<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
At 07:11 AM 1/3/96 -0500, you wrote:
 
>Would there be any benefit at this point for me to seek a formal diagnosis?
 
I personally see no point in a formal diagnosis. Here's a prewritten
paragraph on my history:
 
I was first diagnosed at 14 months of age. It took a day to be diagnosed as
the doctors in those days just smelled the stools. I was gluten-free for two
years, then my mother was told I was cured and she didn't tell the next
doctor or any school or camp about it or even me, though overhearing I did
know I had something called siliac and I had a banana intensive diet for
awhile. Growing up I was the skinniest in class. I had problems running a
quarter mile in six grade. I always had great difficulty passing swim tests
(had to take it slowly on my back). In the teen years I was constipated but
had a lot of smelly flatulence (big problem on the morning school bus full
of boys). My teeth developed late and my braces weren't off until I was 17.
When I drank beer I would puke. In college I stumbled on it in the
dictionary and learned that is was spelled celiac. But the dictionary just
said "childhood disease". At 33 I first complained to a doctor about
diarrhea when I went out drinking (by this time I could drink beer). At age
40 (six years ago) my stools had become more frequent and I did a little
reading and learned that celiac is a disease for life! I have never been
formally diagnosed. My reaction to gluten is directly related to the amount
consumed and I can't imagine intentionally eating it so I can be tested.
 
Don.