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> Can anyone assist me with past experience or advice?  I have been diagnosed
> celiac through small bowel biopsy but do not appear to be as gluten sensitive
> as most.  If I am not eating a completely gluten free meal and to not develop
> any symptoms what risk am I running?
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If you read the literature on CD, it's becoming apparent that many (probably
the majority of gluten sensitive patients) are diagnosed as adults.  Many
have no remarkable GI symptoms.  However, damage to the small bowel still
causes malabsorption of nutrients especially fat soluble vitamins etc.
Untreated patients can have anemia, osteoporosis, etc.  Osteoporosis is a
real risk - probably most who have untreated CD will have some degreee of it.
In addition the chronic tissue damage increases the risk of intestinal
cancers - some studies say that untreated patients run a risk of 10% per 10
years!  I know of one individual who was symptomatic as a child but then
"grew out of it"  The person went off the GF diet and then died of an
intestinal lymphoma (cancer) in middle age.  You might as well get used to a
GF diet.  If your antiendomysial antibody levels are elevated (usual in CD),
then you can follow the level to see if your diet is ok - with good diet, the
level should go back to negative (normal).

Good luck.

Al Fornace
email:    [log in to unmask]



recent texts:

 TITLE        Coeliac disease.
 IMPRINT      Oxford : Boston ; Blackwell Scientific, 1992.
 DESCRIPT     xi, 371 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
 ISSN/ISBN    0632030976.
 NOTE         Includes bibliographical references and index.
 SUBJECT      Celiac disease.
              Digestive organs --Diseases.
 ALT AUTHOR   Marsh, Michael N.
 ALT TITLE    Celiac disease.


 TITLE        Gluten-sensitive enteropathy.
 IMPRINT      Basel ; New York : Karger, c1992.
 DESCRIPT     viii, 217 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
 SERIES       IN: Frontiers of gastrointestinal research ; v. 19.
 ISSN/ISBN    3805553315.
 NOTE         Includes bibliographical references and index.
 SUBJECT      Celiac disease.
              Celiac Disease.
              Gluten --immunology.
 ALT AUTHOR   Branski, D.
              Rozen, P. (Paul)
              Kagnoff, M. F. (Martin F.)