<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

First of all, so many great people responded to my diagnosis ?, and I'm so
greatful for the encouragement, advice and information that was shared with me.
This is a great resource and I'm so glad I found it - makes living with
Celiac seem quite "doable"!  To refresh, I had gone mostly gluten free for 6 months
just trying to be comfortable, learned of celiac disease, had a positive
blood test, many symptoms, had a negative biopsy.  In addition, I forgot to
mention I have a brother who was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance as a toddler
and supposedly outgrew it, and a father with many celiac symptoms and a
longstanding history of GI issues.  I wondered how common my situation is in the
Celiac community.
       To summarize, I heard of:
- 1 person diagnosed by blood test only, with positive changes with GF diet
- 1 person had pos. blood test, neg. biopsy, diagnosed as Celiac due to
family history and dietary improvement
- 2 people had a negative blood tests, one of them had a negative biopsy, but
symptoms improved with diet
- 1 person had a negative biopsy but sent slides to a center for Celiac
research and learned they were highly suggestive of Celiac, and had, in addition,
been mishandled at the original lab
- 1 had a pos. blood test, neg. biopsy, DH, and improvement with diet
       Many people suggested that the biopsy could have been done improperly,
in the wrong place to find damage, the slides could have been misread, or
that my good diet prior to biopsy could have caused enough healing to take place
that the damage didn't show.  It was recommended that I read the book
"Dangerous Grains." It was also recommended that I be careful not to overdue the
yeasts, starches and GF junk in my excitement to find things I can eat.
       I was encouraged to go GF and stick to it.   I certainly plan to, and
feel so much better already after just a week.  As a side note, I learned
today that two cousins get terribly ill whenever they eat bread or pasta.  I need
to send them some info.
Thanks again for all the support and information, it's been a blessing.
Aimee

* Send administrative questions to [log in to unmask] *