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I'm interested in recent comments by people who had a history of celiac
disease in their families, and apparently suspected that they could be
celiac themselves, yet waited for years for the medical profession to
formally diagose them. If I'm not misreading their comments, it appears
that they continued  to eat wheat and other products containing gluten,
while their health deteriorated, even thought they had some suspicions they
could be celiac.

My question is this - it appears from "anecdotal evidence" gathered from
this list and from my own experience that celiac disease runs in families.
If one celiac has already been diagnosed, is there any need for formal
diagnosis of other family members experiencing symptoms, if a gluten free
diet eliminates the symptoms? Is there a medical need to do a battery of
tests and biopsies if the gluten free diet is effective in relieving the
symptoms?

Despite some comments to the contrary on the list, the gluten free diet is
really pretty simple. Sure, if you eat a lot of processed food you'll have
difficulty in finding substitutes, but basic fruit, vegetables, meat, fish,
dairy products and non-wheat related grains are all gluten free and form
the basis of a healthy diet. If you suspect someone in your family is a
celiac too, what's the harm in suggesting they try the diet? If it works,
stick with it. If not, that's the time to turn to the medical profession.

Comments?

Cheers,
catherine