Jennifer Esposito Talks About Her Health Struggles

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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you need help, call now.

Jennifer Esposito is talking about her long health battle that hurt her career and made her very depressed.

Esposito was a young actress in New York City when she started having unexplained physical and mental health problems.

She had to stop everything because of her health issues.

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Jennifer Esposito had many wrong diagnoses before she was diagnosed with celiac disease.

The actress became very depressed and had thoughts of suicide as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong.

Esposito saw many doctors and took many medications, but she didn't get better. She even thought about shock treatment.

She started to think that her health problems might be connected to what she was eating.

Esposito realized that food and vitamins were affecting her body.

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Esposito's health started to get worse while she was working on the TV show 'Samantha Who?'

She had bad physical symptoms like losing her hair and fingernails.

The symptoms hurt Esposito physically and mentally.

She had hair and nails falling out.

A tooth even fell out while she was filming a scene.

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Esposito was very upset when a tooth fell out during filming.

Doctors thought she might have multiple sclerosis or irritable bowel syndrome, but they were wrong.

A therapist thought stress was causing her symptoms, which made Esposito feel like she was being lied to.

Esposito thinks that in the US, doctors often treat symptoms, not the real problem.

She tried many things to get better, including holistic healers and being vegan.

Esposito went to a church to try to feel better.

On the way to the church, she felt like she was at a breaking point.

Esposito was losing her hair and nails due to nutrition problems.

She was very depressed and sick, and felt like she was going crazy.

A piece of wood flew from a truck and smashed her windshield, which made her realize she needed to keep looking for answers.

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Esposito was covered in glass after the accident, but she kept looking for a diagnosis.

Two days later, a doctor called to say she had celiac disease.

The doctor was surprised Esposito was still alive.

Her liver was failing because of how severe her celiac disease was.

Esposito was taken to a psych ward during her misdiagnoses.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that hurts the small intestine when you eat gluten.

After her diagnosis, Esposito stopped eating gluten, but her recovery was hard.

She was very deficient in vitamin D and got welts in the sun.

Esposito's nervous system was overwhelmed, and she had to sleep in her kitchen.

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Esposito's experience was very bad.

About two months after her diagnosis, Esposito met a medical expert who wanted to study her case.

Esposito took charge of her health and did regular blood and urine tests.

She was in so much distress that she asked a doctor to keep her in the hospital.

Esposito said she felt like she was going to jump out of her skin.

The doctor thought she might hurt herself, so they took her to a psych ward.

Esposito was given a fake name, 'Betty Franklin', at the psych ward.

Those hours in the psych ward were very painful for Esposito.

Her father was with her, and she was scared that if he left, she wouldn't get out.

Esposito thought that if her father left, she would be in danger.

A doctor asked her father if they could restrain her if she got out of control.

Esposito hopes that her story can help others.

She stayed calm and thought about what she would do when she got out.

After going home, Esposito learned more about her condition and recovery.

She said that if you heal your gut, you can get better, but it takes time.

Esposito doesn't have panic attacks anymore and has a slower pace of life.

She enjoys her life now and doesn't use her phone at the table.

Esposito thinks that people have lost sight of what's important in life, which is why they're sick.

Looking back, Esposito is glad she got diagnosed with celiac disease.

She thinks that the diagnosis saved her life.

Esposito believes that if she hadn't gotten sick, she would be in a bad place now.

She is grateful for her experience and wants to help others.

Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment journalist with 15 years of experience.

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