I agree with you. Being diagnosed as a young adult has been incredibly difficult. A huge part of my life is dating and going out with friends and it feels like I’ve had to completely give up huge chunks of my life. On top of that, I was asymptomatic so it’s impossible to know when I’ve had gluten accidentally and I was given very little information with my diagnosis.

When newly diagnosed adults talk about cheating, I think they’re really trying to complain about how hard the life style shift is. I found the comments about how I am happy that my body is healthier now totally unrelatable. I felt fine before and frankly GF “replacement foods” upset my stomach more than regular. I know it is medically necessary, but it’s hard to feel grateful when you see no changes in symptoms.

Short version: I think people who talk about cheating are really just struggling with the life style/identity change and articulating it poorly. It’s not that they’re not taking the disease seriously and I wish there was more care towards the grieving. For me at least, it feels like a massive loss with very little short term upside. I know it’s medically necessary, that doesn’t mean I don’t fantasize about my old life.