A PENSIONER who has battled coeliac disease for 15 years has encouraged others to get tested.

Tony Wright, 80, from Great Harwood, was diagnosed with the disease in 2003 after 18 months of feeling unwell.

The disease sees the small intestine become hypersensitive to gluten, leading difficulty in digesting food.

It means that Tony is unable to eat gluten-based food such as bread, cereals, pasta and even some cans of soup and the coating on chips.

Tony said: "I was diagnosed with coeliac disease about 15 years ago.

"I'm allergic to anything with gluten in it, including wheat and barley, breads, cereals and pasta, but some things you wouldn't expect such as cans of soup and coating for chips."

His battle saw him take 18 months to get diagnosed which he puts down to symptoms of the disease echoing other conditions.

Tony said: "I had lost a lot of weight and went down to just nine stone and I could sit on the toilet for hours and not move.

"I was with a group I met on a Thursday night and I said to them that I don't feel well.

"One member of the group told me to go and see a doctor."

After months of tests, Tony was eventually diagnosed with coeliac disease.

He now wants to encourage people who think they might have coeliac disease to come forward and get tested.

The message comes ahead of Coeliac UK's awareness week between May 14 and May 20.

Tony said: "At first they thought I could have irritable bowel syndrome as the symptoms are very similar to coeliac disease.

"I also feared I may have cancer, so there was a lot of fear."

"So it was relief to be diagnosed.

"After the diagnosis, I went to see a dietician and got put onto a gluten-free diet which saw me lose a lot of weight.

"I have annual check-ups to see how I'm getting on but there are people out there a lot more severe than me.

"It's a difficult condition to diagnose but I'd encourage anyone to get tested."

At first, Tony said shopping was a challenge but that he has become more used to it over the years, as more gluten-free foods have hit the shelves.

Tony said: "I can still eat vegetables, meat, fish and daily products.

"There's also now a lot of gluten free foods including for bread and pasta and supermarkets have their own gluten free range such as Tesco.

"Things are a lot more easier than they used to be, as I used to go to the shop and literally have to look at every food label.

"It is a bit more expensive to buy but I've become used to it.

"Eating out can also be difficult as you have to always ask whether any food has gluten in it on the menu, although restaurants too have their own gluten-free menus now."

Tony is also the treasurer of the East Lancashire group of Coeliac UK, who help people living without gluten to live happier and healthier lives.

The group along with the Preston group organised a food fair in Preston earlier this month, which saw 30 stalls of gluten-free food on offer to visitors.