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My story is very similar to Debbie McCollister's.  I was diagnosed
celiac as a kid.  According to my parents I couldn't have any wheat
until the age of 4.  (THEY felt bad because they couldn't give me the
same pretzel as the other-kids were having.)  Apparently back in those
days (early sixties) they thought they people outgrew the disease.
 
I can recall making conscience decisions as a teenager to "not eat
breakfast/lunch so that I won't feel bad."  However, I never
pinpointed the problem.  Since that time I suspected and tried to
eliminate MSG from my diet.  This helped a lot but not enough.
 
I had heard from various sources that MSG can "hide" in such
ingredients as: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Natural Flavorings,
Yeast Extract, etc.  Sound Familiar????  Although I continued to eat
and drink things that had Natural Flavorings as long as they were in
the sweet family.  (e.g., beverages, ice cream, etc...).  While in
college I consumed mostly food-service food -- lots of starches,
breads, gravies and sauces.  These left me non-functional even though
I didn't really experience the gastric distress often complained of.
Following each meal I "beached" on my dormroom floor for several
hours - unable to summon the strength to much else.  Even when I did
have the strength I was unable to concentrate and certainly couldn't
study.
 
Recently after the conference in Baltimore this past July the
Baltimore Sun did a piece on celiac.  The discussions in the article
about the aliases for gluten such as Natural Flavorings tied in with
my experiences with my perceived aversion to MSG. I knew that a
breakfast of pancakes would leave me feeling sullen, bloated, and
fuzzy-headed whereas eggs didn't.  Well...all of a sudden the pieces
started to fit together.
 
Most recently I had what I feel certain is a case of DH on my legs
following a vacation during which I eat more than usual amounts of
grains.  My General Practitioner simply gave me a steriod cream and
told me to go on my way.  (I knew nothing of DH at the
time...otherwise I would have demanded a biopsy.)
 
In any case, I put myself on a strict GF diet.  (Given my perceived MSG
problems I had been carefully reading labels for years so that part
wasn't so hard for me.)  Within 2 days I was feeling MUCH better with
seemingly boundless energy.  I have been on that GF diet since that
time 8 weeks ago.
 
A few weeks ago went to see my gastroenterologist.  Who, after hearing
my symptoms suggested that I wasn't celiac but would do a blood test.
The only test given was the gliaden anti-body test which came back
negetive. (I'd been GF for 5 weeks at that point.)  Thus her
conclusion that I wasn't CS - end-of-story from her part.
 
Bottom Line....I am now on a self-prescribed lifelong GF diet.  While
there are many food items I would love to be able to eat, I have
gladly given them up for having my life back.  It is a hardship, but
much less of one then being depressed, moody, fuzzy, bloated, etc...
I personally don't need a Drs stamp of approval to validate what I
know in my heart to be true - I may not have sprue but I certainly can
not tolerate the grains contra-indicated for sprue patients.
 
BTW, going back to the MSG sensitivity I noted earlier, I have been
using soy-only soysauces which do contain natural amounts of MSG
without incident....
 
David Schwartz
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