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

Thank you to everyone who responded to my post on this subject.  Since my
daugther accidentally deleted most of my saved mail, i could not post each
person individually to thank them.  The following is a brief summary of the
responses;

1. Collagenous sprue; No responses which i take to be a good sign that this
condition is extremely rare and thankfully none of us have been so diagnosed.

2. Refractory sprue;  A good number of people reported that refractory sprue
can be successfully treated with corticosteroids such as prednisone.  Only
one person said that they were diagnosed as having refractory sprue
personally and her response to the Prednisone has been good and she is now at
the point of reducing dosage and waiting to see if her symptoms would return.

3. Many people wrote to caution us against assuming the worst because of the
return of my wife's symptoms.  All suggested that we examine her diet more
closely to see if the culprit was really just a hidden source of gluten or
some other food allergy.  A number of very helpful suggestions were made as
to where to look.  It was also suggested that she cut down her diet to the
very basics to see if that would end the diarrhea and stomach pain and if so,
then slowly and carefully re-introduce other foods.  After our initial shock
from reading about refractory and collagenous sprue we have decided this
going this route is the first (and best) option.

4. Many people wrote us, not to say anything about either condition but just
to offer us their support and encouragement.  We were very moved by this and
i wish i could do more than just say THANK YOU.

Thanks to your responses we are moving forward with renewed optimism.  Our
soon to be 12 year old daughter has been plowing through the pantry armed
with a list of prohibited ingredients.  The gluten (and lactose) doesn't
stand a chance!

Thanks again to everyone on the list.  You have been educating us in so many
ways and i keep printing out new information from you every day.
Thanks (and a cyber hug)
Mark & Gail Maurer