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I'm 44 and have been been diagnosed since about 1978 as having Irritable
Bowel Syndrome.  Today is day four of my first gluten-free diet and the
results have been great, until dinner at least.  My wife had fried some
breaded fish from a store-bought package with the breading already in place.
The label mentioned wheat flour.  So as not to "create a scene," I peeled
away the breading and ate the fish, knowing full-well that some
"contamination" had likely occured.  About 20 minutes later I began to
experience some stomach discomfort which continued for the next two hours
despite one trip to the bathroom early on.

Does the gut of a celiac become much more sensitized to gluten intake within
days of starting a GF diet?  Bread, bagels, spaghetti, and other starchy
foods have been my favorite foods.  Following amoebic dysentery in the
mid-1970s, I have had on-going problems with absorption, rate of passage,
and stool consistency.  Stomach cramping, such as I felt tonight, has not
been in the array of chronic symptoms (though as a small child in the 50s I
got pain/cramps after almost every meal).  Does embarking on a true GF diet
involve a sort of "you can't go home again" increased sensitivity to gluten??

Given that  a small bowel biopsy can be done in as little as 15 minutes and
that going GF means giving up my favorite foods,  perhaps I  should suggest
to my GI, who I see next Wednes, that one be done despite the negative blood
test?  Also, can someone advise me as to how long evidence of damaged villi
persists in the gut after a GF diet is adopted?


John

P.S.  I hope mention of the "s" word isn't considered poor netiquette in
this  listserv.  -:)