Julie Roberts achieves gold status award despite battling Celiac disease

 Julie Roberts opens up about her battle with celiac disease, multiple sclerosis concerns, and her journey back to health and music in an exclusive interview with People magazine.

During the interview, country music artist admits that she had a strong gut feeling that something was amiss.

“It felt like every single time I would eat, I would throw up,” recalls Roberts. “One night in October of 2022, I was so sick and was desperate for help, so I called my mama at 2 a.m. to take me to the ER.”

Robert, who was then tipping the scales at only 99 lbs, went through a number of tests that ultimately led her to being diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that makes the small intestine overly responsive to gluten, leading to difficulties in food digestion.

"There were a few months of not knowing what was going on, honestly,” confesses Roberts, who was concurrently launching her album "Ain't in No Hurry" last autumn. “I knew I was sick, and I was having to get fluids and I couldn't keep food down.”

While the eventual identification of celiac disease brought relief, the country music star with platinum sales became increasingly apprehensive about a resurgence of her multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, a condition she was initially diagnosed with in 2005.

Although she had been in a state of remission, Roberts found herself experiencing a relapse.

"Not being able to see out of one eye truly scared me," she shares with PEOPLE.  “After I started having a few of the MS symptoms that I had years ago, I went to my neurologist and he recommended that I get back on an MS disease modifying therapy. There are so many new ones out now since I was first diagnosed — we are going through and finding which ones will work so I know if I ever had a celiac disease flare-up again, it hopefully wouldn't affect my MS.”

The diagnosis didn't stop the country star from making a name for herself in the music industry. During an April performance at Lafayette's Grouse Room in Louisiana, Roberts received an unexpected shock as she was presented with a plaque commemorating the gold status of her 2004 hit track, "Break Down Here."

Today, Roberts is addressing celiac disease by embracing a gluten-free lifestyle, adopting a diet that has facilitated a weight gain of 15 lbs and enabled her to return to heavy weightlifting at the gym.

Indeed, while her celiac disease diagnosis necessitated the postponement of several performances last autumn, she is once again back on tour.