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Hi all,

I'm only member of this list since two weeks and
I've been following the discussion about biopsy versus self-diagnosis
with great interest.

I'll try to keep it short.

Resume:
I'm a 31 year old Dutch woman (that fits the racial description!?!, although
I don't really believe in that one).
Since Februar I've got regularly recurring skin problems diagnosed as
dermographitis. As it did not lessen but sometimes drove me to the
roof I got myself forwarded to an allergologist (?).
There they performed tests on contact and food allergy and also
wasp/bee stings. As my MD put it: I'm as allergic as a ... door.
Especially food, notorious nuts, sesamy, coconut, a list of cereals,
corn, pollen of trees, grasses and herbs.

Strange that I've never had any severe complaints, and my only severe
one now is my skin affliction.

I got myself on the allergy list some time ago and found reference to
CELIAC.
I got the FAQ and read it, getting warmer and warmer. It all sounded
so familiar.
I just recovered from a nearly three weeks diarrhea after going to
Spain. O.K. probably travellers diarrhea, but it took me a long time
to recover.
I'm nearly always tired, and still I experience that as an abnormal
condition.

Anyway, having had that diarrhea, having the dermographitis and having
allergies for a whole list of cereals, I feel that there is a fat
chance I've got CD.

I went to my MD armed with a print-out of CELIAC-FAQ(!!!) and I was
taken seriously.
I have some reserves because one should always take into account the
first-year-medical-students-effect, reading on all kinds of diseases
makes them go the the doctor more often then necessary.

O.K. My MD took me serious and offered me two options:
-either try a GF diet and than furtheron a gluten challenge
-or go to the gastro... and have a biopsy, he didn't know of any blood
tests, he only heared about CD, never saw anyone before.

My idea (also formed by your reactions) is that a biopsy would be the
best thing to do for me now. If it rules out CD than I probably have
to be on a less-cereal containing diet anyway, but not on a GF-diet.
If CD is diagnosed than ... GF-diet.

I fear that it will be an awful hassle to take a complete GF-diet and
than a challenge for who knows how long. I'm now not GF and I'll keep
that up until I will be diagnosed I think.

My questions to all of you is
-do you agree that biopsy would be the best choice for me now?
-how nasty exactly is that biopsy? Is it, just like with the dentist
when you don't like to take a sedative, it hurts a little, but it
saves you lots of trouble (feeling sedated all day) afterwards????

I really like to hear from you. I feel at home with this mailing list
alreaddy, although ofcourse I still hope I'm not a CD patient.

Kind regards, Nora
* Nora Veldman, Laboratory of Crystal and Structural Chemistry
* Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University.
* (Kruytgebouw, room N828), Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
* E-mail: [log in to unmask]
* FAX   : (31)-30-533940         Office : (31)-30-533902
* Home phone (31)-20-6236554  Amsterdam