<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I do not know if anyone else has noticed this, but there is a strong and
growing tendency on this list to attribute almost every symptom or illness to
CD, which, of course is very unwise.  It is rather like leafing through a
medical dictionary and identifying with all kinds of symptoms, but without
the ability to connect and assess them so that a valid diagnosis is reached
(unless, of course, one happens to be a physician).

I think it is wonderful, and very reassuring, to have an "instant" support
group like this one, but it is *NOT* a substitute for the kinds of informed
professional advice we get from our physicians; and I think they should be
given more credit than they sometimes get.

I do not wish to sound like I am preaching, but it is forty years since I was
diagnosed (I was twenty-five), and I have lived a healthy, gluten-free life
since.  Although there are conditions directly associated with celiac disease
(DH is the classical example) I, nevertheless, feel safe in the assumption
that, generally speaking, my susceptibility to disease is probably not much
different from that of non-celiacs--providing, of course, I stick to my diet!

This, by the way, is not a medical opinion; just that of a layperson who
worries that the disparate bits of information that appear on this list
(usually insufficient to lead to informed opinion), may confuse, even panic,
individuals who post messages with the expectation of being relieved of their
worries.

                                        John Wiseman