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Although I agree with Karen and Dr. Fasano concerning the need to be
properly diagnosed, and that always means a biopsy, I am not convinced that
there isn't a bit of posturing going on here in the medical profession.  My
family doctor and Michael's paedaetrician are wonderful doctors and really
listen to what I have to say.  They ask me if I notice anything out of the
ordinary and take into account my reponse, even such vague responses as "His
legs don't look right". (I was correct with that one by the way, his large
muscles had not fully recovered from his pre-gf days and he was walking
improperly as a result).  But, I think as a society we've become very
dependent on doctors for advice and they like that.  In Canada in
particular, where doctors visits are "free", i.e. paid via our taxes, many
of us have lost the skills held by our mothers and grandmothers in coping
with everyday illnesses such as chickenpox or measles or earaches.  We tend
to go to the doctor when our mothers would have shrugged and treated the
illness.  The other factor that tends to make us more dependent on the
medical community is the diet industry.  There are so many fads and diet
products out there that I think we tend to be hesitant about the gf diet
because of the word 'diet'.  Most of us would agree that for health reasons
we should control our intake of salt, sugar, fat, etc.  Why isn't gluten
just another one of these things?  If eliminating gluten from the diet makes
one feel better, then why not?  If eliminating gluten from the diet improves
the health of all those other illnesses which have been discussed on the
newsgroup, then why not?  My 7 year old has Celiac disease and we live with
it quite easily.  Since Michael was diagnosed I followed the diet from time
to time and found that I generally felt better.  In fact, I felt so much
better that I follow it regularly now despite the fact that I do not have a
reaction when I go 'off' the diet.

Doctors are important folks when we are sick and I am not saying that a
proper diagnosis isn't important.  But let's not be telling anyone who
chooses to follow the diet that they should go get tested.

My two cents (Canadian dollars so in the US that would be about 1.2 cents
American)

Janet Thomas
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