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I have a 57 year old friend who is having serious health problems, and I
am interested in what any of you may think about the possibility of it
being celiac.  He is not able to get in for any kind of testing till the
27th of Sept. and even then I don't know that they will test for celiac,
but the more I hear I just wonder if that isn't a real possibility.
Anyway for symptoms, he has been diabetic for 30 years or so, and had
struggled with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc before being diagnosed
with diabetes. Then in 1994 he was so sick with constant diarrhea for 9
days that he didn't know if he would be able to make it through.  The
hospital (in Italy) did numerous tests, but were not able to come up with
anything for sure.  After the initial crisis period he still didn't dare
be very far from a bathroom any of the time.  At one point they tried to
remove his gall bladder only to find he was born without one. This Summer
his health is really going down fast, and he was bleeding from the colon
for a week at a time, and suffers from intense abdominal pain, nausea,
dizziness, weakness, and also a swelling of the legs, arms, face, etc.
Tonight he has swelling in his jaw and extreme pain in his ear---whether
this would be related to the intesinal problems at all, I have no idea.
He says he can feel a blockage in the colon from time to time, and then
it lets up and lets things through.  I realize that no opinions are going
to take the place of medical help, but I'm very concerned for him, and
would at least very much appreciate any opinions any of you have as to
the possibility of him having celiac, and especially if any of you have
had symptoms that match his.  He's pretty desparate, and willing to try
about anything.  (He's in NC)

Thank you all very very much!

Timia (in WI)