<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hello all,

I have reasons to believe I have undiagnosed celiac disease, but am not sure
what to do about it. I would like to go on a gluten-free diet to get relief
from my symptoms, but I understand that if I do so it may severely complicate
any diagnosis I seek in the future. I do not have health insurance to pay for
tests, but am wondering if I might wisely spend my own money now to get
diagnosis.

Briefly, my reasons for thinking I have celiac disease are that my
grandfather,
at least two of his nieces, and two of their children (my third cousins) are
all celiacs. Hypothyroidism, which I understand to be somewhat correllated
with
CD, is also rampant in my family. As for my own symptoms, these last six
months
I have had near-constant diarrhean, as well as painful gas and strangely
persistent (longest is nine months) itchy skin rashes that occur even though I
long ago cut out sunblocks containing PABA (which since 16 have given me
horrible blistering itchy rashes). I don't suffer from weight loss or apparent
malnutrition, but the steady intestinal complaints, and especially their
severity in the mornings, are getting to me. Still, it's not so bad that I
feel
I *have* to go to the doctor--unless it's a sign of some larger phenomenon, in
which case I guess I really should. (This is the sort of calculus anyone who's
been without health insurance will understand).

So for all of the reasons above I am considering blowing some of my savings on
getting tested right now, but I need to know roughly how much it may cost and
what would be the most cost effective test to get first. My experience with
seeking care without insurance tells me that to even get a doctor's input on
questions like that I would first have to drop about $100 on an office visit,
just to talk, so we can set up an appointment for testing. I know this list
doesn't substitute for doctor/patient relationships, but I hope someone will
give me some pointers on how to minimize my medical costs for this diagnosis.

To recap, my questions are:

1. What do the diagnostics usually cost? I am particularly concerned about the
idea of a biopsy, which sounds expensive.
2. What test could I specifically request first to see if I can rule out
celiac
disease?
3. How do I find a doctor who is knowledgable about celiac disease and
diagnostic methods?

Thanks for any advice!

 -Layna in Davis, CA





__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends.  Fun.  Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List *