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Hello fellow celiacs!

        I'm so glad that I have found this list.  I've been reading all
the old log files and following the day-to-day mail for almost two months
now.  I think I'm finally caught up!  It's great to know that there are
so many people out there attempting a gluten-free life in such a
gluten-filled world!  This list really helps get through the frustrations...

        First, I'll give a bit of background on me....I am a 26 year old
female who just relocated to the Atlanta, GA area.  I am an electrical
engineer working for Lockheed-Martin in Marietta, GA.  I'm interested in
finding a local gastroenterologist who is familiar with celiac disease
and joining a local support group.  If anyone on this list is from this
area of the country, please let me know.  I was diagnosed with
Celiac Sprue five years ago.  I was a senior in college at the time.
Luckily for me I graduated about a week after diagnosis because I
cannot possibly fathom trying to deal with this diet at my college
on the meal plan.  My symptoms leading up to diagnosis were:  diarhea,
which got real severe, real fast (started in Feb, was extreme in April),
distended belly (looked 4 months pregnant at spring break - I was
embarassed to wear a bathing suit), cramping, bloating, etc.  I did
have viral pneumonia the december before all of these symptoms started
happening.  I have read that celiac disease can be brought on by a severe
viral infection.  Another thing that started happening to me about a
year before I got the diarhea was I started getting huge skin lesions
on my nose and chin.  They would just start growing for no apparent
reason and looked like boils, were very painful and just seemed to
grow and grow for several days and then would start to go away.  They
lasted about a week.  This happened several times and no doctor could
ever explain them.  I'm convinced that they were early signs of my
celiac sprue, given that there is a skin disorder, DH, so closely
related to celiac.  I was wondering if any celiac's on this list ever had
any skin lesion problems such as I have described.

        This list has been wonderful in many ways, in particular a big
THANKS goes to Jen Stadler who has now put tollhouse cookies back in
my life!  The half soy/half rice flour really works!  And I have so
longed for a good tollhouse cookie for the last five years!

        As for Don K.'s most recent questions:  I have never reacted to
any kind of vinegar - I eat ketchup, mustard, mayonaise, etc..  and I've
never reacted to vanilla extract.  However, I seem to be a "less
sensitive" celiac.  I've never proven it, but I have a feeling that even
if I ate a piece of bread, cookie whatever with regular wheat flour, I
probably would not have much of a reaction.  This concerns me somewhat
because I am a creature of habit in that I tend to eat the same subset
of things over and over again and if I'm getting trace amounts of gluten
everyday and not reacting outwardly, but inwardly where it counts, then
I'd like to stop eating whatever causes the problem.  It does concern
me tha some people on this list seem to react to distilled vinegar.

        I have a question that I believe has not come up yet.  This
question comes because I have now seen three separate GI's in three
very different parts of the country.  My first was in Boston, MA where
I was diagnosed.  THis doctor was more the "apathetic" type we so
often seem to find.  Not too informative about the disease in general
and literally "put me through the ringer" for a diagnosis.  The
second was less knowledgeable and more apathetic than the first, he was
located in Alexandria, VA.  I was under the impression that we, as
celiacs, should see a gastroenterologist annually for a "checkup"
(blood test, etc.).  I especially needed to see one that year becuase I
had not seen one since diagnosis (as I mentioned I was graduating from
college and I left the Boston area soon after diagnosis) and wanted to
make sure that my blood test had returned to normal.  He didn't seem
to think it was necessary to do anything, but was willing to take my
blood, just to make me feel better.  Two years later, I saw a gastro-
enterologist in Newport Beach, CA and she recommended I have a biopsy
right away to confirm my small intestine's return to normalcy and she
recommends that celiac's have a biopsy every other year!!  Boy, was
this a total turnaround from what I had heard.  So, now my question -
what is the recommended "treatment" for celiac's other than the
gluten-free diet.  Should we see a GI every year and have our blood
checked?  Should we have subsequent biopsies every couple of years?  What
have ya'll heard as the recommended maintenance plan?  I, for one, do
not wish to have another endoscopy unless absolutely necessary (like I
get sick again or something)!!

        Sorry this has been so long-winded, but I've been storing up
for months!

                        Lynn Pekmezian
                        Atlanta, GA
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