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I'm concerned. As
I'm concerned. As you might know, but probably don't, I have celiac disease, which is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy.
Now, isn't that fun?
So, basically since I was diagnosed only 2 years ago, I was deep into the damage to begin with. I was 11 years old and I weighed under 60 pounds, because of the growth delay due to the not-absorbing-nutrients thing. Now for the past 2 years I've been on a gluten-free diet and I've been feeling much better. Still, I'm 13 years old and I weigh...
74 pounds.
Yes, 74. I know. I'm as skinny as a stick. Is that even normal? I feel like I'm not growing at all.
And it REALLY bothers me because ALL of my friends are taller than me, and I'm 4'11. Whenever I go to a public place alone someone asks me where my parents are. I'm 13, for crying out loud! I look like I'm 10 years old, at the oldest. It's so annoying, especially because of the people at my school aren't the most sensitive and they find it hilarious to criticize me.
Person: Wow, you're so short!
Me: NO FREAKING WAY, SHERLOCK.
Or:
Person: Why are you so teeny?
Me: *explains celiac disease, going into vivid detail for 15 minutes*
Person: *backs away like I'm a contagious germ or something*
Or:
Person: So what can't you eat?
Me: Gluten. You know, pizza, pasta, cookies, cake, bagels, bread, doughnuts, cereal, croutons..."
Person: You can't eat ANYTHING?
Me: Well -
Person: I feel so BAD for you!
Me: That makes me feel so much better. :I
Just UGHHH!
submitted by Nora the Singer
(April 10, 2014 - 5:42 pm)
(April 10, 2014 - 5:42 pm)
I have celiac disease too, and it is NO JOKE people! I had been really sick ever since I was a baby, and my parents suspected it was dairy, but didn't really do anything (No offense mom and dad). When I was nine -I think- my mom stoped eating gluten, and soon I joined her. About six moths ago, I started getting really sick again, so we took practically everything out of my diet. We slowly brought things back in, and when dairy came back in, I got sick. Again. So, now I don't eat dairy, gluten, or artificial flavors colors and preservatives, which make me get all out of sorts and grouchy.
I know exactly what you are talking about! (Except I am 5'2”)
: )
(April 10, 2014 - 8:14 pm)
OH MY GOODNESS TWINNYYYYYYYYYYYY!
:D Thanks!
Hope you're feeling better now!
(April 11, 2014 - 2:40 pm)
Hehe!
:D You're welcome!!
I am feeling MUCH better, thanks!
I am so glad you made a page that I could REALLY relate to!
: )
(April 12, 2014 - 8:05 am)
To the Top!
(April 11, 2014 - 2:10 pm)
OH MY GOODNESS! My friend has celiac disease! I'll have to tell her to come on here!!!!
(April 11, 2014 - 3:10 pm)
Gosh, I'm sorry Nora! That must be rough. Being criticized and picked on (something I have experience with) is not fun no matter what the circumstance. But both being tall and short have their perks. When you're short:
- rad nicknames
- you look younger (which I'm told, when you get older, this is very desirable. Like fountain of youth.) which aka means you ge to trick or treat longer!
- You fit in places no one ever though was physically possible, so people think you belong with the Avengers.
- You aren't constantly bumping your head.
- People underestimate you, so you get the chance to prove them all wrong!
- As Admin said, there are Olympians who are quite short. Look at Olympic gymnists. They're for the most part pretty short.
And remember the Shakespeare quote: "And though she be but little, she is fierce."
And also another quote I've read is: "God only lets things grow until they're perfect. Some just didn't take as long as others."
(Both of these quotes I saw on t-shirts, and got a kick out of.) But don't let others judge you, or make you feel worse than you are just cause of you're height. People come in all shapes and sizes. You're just as God meant for you to be.
(April 11, 2014 - 8:05 pm)
Thanks so much! Good points! ;)
(April 12, 2014 - 4:51 pm)
That must suck! I have diabetes, and have a high risk for celiac, so know what you are talking about. It's really annoying. But my friend with celiac just says she has the silly yak disease.
(April 11, 2014 - 10:45 pm)
I'm so sorry, Nora!
I can't give you any advice on your celiac disease except to keep a positive attitude, and one of my friends is gluten free too, (although I can't remember why) but I can give you some advice on being short.
