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Hi everyone and sorry for the my late summary.  Thank you to all who
responded.  Very informative most of them but most of all, it was the
reassurance that weight gain (especially uncharacteristic and unwarranted
weight gain) is relevant with many.  I received over 50 responses and many
seem to be experiencing similar problems.

It's very early days for me and with the lister's info, I'm going to take it
slowly and look into other reasons as some of course, don't 'fit' with me.
Besides, first I need the correct diagnosis.  I especially thank those with
a sense of humor who responded and the 'gripers' because, although a very
serious problem, I don't want to get too caught up in it and be overwhelmed
by it all.  I am now more confident and informed to tackle this.  And just a
little suggestion to those who just 'watch' and not post: Go for it as it's
been most helpful and remember - you screen and take what you need, so fear
not.  Plus I got an email 'buddy' (Lynn) out of it and wonderful help from
Lorraine in New Zealand where I'm from.  I replied to most of the emails and
apologise to those I didn't as I inadvertently 'lost' some, what with the
huge response!  Okay, to follow are some interesting responses.  These
helped me justify my annoying weight gain, which isn't your typical bloating
of the tummy, but more of a symptom of my body not 'working' properly, which
all help with the jigsaw puzzle that is food intolerances/allergies.  Sorry
if I haven't summarised properly!

...our support group had a meeting with Dr Fassano as a speaker and he
mentioned the skinny-Celiac misconception saying he has many overweight and
normal-weight patients; you can't judge CD or non-CD by weight, etc.  He has
an e-mail address via his website <www.celiaccenter.org>

...my doctor hypothesized that sugars were absorbed better when we had
damaged intestines from the gluten and since our bodies "thought" that we
were starving due to all the malabsorbtion of everything else - that it got
used to sucking in all the sugars that it could for the energy needed day to
day.

When the bowel is constantly inflammed as it is in celiac and other other
food intolerances, the intestines swell with fluid. [The body sends in an
army of immune defenses in fluid medium to the site of any trauma --
sprains, bruises, cuts, scrapes, pollen allergies in the nose, etc.]

Weight gain can definitely be a symptom of CD, but it can also point to a
wheat or gluten allergy.

...the reason that my stomach and face got so big was that I was suffering
from malnutrition...

They (doctors) don't look at an overweight woman with multiple unexplained
digestive symptoms, other physical symptoms and mental and emotional
symptoms and distress and think "Celiac."

...due to a drop in metabolism because the body is going into starvation
mode. After being GF and eating a well-balanced diet, about the only answer
is to exercise and gain muscle (which burns more calories). You might also
want to see an edocrinologist to make sure you aren't hypothyroid, often
seen among celiacs.

...a link for it at this site... http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/
4003/delphi.html (Abigail's site: support, general). It's about weight
gain and Celiac. I was surprised to see most of the people at my support
group were not thin! Then I got to connecting my experience to the fact
that I've always, all my life, been hungry. It kinda makes sense to be
hungry when you're malnourished, yes?

Remember, we can make glue of white flour. I have had many colon cleanings.
One way is with Selenium seeds and Bentonite. The first loosen things up,
and the Bentonite kind of pulls it lose.

Body mass is not a reliable indicator of CD.

It's really refreshing to hear someone else have a gripe about this... I
know that in the scheme of things a food allergy is trivial compared to the
real genuine suffering of so many people.  But from my perspective, (which
may be a slightly off beat one) being diagnosed with CD is a REAL pain in
the butt.  I feel deprived of those things which I can no longer (ever)
enjoy.  Sure, this is not a major catastrophe but from my point of view I
want to mourn the things I can no longer have, acknowledge that I must
accept it, feel a bit cheesed off, and THEN I can get on with living gluten
free in the most enjoyable way I can... there's no question that a positive
attitude is essential but I still think you can be a bit miffed about it AND
have a positive attitude at the same time.

I've found the list fabulous too.  I've seen some misinformation posted and
I think that as long as you remind yourself that a lot of this is just "lay"
opinion and not medical fact, you can't go wrong.

...You could join the Coeliac Society in NZ P O Box 35-274, Browns Bay
Auckland (email [log in to unmask]) they have a very informative mag.

Actually, you are not alone. Many celiacs have excess weight problems both
before and after diagnosis. The most common complaint is gaining weight
afterwards on the GF diet because GF foods tend to be higher in fats and
carbs and the body is healing and absorbing food more efficiently. Those who
are too heavy before diagnosis like me, could be piling on the pounds in an
attempt to get more nourishment in spite of a damaged gi system... After
going gluten free, I slowly and without trying lost ten pounds, which has
stayed off.

Since I began the gf diet I have began losing weight. Have lost 15
pounds after just 3 months on the diet.  My stomach has shrunk the most
since it is no longer distended all the time.

...But 5 months after going GF I have had 9 pounds slide off and that spare
tire is gone. I think it must be because I eat less carbs now on the GF
diet.

...Once I was diagnosed, my doctor theorized that because I wasn't
absorbing my nutrients properly, my body thought it was starving to
death and held onto everything it possibly could.  The good news is that
since going gluten free I've almost lost that 25 pounds

...Sometimes I get scared that I can't recover to the degree I'd like, at my
age, but I think the whole big picture is just a lot to take in all at once.
So I try to keep remembering to go moment to moment.

So there you go.  There's certainly been heaps of stuff to digest (hehe
pardon the pun) but it's all been good. Thank you all so much.  Regards,
Vicki.