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I'm interested in hearing from other people whose lives have been
transformed by a gluten-free diet, whose symptoms prior to the
diet were mainly emotional, mental and behavioral rather than the
'classical' physical celiac symptoms. My life was transformed when I
went gluten-free last June - I'm now one year gf!!! - I had suffered
endlessly from distressing psychological symptoms, emotional
lability, personality disorders, but only mild gastro-intestinal and
dermatological problems.

I met a family friend this weekend at my brother's wedding, someone I
had known previously as quite difficult to get on with, rather
bad-tempered, weepy, didn't like company, suffered from depression,
relationship problems. She is now a totally different person,
beautiful, serene, warm and friendly. I couldn't believe my ears when
she told me it was all due to someone putting her on a gluten-free
diet this year! It is interesting to note, by the way,  that her
father was a diabetic, and the whole family suffers from
weight problems. Some of you might find that significant.
Anyway, it helped so much to exchange ideas and experiences with
someone who had suffered in the same way.

It is still so hard to convince medical people that this sort of
non-typical gluten intolerance is a very real and distressing
disorder. Even my own sister, who is a classically trained nurse,
insists that gluten intolerance only manifests as serious
gastro-intestinal symptoms. There seems to be little or no knowledge
in the medical world of this type of gluten problem, even though it
comes up regularly on this list.

I want to put together a web-based database on this subject,
and would like to hear from anyone with a story to tell, or any
information, medical or otherwise, that might help to enlighten
minds. Any snippet of information will help.

Thanks for your help, and thanks to the celiac-l community for being
there for me through my first year of gluten-freedom.

Max Desorgher

http://www.xs4all.nl/~maxdes/health/food-int/food-int.html