<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I was first diagnosed with colitis (spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome) as a teenager. I learned to live with the condition although it limited my life in many ways and cost me a marriage. I developed a dread of going out because if I had to use the bathroom, it smelled so bad, I was ashamed. I thought that everyone with IBS had this problem. About fifteen years ago, I began to think that something was terribly wrong with my health but I could not get a Dr. to agree with me. I would describe my symptoms, they would say let's test for thyroid disease but all my blood work was normal. I finally started thinking autoimmune disease and found an endo willing to test for it...turned out I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Treatment for this did not improve the fatigue, joint pain, depression, mental fog so I started looking for something else. I ventured into the non-traditional medicine world and went on an anti-candida diet for over a year...this diet is essentially a celiac diet although my Dr. did allow wheat pasta. Surprise, surprise, my IBS cleared up significantly. Then I went to an acupuncturist and he looked at the rash on my body and said give up all wheat. That's when I began to suspect celiac disease, especially since the Mayo Clinic indicated a correlation between Hashimotos and CD. I went to gastroenterologist who claimed to specialize in gastric diseases after I first called his office and asked if they were familiar with CD, he ran a reticulin Antibodies IGA, endomysial Antibodies IGA and Gliadin Antibodies IGG and IGA. I had told him that I was wheat free for two months and wheat reduced for over a year and he told me that was irrelevant that the antibodies would show up if I was celiac. My results were negative. He told me that I did not have CD but might be allergic to wheat. From reading the list, it sounds like he is wrong. I would prefer to avoid a gluten challenge...is it too late for a biopsy to show damage? Is there a Doctor in the Northern Virginia, D.C. area who is really knowledgeable? My other concern is that my antibody test revealed that my Complement C'3 and Complement C'4 were twice normal levels. These can be elevated because of the presence of antibodies but they are also a marker for intestinal cancer...according to my research ... as the Dr. said he didn't know why the lab included these results or what they meant...and he's an immunologist. I guess you can see why I don't have much faith in doctors..they been pretty useless to me. Any help would be appreciated. I feel as though I am unable to make a decision about what to do next while at the same time I have a nagging fear I should be doing something soon...Rose