‘1000-lb Best Friends’: Tina Arnold Shares the Diagnosis She’ll Have to Live With for the Rest of Her Life
We often don’t know what’s going on in someone’s personal life. Even our favorite reality stars have secrets they don’t reveal or things we find out that come as a complete shock.
On the TLC hit 1000-lb Best Friends, Tina Arnold is open about the details of her weight loss journey. However, the daily struggles she experiences can be overwhelming. Recently the reality star shared the diagnosis she’ll have to live with for the rest of her life.
Tina Arnold hasn’t mentioned her diagnosis on the current season of ‘1000-lb Best Friends’
The reality star recently took to social media to let fans know she was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2018. In her emotional post, Arnold said, “I have to completely avoid gluten in order to stay healthy, for some reason specifically gluten that’s in bread (you wouldn’t believe everything that has gluten in it), because it causes the worst inflammation which leads to a total malfunction of my body (Oh God and pain… lots of pain).”
The Celiac Disease Foundation reports that the autoimmune disease goes undiagnosed up to 83% of the time. That is a pretty shocking statistic, considering how it is estimated to affect approximately 1% of the world’s population. So, what does the condition actually entail? The digestive issue affects the small intestine and prevents the absorption of nutrients from food.
The disease is genetic, and according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, when a person with celiac disease eats food with gluten, the immune system hurts the small intestine, attacking the villi that line the small intestine. As a result, the body cannot get enough nutrients. More than 2 million people have the disease.
Tina Arnold had a bad experience eating a Philly Cheesesteak
It is only normal that when someone is restricted from eating a specific type of food for the rest of their lives, it can be pretty difficult. Arnold’s recent post, shared on Reddit, let fans know how stressed she was after a particularly bad day.
The reality star admitted she gave in and ate a cheesesteak and fries. Due to her diagnosis, it didn’t exactly sit well. Arnold posted, “The repercussions this morning are far worse than what I’m used to with a flare up. Lord, the joint pain is real, along with the messed up belly and brain fog and guilt … Oh, the food guilt!”
Fortunately, she learned from the experience, saying that she wasn’t going to give in to the guilt and beat herself up over what happened. Good for her.
The emotional post detailed Tina Arnold’s thoughts
The post that Arnold made was fairly long and talked about more than her diagnosis. She shared how, in the beginning, she was hesitant to do 1000-lb Best Friends. She never wanted to be in the spotlight, and she “I spent most of my life purposely staying away from people as a protection to myself.”
Tina let fans know she panicked when her best friend and co-star Meghan Crumpler asked her to do the show. After thinking about it, Tina came to the conclusion that “if I could help someone, I could justify coming out of my very carefully built fortress.”
Arnold also discussed in her post how she now loves filming, but there is a downside. She talks about how she has dealt with bullying her entire life, not only toward herself but toward her children. Arnold posted, “I am an advocate against bullying so I don’t believe in sweeping it under the rug.”
The entire post really let fans in on Arnold’s thoughts. She sweetly ended it by saying “I hope if you’ve been struggling, today you will join me in turning your focus toward helping and healing yourself through the power of positive thinking.” What amazing advice!