I'm taller than most of my friends right now, and I used to be really short too, but personally, I liked being short a lot better. I've read tons of books where the people are short, not tall, and it helps them. I have no idea if this post will be encouraging at all, but short was better than tall.
(April 12, 2014 - 6:49 am)
No, it was encouraging! Thanks! Haha
(April 12, 2014 - 4:52 pm)
I think I understand where you're coming from, I used to be really, really small for my size (When I was ten, I was once asked if I was six or seven.....), and my family thought I might have celiac disease. Sooo, we went off gluten and dairy for a year, which didn't make much difference so we have a "normal" diet again, and now I'm growing fairly "normally". (Actually, I'm 13, and I'm only just recently 5', but I know quite a few people who are insanely tall, so I'm not really sure how close to average or not that is...)
I have a friend whose whole family is gluten-free, (and that friend is taller than me...) and they eat GREAT food! There are a lot of options for eating gluten-free these days, make sure you know them! I have eaten some really good gluten-free Lebanese and Thai food....
About being short, as well as everything BHR said (which is all true, in my experience), remember that there isn't really any such thing as "normal". I used to tell myself that it wasn't me being short for my age, but that everyone else is tall. Actually, that's partly true, there seem to be a lot of tall people around right now...
I hope this is hepful or at least encouraging, because looking back, it's a lot of me talking about me.....
(April 13, 2014 - 7:36 am)
Don't feel bad; we all have that one thing that bugs us, but you can use it to your advantage, like if you need to crawl into a suitcase to escape rabid pirates you could, and if you needed to climb a really delicate tree to rescue a groundhog then you could. I stutter (which is a speech disorder where you kind of stumble over your words and it is very annoying becaue it is really hard for me to like talk normally and stuff). I am going to see if I can use my stuttering to my advantage as well, like maybe....uhh.....uhh, I am not sure how I could use it to my advantage just yet. I also have a friend that has Celiac Disease, and the good thing is she will always be extremely healthy. Don't feel bad, we all have that one thing that bugs us, and people learn to accept us for who we are. Wait, I thought of a advantage for my stuttering, I have a built-in friend filter, so I know if my friends are actually good friends or not, for example, if they make fun of my stutter, not a good friend, if they stand up for me, good friend etc. You can probabaly do that to. Also, you can find some support groups about Celiac Disease and learn more about it, and meet people who have it. I go to the NSA (national stuttering association) conference every year, and it is sooooo much fun to see my friends and learn more about my speech disorder. Dont give up hope!!!!!!!
Signed, Edie The Bewlidered (pronounced ee-dee, and I am a girl just in case anyone was wondering).
(April 13, 2014 - 11:10 am)
Oh, that's kind of funny that it's the NSA, like the national security agency.
The Captcha says vttr. I think it has developed a weird accent and needs water.
(April 15, 2014 - 3:50 pm)
Man, the people you mention, Nora, are rude! Response-wise, you should probably give short answers. Like instead of saying like how it works in detail, you could just say, "I have celiac disease, which means I can't absorb some nutrients, minerals, and vitamins." That is, if it is even any of their business, which it is most likely not. (DIGRESSION ALERT!!!) You don't have to tell everyone that you have celiac disease. Even if it's because you're going to a party where they will be serving food, you can just tell them you're gluten free, or allergic to gluten, or whatever (DIGRESSION OVER). If it is not their business, especially if they are being all rude, you can simply say, "None of your business," or "Is it your business?" (if it seems to be like it might actually be their business). Or, for a really snappy retort, "Why are you so tall?"
I do sympathize with you. People are like, "You're so skinny!" I'm like "why are we talking about my body?" another retort.
(April 15, 2014 - 4:16 pm)
Thanks, everyone! I'm feeling a lot better now. I actually do this thing whenever I meet someone now.
Person: Wow, you're small/short/skinny.
Me: Okay. *shrugs and stares into their eyes, though I'll probably have to look all the way up to them since I'm not even 5 feet above the ground*
Person: *stares back, getting uncomfortable*
Me: *keeps on staring*
Person: *quickly changes subject*
Me: (:
And now, I shall end all of my posts on the CB like so:
~Though she be but little, she is fierce.~
(April 17, 2014 - 9:33 am)