<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Dear List members, Thank you so much for your responses to my post. I received over 50 responses in 4 days regarding this subject matter. It seems there are alot of people out there who do not have the GI symptoms I hear most people speak of. I thought I was the only one! Also, many of you described achey joints and muscles upon ingesting gluten. My arthritic symptoms include swollen red-hot joints and fever. Noone specifically mentioned that, but many talked about how painful their flare-ups can be. As with most symptoms of sprue, that range of symptoms varies greatly along with their degree of severity! Approximately 2/3rds of you who responded stated you were diagnosed after a bout with anemia. A few of those people said they had no symptoms at all except for the anemia. Most of the others were diagnosed because of a suspected GI bleed due to Arthritis meds. Only one person actually had a GI bleed, and she stated hers was due to intestinal damage from CD, not arthritis medication. Some people stated there was a history of arthritis in their family which raises the question... did those family members also have undiagnosed CD, or do these listmembers really have arthritis? It's hard to know. Some said their symptoms disappear on the GF diet, while some have only minimal relief from their pain. Besides the arthritic symptoms, there were many many more related to celiac disease. It is truly a strange thing! Finally, I want to thank every one of you who took the time to write to me. I can't tell you what comfort I get from knowing I am not alone. Also, thank you for your encouragement to stay on the diet. I know it is the right thing to do, and that time will make this lifestyle easier. I really manage it well at home, it's when I'm away from the house that I run into trouble! Many of you suggested taking sweets with me when I leave the house! From now on I will! Several of you offered recipes and personal words of encouragement if I wanted to contact you specifically. I will be doing some of that in the near future. Once again, many thanks to all you great people who have been so kind. I'll be in touch. Shannon in Texas!