<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Sorry this has taken so long to summarize. There were 34 responses in all with a wide variety of suggestions, so I've presented all of them below. Thank you so much for all your responses. __________________ Growing up I took iron supplements-prescribed by my doctor. My mother used to cook me liver a lot too. When I grew up, I became a vegetarian. When I was pregnant, my doctor worried that I was anemic and made me take two iron supplements daily. I eat nutritious foods. I came to the conclusion that I was a person who did not absorb iron well. For most of my life, I have had strong, white fingernails. In recent years (after having digestive problems due to gluten intolerance), I have developed some slight ridges and striped color of the fingernails. I suffered for a number of years before realizing that gluten was the culprit. I have wondered if I had trouble absorbing iron my whole life due to having the genes for celiac disease. Perhaps this was my only symptom until I was in my 30s and started having obvious distress. I am very careful of my diet now. The fingernails may have improved slightly. _______________________ Are you taking vitamin and mineral supplements? Healing can take a long time in the gut, and you may not be absorbing the nutrients you need yet. Ironically, these nutrients are also needed to heal properly! Supplements can help a lot. Also, wheat substitutes do not always contain the same levels of many nutrients found in gluten bread, etc. Maybe have your doctor test your blood for vitamin absorption. If you cannot absorb the supplements very well either, you may need to have B12 and other nutrients by injection until your gi system can do the job again. _____________________________ I had ridges in my nails until I stopped using Centrum as my multivitamin and switched to One a Day. ____________________________ If you are having a difficult time increasing your RBC you might try increasing your folic acid and Vit. A containing foods or take a general vit/min supplement. Vit. A and folic acid are found to help with hemopoisis (manufacture of RBC) and for iron absorption. Sometimes ridges can be due to calcium deficiency. _____________________________ have you had your trace elements tested? your vitamins? still anemic? how much damage did your biopsy show? __________________________ Be sure to take lots of gf vitamins, especially calcium and d. Did you have a dexascan to check your bone density level? I had a huge ridge -really a valley -in one nail for almost 3 years and it suddenly disappeared after nearly 4 years of gf. It may take time. Be sure you are GF and take those GF vitamins _______________________________ I am 79 and a lifelong Celiac. First, your nails will not change, mine have been the same as yours since birth and being GF has nothing to do with them after they are formed. Second, it is likely that you are not GF yet if you have not put on weight. I did after about 2 or 3 months. Remember that you have to check your meds too. Third, I have a similar problem with my bloods for the last couple of years since I had the second 15" of my small intestine out. If your blood lows or highs, include Hematocrit, read up on Testosterone. I am going to get some and hope it corrects mine. Of course, I do not know how old you are but this is a crazy disease in the way it affects people, but first order of business is to get GF and then get a transglutaminse test (measures antibodies from gluten in your system) to prove that you are GF. _____________________________________ I was not sure if you'd seen articles below. I believe you would not still be anemic if you are GF for so long and the body does repair itself when the vitamin is replaced and absorbed. Did they check for all anemias like B-12 folic acid & ferrous sulfate? Sometimes, there are other reasons for the problems with your nails besides Iron anemia., including hypothyroid, hemochromotosis and autoimmunity disorders. Koilonychia, or "spoon-shaped" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed& dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15053406 Am Fam Physician. 2004 Mar 15;69(6):1417-24. Related Articles, Links Nail abnormalities: clues to systemic disease. Fawcett RS, Linford S, Stulberg DL. Thomas M. Hart Family Practice Residency Program, York Hospital, York, Pennsylvania 17405, USA. [log in to unmask] The visual appearance of the fingernails and toenails may suggest an underlying systemic disease. Clubbing of the nails often suggests pulmonary disease or inflammatory bowel disease. Koilonychia, or "spoon-shaped" nails, may stimulate a work-up for hemochromatosis or anemia. In the absence of trauma or psoriasis, onycholysis should prompt a search for symptoms of hyperthyroidism. The finding of Beau's lines may indicate previous severe illness, trauma, or exposure to cold temperatures in patients with Raynaud's disease. In patients with Muehrcke's lines, albumin levels should be checked, and a work-up done if the level is low. Splinter hemorrhage in patients with heart murmur and unexplained fever can herald endocarditis. Patients with telangiectasia, koilonychia, or pitting of the nails may have connective tissue disorders. Publication Types: Review http://www.hooked-on-nails.com/naildisorders.html Symptom: Nail symptoms - WrongDiagnosis.com *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List*