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    First, let me say a big thank you to all of the over 50 people
who responded to my call for help.  I tried to respond to everybody,
but I know I zapped some messages before replying (these fingers are
just too set in their habits!).
   Many of the responses were similar and I'll try to cull out the
most important and then add a few of the others.
    Many suggested that I might have other food
intolerances/allergies in addition to gluten (milk, both lactose and
casein, was mentioned especially often).  Several suggested
that I get the ELISA test or do food elimination to find out if I do
indeed have other food problems.  Others suggested that I might have
IBS in addition to the CD (Levbid was mentioned as helping with IBS).
Another possible culprit for my continuing problems was Candida.
    Almost everybody cautioned me about becoming discouraged too fast
and reminded me that gluten hides almost everywhere and that it takes
a long time to become really  good at ferreting it out.  (I knew
that,  but thanks anyway.)  The length of time it takes for folks to
recover after going GF seems to vary tremendously, but several folks
said it had taken them up to 2 full years to become really
comfortable and well.
    On person suggested a colonic irrigation, to clean my insides
out so I could start fresh, as it were.  Another recommended Dr.
Peter D/Adamo's book, "4  Blood Types, 4 Diets:  Eat Right for Your
Type" and guessed that I am type O (I haven't any idea what my type
is!--maybe I need to find out!).
    A number of people made suggestions about travel as a celiac.
One suggested that I really need to give it up (Oh, no!), as my
health is more important.  Others said they do travel quite happily
and gave me suggestions for that:  taking a cooler with my food in
it, taking a mountain climber's stove, buying plain food locally and
cooking for myself, etc.
     A  four-day rotation of foods and/or a careful food and symptom
diary was suggested--the  latter to help me  ferret out where the
problems may be (I'm doing the latter and getting some ideas).
    Some resources were suggested:  joining  the Gluten Intolerance
Group, CSA/USA, etc.  Marjorie  Hurt Jones' book, "The Allergy Self-
Help Cookbook" and Wendy Wark's "Living Healthy with Celiac Disease"
and the magazine "Sully's Living Without" were also recommended.
    Another suggested aid was FOS (fructooligosachirides), reportedly
available in health food stores.  Coincidentally, in a visit to a
bookstore last weekend, I did my usual checking of indexes and ran
across the comment somewhere that papain, 500-1000 mg, helps some
celiacs when they accidentally ingest  small  amounts of gluten--has
anyone else  heard of that??
    One person suggested I might have picked up a bug,  such as
giardia, and may need to have my stools teested for parasites.
Another suggested eliminating coffee, especially decaf.  Another
warned about being especially careful about stuff like natural
flavors, MSG, etc.  Another suggests eating a large helping of steamed
white rice when I have diarrhea.
    I hope I'm not omitting something really crucial here.  I've
tried to summarize briefly, so I haven't quoted or given lots of
details.  If someone wants more info on any of the above, e-mail me
and I'll try to see what I can dig out.
    Again, my thanks for all the outpouring of help and support--it
really helped me when I was feeling very low, frustrated,  and
helpless (we all know those feelings, right?).  Anyway, I've really
simplified my diet, am eating  lots  of plain rice, and seem  to be
doing better that last couple of days (fingers crossed!).  And I
don't have any big trips planned until next November!
Cheers--Mary Jean
            Mary Jean DeMarr <[log in to unmask]>