<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I believe I confused a lot of people by a comment I made in my post so I thought I would clarify it for you. I said that it can't be detected until the "last stages." I didn't mean that in a technical way I meant it in a "so to speak" kind of way. What I meant by last stages is that I have heard from other sources that many pathologists miss mild to moderate damage. Some doctors won't diagnose you with Celiac if you only have moderate intestinal damage. So I was just saying that in those cases people suffer from severe malabsorption among other things before ever getting a diagnosis. I hope that clarifies it better for everyone. My daughters doctor said flat out that she looks for "bone skinny limbs and a distended belly." "Kind of like a starving child.= " I told her I was not going to wait until my daughter was starving to death to have her tested! That is another way I meant last stages as in so much damage that the child looks like they are starving to death rather than just slow growth and diarrhea etc...I hope that helps and sorry if I confused anyone. Tandi