Lauren Harber's life took a drastic turn when she was just 23, three years into her fast-paced marketing career. Despite being an ambitious go-getter, she found herself increasingly fatigued, to the point where even commuting to work became a struggle. She began experiencing mysterious symptoms such as skin flare-ups, bouts of brain fog and worsening fatigue.
"I couldn’t get to work without having to stop. At one point, I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow, and I’d be yawning in a meeting at 11am. I felt so unprofessional at a really pivotal time in my career," she recalled.
Her social life was non-existent and when she started noticing swelling around her eyes, painful lumps on her face and severe weight loss, she decided to consult a doctor. Her GP suggested eliminating common dietary irritants like sugar and alcohol, but this didn't bring much improvement. Lauren then cut out gluten on the advice of a colleague: "I suddenly felt amazing, but I didn’t have any support or information.
I was so self-conscious because of my skin and my body which didn’t feel like my own, I’d hide my face and wear baggy jumpers." Lauren's life took a drastic turn when, after immersing herself in educating about gluten-free living and adjusting her diet through what she described as a "steep learning curve", she discovered the root of her frightening illness six months later. Despite twice testing negative for Coeliac Disease, she was eventually diagnosed with the condition.
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