at home’s health expert Dr Chris Steele discovered he had the rare coeliac disease while he was working on our magazine, on sale in January this year.
Dr Chris had been feeling unwell and so exhausted that he was finding it hard to work, but despite extensive medical investigations, the original diagnosis was Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). 


Dr Chris was often crippled with abdominal pain and had such loose bowels that to make it through This Morning he had to take between four and six anti-diarrhoea tablets. He was also losing weight, despite eating as normal. Deep down, he was worried he might have bowel cancer.

His GP referred him to a consultant who diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome. Dr Chris, 64, was greatly reassured by this. 'At the time, the diagnosis made perfect sense,' he said. 'Although looking back I had no bloating, whereas many people with IBS do - and tiredness isn't a typical symptom. I was just glad to get some medication for it because my symptoms were making my life a misery.’ After a few weeks, he went back to the consultant who ran a blood test to check for coeliac disease.

This is a sensitivity to gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Within 24 hours the results came back positive. The initial diagnosis of IBS was wrong. It's a common misdiagnosis. In fact Dr Chris was lucky - most coeliacs have to wait on average 13 years from when they first experience symptoms to get an accurate diagnosis. Coeliac disease affects as many as 600,000 Britons. Charity Coeliac UK estimates half a million more have not been diagnosed, or are misdiagnosed with something else. 


For more on this story click here

For more on Dr Chris and health matters click here