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Hi,

I'm glad to find this list. I'm hoping you all can give me some
perspective and advice. My story seems to be a bit different than the
ones I've read at various celiac sites. I've had chronic diarrhea
accompanied by intestinal cramps since early this year. No long-term
history of symptoms, really, and no family history that I know of.

Here's the deal: My primary care physician (family practice) ordered
blood tests for celiac disease immediately after my first round of tests
(for parasites, etc.) came up negative. (He had had several patients
misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome for years who really had
celiac disease.) One out of three blood tests came back positive (the
anti-gliadin one). The doctor thought that the bowel biopsy was "a bit
aggressive" and said to go on a GF diet for "a few weeks" and see if my
symptoms cleared up.

So I've been doing the GF thing for a little over a month. My symptoms
have lessened in severity, but not cleared up. (The painful cramps have
mostly disappeared, but the diarrhea is still there, though less
frequent sometimes.) And as I have educated myself on this disease, I
now realize that I should have pressed for the "more aggressive" testing
(at the time, I was just relieved that I wouldn't have to go through an
invasive test!).

So, a few questions: Is there anything I can do at this point to get a
more conclusive diagnosis? Since my symptoms are fairly recent-onset,
I'm not even sure that damage would have shown up even before I went GF.
Would a trip to a GI specialist do any good? Also, how fast should the
GF diet be expected to change my symptoms?

Thanks for any insight you can give me!

Jennifer
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