly meals?
When I ran classes for patients who were newly diagnosed with CD we would have fabulous discussions around where to seek help and support that was reliable and useful!
Here are the top 5 I would recommend:-

1. Number 1 has to be Coeliac UK website. They are a fantastic organisation that uses membership money to fund the website, research and resources for people with coeliac disease. www.coeliac.org.uk/home/
2. Support groups on Facebook for example. As I worked in the Wirral I would always recommend my local group to new patients. There are usually great conversations about restaurants and café recommendations, questions about their gluten free food prescriptions, sharing experiences of going abroad etc. Obviously, the contributors are patients, and not healthcare practitioners, so it's important to remember this if people share their pearls of wisdom!
3. A specialist dietitian - Dietitian's like myself who specialise in gastrointestinal disorders are invaluable if you want personalised and efficient support. Sadly, waits for NHS appointments can be considerable. Search for experts via websites such as the British Dietetic Association www.bda.uk.com/find-a-dietitian.html
4. Reliable sources on social media are also fantastic for resources such as recipes, or lists of the latest gluten free food products in supermarkets, or announcements from the FSA. Such examples are www.facebook.com/coeliacbydesign and 
glutenfreecuppatea.co.uk/
5. Other websites such as Guts UK, Patient Info, and NHS UK all provide a wealth of information for you to read and review.

If you have gastrointestinal symptoms which occur regularly (and sometimes simultaneously) such as bloating, change in bowel habits, fatigue, pain or vomiting - in particular when eating foods containing gluten, please book to see your GP. Continue to include gluten in your diet in order for any future tests to be accurate. Your GP can order a coeliac screen for you which involves a blood test to look for raised antibodies specific to coeliac disease. Coeliac UK website also has a self-assessment test you can conduct for further insight: - www.coeliac.org.uk/do-i-have-coeliac-disease/?&&type=rfst&set=true#cookie-widget