Mihajlo was first diagnosed with celiac disease when he was five years old. After about twenty days of diarrhea, he was referred to a gastroenterologist. Based on his symptoms, the doctor immediately suspected celiac disease and ordered a test for antibodies, which were in fact very high. An endoscopy was also performed, which confirmed that it was definitely a case of celiac disease.

Since celiac disease is genetically predisposed, the doctor sent other family members for analysis - Mihajlo's sister, mother and father. The results showed that the mother was the carrier of gene which increaseses the risk of developing celiac disease, while the father and sister did not carry that gene. After further analysis, the mother was also diagnosed with celiac disease. She was surprised since, apart from always having anemia, she believed to be healthy. She did not consider long-term anemia as a serious health problem. Unlike his mother, Mihajlo had lots of problems before he was diagnosed. He was listless and without energy, he made little progress, he weighed 15 kg from the third year on, he was a head shorter than his peers and he had asthma.

That all changed after the diagnosis and elimination of gluten from their diet. However, it was not easy. They only advice they received from doctors was not to eat gluten and they were given a short brochure about celiac disease. They had to find out for themselves what to eat, what foods to buy and how to eat properly. Fortunately, they found out about the Association of Patients with Celiac Disease, where they received great help and practical advice for everyday life difficulties. It took a long time for Mihajlo to recover. Antibodies dropped fast, but iron values returned to normal only after two years. Today, Mihajlo and his mother are experts in keeping a gluten-free diet. And most importantly - they are healthy.