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At 08:35 AM 9/10/99 -0600, Doris E Valentine wrote:

>Dear List,  I would be interested in knowing how many of you developed CD
>as an adult.  Also, if you had food allergies as a child. And lastly, in
>your opinion, what brought on the CD.  My Dr. told me that if you are
>prone to allergies - food or otherwise - your chances of CD are higher.
>Seems to me that you should have symptoms from birth.  Thanks in advance.

I've been thinking about this topic for several years now. Here's the way I
think it went to the best of  my memory. Keeping in mind that celiacs,
though they may have the genetic code, may be normal most of their life
till the celiac is "activated" through some trauma, physical, viral, or
psychological. When I was young I had a cast iron stomach. Nothing ever
bothered me ever. I was never sick. As I grew older and the first curse of
the Irish hit me, I drank a lot from the age of twelve. When I was a senior
in high school five of us, who were nearly broke and not old enough to buy
booze mixed a half gallon of milk with 25 cents worth of white gas.
(Adolescents are suicidal sometimes aren't they). Three of them went to the
hospital, and the other two of us probably should have.

After that I had a slightly touchy stomach. Then in grad school when we
were drinking wine every afternoon and beer every evening, I got an ulcer.
After curing that I was always a little more careful what I ate because
some things seemed to bother me.

Then after the age of fifty sometimes I had a little acid indigestion now
and then. Finally, when I was sixty, I had a double back fusion, two
titanium steel rods screwed in with six lag screws. Shortly after this I
began to notice the celiac symptoms. I phoned my internist and described
the symptoms and he said immediately that it sounded like "celiac sprue."
He made an appointment (after I checked with the Gluten Intolerance Group
in Seattle) with a gastroenterologist for me. And there it was.

So I  wonder if this can actually come on in stages. A mild stage where it
can pretty much be ignored, then a much heavier stage where it finally gets
your attention. -vance