<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi, I'm Marge, a 47 yr. old, biopsy, blood test, D-xylose and fecal fat (passed--flunked?? them all) diagonosed Celiac since the end of July. I had had no previous G-I symptoms except life-long constipation and huge stools which I always assumed were normal for me, was slightly overweight, and chronically anemic since college, maybe before. I also had the immune system from hell (no ability to fight off infections of any kind from cuts to "flus"), was chronically tired, and had aches and pains, especially hips and knees, which sent me to my family doctor who guessed lupus, fibromyalgia, CFS, arthritis, bursitis, depression, stress, you name it, and sent me to rheumatologists etc. with no diagnosis. I felt crazy and emotionally weak, was sure I was a hypochondriac, and blamed all my problems on my inability to cope with "normal" amounts of stress; however, to my family practice doctor's credit, (whatever he might have felt) he always took my complaints seriously. Needless to say, when my referral to an astute G-I doctor to investigate the cause of my worsening anemia finally led to a conclusive diagnosis of CD (on a Friday afternoon after 5:00), I was eager to find out as much as I could. My husband found this list on a search of Celiac Sprue, and I have been a daily "lurker" ever since. It has literally been my daily lesson, and I am so grateful to all of you and especially to the listowners and experts who give so much time. For some reason, however, I have been reluctant to post--maybe it's a sort of denial that I will have this disease for the rest of my life and that I really do belong in this group. Also, because I had had no G-I symptoms, I'm sorry to say that I tended to brand as fanatical the posters who claimed to get sick from one little crumb or vitamin pill or whatever. When I went G-F, the difference in how I felt was incredible, and apparent within a week. Although I felt angry at the restrictions of the diet and really sad sometimes, I was determined to take it a day at a time, and be grateful that I finally felt well for the first time in my whole life. I was also convinced, however, that I obviously didn't have such a "serious case" as many others since I had no reactions to dairy, felt great, and wouldn't know a gluten attack if one occurred. I therefore decided to be as "good" as I could be, but didn't see the point of chasing every little "natural flavoring," getting my own cutting board, etc. Now--after almost 5 months of being GF (at least I thought so), I am beginning to get attacks that feel like I've been poisoned, gurgly gut, diarrhea, chills, headache, and incredible fatigue. I have it now as I sit here, and this is the fourth or fifth time in the last month--one or more a week. It isn't cool at all, and I feel VERY sorry for myself. The last time I accidently had some non-dairy coffee creamer after church whose ingredients I didn't check and attributed the attack to that. This time I only at at home--but had folks in for a Christmas party. The only things that I can think of that could possibly have been sources of gluten were paparika in an otherwise GF homemade Brunswick stew (the worcestshire sauce was Lea & Perrins--OK according to the Lyles', et. al.'s wonderful shopping guide) and garlic cream cheese which I dipped my rice crackers into along with guests' wheat crackers. Could I possibly have become this sensitive in this short time? I'm beginning to feel crazy again. My Gastro said that it's possible that I might become more sensitive to gluten, but I guess I didn't expect 1-2 sick days per week here all of a sudden. Should I just become ever more fastidious (and "abnormal") about my food, or is something else going on here? I really need some words of wisdom and comfort. In closing, I want to thank you all for being out there in cyberspace or whatever. I know that this was a long message and I'll try to write a subject line which will enable those of you who are too busy to skip it. I think that writing it has been a step for me in really thinking of myself as a Celiac and being willing to become part of this list. To those of you who read it, and maybe identify in some way, thank you so very much. I'd love to hear from you. It's been snowing for about 3 days here in Maine, "...it doesn't show signs of stopping and I've got some CORN for popping.." Marge