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Dear Listies,
Again, thanks for all the help and info I got after my posting on June 29.
When I spoke to a doctor this week he essentially repeated a lot of what I
had learned through this group.  Here is a bit about my diagnosis.
In April an American gastrologist decided that that I had a gluten
intolerance and suggested going on a GF diet.  I did, felt better and he
said to continue it, which I did to the best of my ability.  According to
my new Polish doctor this was a mistake, as the American doc should have
ordered blood tests and a biopsy right away.

I had blood tests the other day, but have to wait a month for the biopsy.
Why the wait?  Because hepatitis B is such a problem in Polish hospitals
that he recommends first getting innoculated, waiting a month, getting
another shot, THEN doing the biopsy.  Of course the more that passes the
more time there is for villi to heal.

My question is this:  If I push for the biopsy in spite of a risk of
hepatitis I could get it done, probably by going to a private clinic rather
than a public hospital.  As I understand the situation  this is the only
way of really determining if I have celiac or not.  Plus, the doc is
probably exagerating the risk of hep, though not because of the risk of a
malpractice suit like in the US, he's just being careful.  On the other
hand, though my GF diet wasn't as GF as I thought it was, I have been GF
since mid April and the biopsy might be inconclusive at this point anyway.
In favor of the biopsy, I've been unwell enough recently that it wouldn't
surprise me if my villi are damaged.
I'm also thinking about medical coverage for whenever I do return to the US
as I assume an ironclad diagnosis is best for dealing with insurance
companies.

Any ideas?

Oh, if anybody is going to be traveling to Poland please let me know and
I'll share what info I've got.  Two people already wrote me about this.

Thanks a million,

Dan