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

Dear Mary and List,

Your post today was just what I needed.  I never heard of celiac sprue
until about a month ago.  I was diagnosed after I had anemia and
malabsorbtion of iron from my annual physical in Nov.  My GI told me 3
things that day.  1.  I should cut back on wheat products  2.  Just a
fluke of my body, no need to test any other family members, and   3.  If
he could find  a copy, he would give me a diet to follow.  It
was one page.  Fortunately, at the bottom, someone had written in the name
of a local support group and a phone number.

I called that number as soon as I got home, and began to find out a lot
more about celiac disease.  I went right on the web and went to the site
offered to me by the support person here in my city and started learning a
lot.  First of all, I learned that my gastroenterologist doesn't know very
much about it.  So, now that I am having other symptoms,  I don't trust
him to answer them.  I called his office to ask about any research done in
this city (teaching hospital, doctors that specialize in celiac sprue.)
He never called me back.  I have an appointment April 9, with bloodwork to
be done right before.  My confidence in this doctor is not high, and am
trying to see another one recommended by the local support members.
He is not available until May, but I have an appointment May 7.

One question I have is should I contact one of the authorities in
Baltimore, or Iowa to see if there is a colleague doing work here in San
Antonio.  The postings I read every day have been a godsend.  But I know I
need an authority to help me make decisions.

I am quite good at ferreting out ingredients.  I have been asthmatic and
allergic all my life, and  and raised  two allergic and asthmatic
children.  I was encouraged to eat more grains, less meat, as I got older,
and my cholesterol began to creep up.  So here I am.  We immediately
bought a breadmaker and Bette Hagman's books.  My family would rather eat
whatever I prepare than store bought bread, so we are becoming gluten free
in my kitchen.

So, I was surprised to begin to have more symptoms. Yesterday I had the old
bloated, percolating feeling all afternoon.  I tried to remember what I
had eaten, and there was nothing new being consumed.  Am I reacting to
something else, or am I becoming more susceptible, as Mary was mentioning
in her earlier summary today.

And there is a pain that I have had in my lower back, right side for 3-4
months...even before the anemia thing came up.  I can't sleep on my right
side because of it, and it is gradually getting more painful.  In fact, I
think it has moved over to the left side too.  It is almost like the
feeling that I did too many crunches, or exercised in a bad way.  It is
not unbearable....yet....but I don't know where it is headed, and don't
think my doctor will know.  The new doctor is not available to me until
May 7, so I am uncertain what to do next.  Tha that is why I am hoping
some of you out there have had the same pains and can share some
information with me.

Anne in San Antonio.