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Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay on this summary.  Thanks to all of you who
responded.  I was hoping to really draw some conclusions about women &
celiac disease, whether the symptoms were worse or better during
pregnancy and/or menstration.  What I found out from you is that no real
conclusions can be drawn.  Everyone experiences things differently (does
that surprise you with this disease?!).

I did find that an overwhelming number experienced an increase in
diarrhea either just before or during menstration.  However, several
responses indicated that this is fairly normal for women, even if you're
not celiac.  The cramping of the uterus stimulates the colon, and also
that any time the body is under stress, celiac symptoms will be worse.
One person said symptoms were worse because the malabsorption of fats
causes an imbalance in harmones.(?)  Four people did note that their
symptoms before & during menstration were greatly reduced, to 100%
better, after going GF.

Many responses indicated that the stress of pregnancy and childbirth was
the trigger that finally led to their diagnosis.  Votes for better
during pregnancy or worse during pregnancy were about even.  Those that
did worse were often hospitalized & threatened miscarriage.  Those that
did better were very much relieved of their symptoms.  One person even
had their lactose intolerance go away during pregnancy, only to have it
return 6 hours after delivery. (wow - now that's clockwork!)

There were also several mentions of anemia being a problem either during
or after pregnancy.  One person was taking so much iron, was still
anemic, and the doctor couldn't figure out why she wasn't constipated.
Of course, she wasn't absorbing it, and diagnosis came after that.

Some other tid-bits of information that I received from some of you are
that Progesterone cream really helps, and that IIbuprofen helped stop
the diarrhea.  I only had 3 responses from people who noticed no
differences at all during these times.