<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> 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 [log in to unmask]