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I just wanted to add one other aspect to this problem.  Besides the fact that
it's "no fun" for a doc to diagnose a disease that is STRICTLY diet
controlled, they have no one to send us to for diet information.  Hospital
nutritionists and dieticians don't have a CLUE!!  I have been asked by these
professionals to explain what gluten is!?  The docs don't have the time(or
want) to gather and dispense all the diet guidelines for a celiac.  As you
all know, there are many aspects to what a healing celiac can and cannot eat.
So many are lactose intolerant, sensitive to soy, etc, etc.  While it has
been my experience that, once healed, some celiacs can return to milk
products, etc--if not in LARGE quantities.

We are right when we start discussing the fact that many people would panic
if they understood the full implications of this disease! How many diabetics
have you met that you didn't wonder what the UNDERLYING cause might be?  I
seem to always be coming across someone with an autoimmune
disease(fibromyalgia, Lupus, hypothyroidism) and thinking to myself---"could
be celiac".  We know the possibility is there, but we often find ourselves
not saying anything because we know what the doctor's reaction will be---"the
person that told you that is crazy.  Do you have chronic diarreha?"
How frustrating to be so educated and knowledgeable about a disease that the
doctors are almost ignorant to.  There was an article in a Gordon Liddy
publication(unsure of the name at this moment...will send it later) dealing
with this disease and he states that his research shows as many as 1 in 80
could have this.  As many of you may be aware, there was a study done with
infants that gave this statistic.  The doctors(in general) are still telling
our society that this is RARE!!!  I agree with the person who wrote that she
was inundating her docs with celiac literature.  Maybe we should all be
working to educate our hometown docs.  They may not listen to us, but they
certainly can't argue the medical journal writings, can they??!

[[[[[stepping off soapbox]]]]]

~Margie in KY