<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I have been away on leave when the recent thread on a connection between celiac and arthritis started so I apologise for the delay in adding some anecdotal evidence until now. I am relatively new to this list and this is my first posting here. I subscribed to this list, not because I think that I have celiac disease but because after I was diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis, I read about a connection between gluten and arthritis (can't remember where, I read so much). Along with gluten, I eliminated other foods (listed below). Surprisingly, after a short period of time, my general health improved remarkably, my arthritic symptoms disappeared and I felt so good that I decided to study each group of foods I eliminated to determine what possible connection there could be. By the way, I am a lawyer not a scientist, so bear in mind that my reasons for going to such an extreme in my personal research are because of a stubborn streak, the desire to feel well again as well as the ascetic reason for not wanting to have a disfiguring illness that could impair my daily functioning. The more I have read about celiac disease, the more I am now beginning to think that I have it as well (this probably sounds familiar in the sense that if you read enough medical books, you will probably experience every illness that you read) anyway, to cut a long story short, I have decided to be tested to see if I do indeed have celiac disease so I have reintroduced gluten back into my diet, for the purposes of having a test as well as to make my current holiday plans more manageable. With just the reintroduction of wheat and oats, my arthritis has flared back to nearly its pre-elimination diet extreme so this experiment has already shown me that wheat is not good for me whether or not I have celiac disease. My other problems such as gas and diarrhea have also returned in full force, so to speak. I doubt that this is a coincidence particularly since I experienced these problems when I was on holidays. By the way, I had been diagnosed in the past as having irritable bowel syndrome, again, a common misdiagnosis for celiac disease from what I have read. There are other things which have also led me to conclude that I have celiac disease but I keep hoping I am wrong on this point hence the delay in being tested. As well as gluten, I have also eliminated: a) foods from the nightshade family: tomatoes, potatoes (white), peppers, eggplant - many of my favourite foods b) dairy products c) red meat d) tea and coffee When I eliminate all of these, my health is remarkable; the food I eat tends to be boring if I don't adequately plan my meals in advance, but my health is remarkable. For what it's worth, in my mind, there is a connection between gluten and arthritis. Colleen [log in to unmask]