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My thanks to all who responded to my questions on still having blunted
villi with a repeat biopsy after 1 1/2 years on a gf diet.  I asked how
long it should take to heal villi while on a strict gf diet, whether
diabetes had anything to do with the rate of the healing process, and any
other suggestions or advice.  I am much less frustrated and much more
encouraged since I received your responses!

By the way, I also emailed Dr. Gary Gray, a retired gastro who is running a
study of celiac patients at Stanford University.  I am participating in a
study there for those who have been biopsy diagnosed, so I asked him the
same questions I asked you.  His response was that villi often do not
recover completely, even with very strict gluten exclusion.  The important
thing is to maintain weight, have good energy and little or no bowel
symptoms.  If the tongue  becomes beefy red or sore or you have signs of
vitamin deficiencies such as night blindness, then these are the hints that
you are still malabsorbing nutrients and vitamins.  As long as you are
well, you have reduced your chances of developing complications of the
disease, particularly lymphoma or carcinoma of the small bowel.  He doesn't
think the diabetes is any more difficult to treat or to achieve a
remission.  He also stated that if the antibody studies in the blood were
still positive, then I may want to work with my local support group to be
certain I didn't still have hidden gluten in my diet.

I did find out that my internist had done IgA and IgG tests last August
when I had been gf about 10 months.   The IgG had gone from being weakly
positive before diagnosis to none detected, and the IgA had gone from
strongly positive before diagnosis to indeterminant.  That's going in the
right direction, so I may ask her to repeat them sometime this year and see
if there continues to be improvement.  I have regained the weight I lost
before diagnosis, and I have felt so much better since going gf, so will
just continue on the gf diet as I have been doing with the confidence that
I am continuing to improve, no matter what those villi look like!

The responses I received will follow in two parts - one about healing time,
one about advice.

Thanks again!
Janet

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