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Hello, list:

There were some interesting responses to my summary on the question about
whether people have noticed headaches in reaction to gluten ingestion or
strong nails subsequent to becoming gf.

One more person answered that they suffered the headaches.
Three more people reported the disappearance of white spots, ridges etc. on
their nails since going g.f.

Two very informative responses make it clear that I extrapolated much too
conservatively from the answers I got and incorrectly concluded that
headaches and improvements in nail and hair growth are less than common.

One member wrote:

I'd been on the diet for a year before someone asked about it, then I
looked down and Lo! my toenails had grown back in straight and that fringe
of 2"
hair growing in around my head suddenly could be explained.

So, for one thing, I'll note that many people may not even have paid
attention to those symptoms, though they may have had them. For another,
since late onset celiac is apparently the unusual situation, many of
those who may have had hair and nail problems as a result of
malnutrition caused by the disease may not remember it, it having
happened too long ago.

---excellent point.

Finally (she continues), from years of doing surveys I've learned that if
you get 2% of the population you survey to respond (when it requires they
do something other than answer questions as you stand there holding them by
their lapels, or whatever) you are doing very very well. Your 1.2% is
actually a pretty large response.

----Right. This suggests that instead of multiplying the responses by 10
(as I did) to approximate the real rate, they should be multiplyed by a
factor of 50. Of course that does not quite scan, since my question was not
addressed to all 2 thousand of the people on the list, just those who
noticed the symptoms. And a  fairly high proportion of the people on the
list are committed to sharing information, which distinguishes this group
from other survey targets. I suspect there is no way of knowing what
percentage of noticers are represented by the 1.2% response, but in any
case, multiplying 1.2% x 10 does seem too conservative.

Someone else forwarded the very interesting results of a more controlled
survey:

A woman reported that her son did 606 surveys on celiac disease for a
science fair project - approx. 35% list headache as a symptom prior to
diagnosis and approx. 25% list it as a symptom upon accidental ingestion of
gluten.

She does not say what % of responses her son got back or by what factor he
multiplied the answers, but his report does add up to a common symptom, I'd
say.

Thanks very much for all the helpful responses.

Mary Brown
NYC