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After reading all the responses from celiacs on this list who tend to react
so differently to any gluten, I've come to wonder about something. I don't
mean to imply that all celiacs will fit into these two categories, but I
have noticed that there tend to two large groups of us:

Group 1 does not tend to be overly sensitive unless they actually eat
something glutenous, and this group generally takes an hour or more to
react. This group tends to react to gluten with only GI symptoms such as
vomiting, diarrhea, gas and/or stomach pain.

Group 2 tends to be exceedingly sensitive to any exposure to anything with
gluten, and this group also sometimes reacts almost instantly to it. This
second group also may react to any product with gluten in it, such as
shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc., even to entering a bakery or walking past
a bakery. This group often seems to react with other symptoms, instead of
or in addition to GI problems: dizzyness, mental weirdness or fogginess,
rashes (other than DH), hives, breathing difficulties, etc.

What I'm wondering is if the difference between these two groups might
*sometimes* be due to the idea that Group 1 tends to be straight celiacs,
while Group 2 may be celiac and/or allergic to glutin or wheat, which would
account for the symptoms other than GI problems, and for the quicker
reaction times to gluten stimuli.

Just wondering. Please note the qualifiers such as "tends to" or "may": I
certainly don't intend for this to be taken as an absolute statement or to
explain all the individual differences between us. I'm convinced that
celiacs can be quite individual in their own particular brand of this
disease, and that we come in all sizes and colors. -vance