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Many thanks to the many dozens of listmembers who responded to my
request for advice. I never would have expected such a tremendous
response and I am truly touched. I know now that many can understand
what an emotional time this has been for me--- all the months of
searching for information, all the studying, all the doctors'
appointments, all the frustration of trying to get someone to listen and
then take my concerns seriously.  It's been so tough to know I may be
getting closer to figuring out what may be wrong with me and how to
improve the quality of my life, my health, my strength, and peace of
mind, and yet, every time I feel like I may be turning a corner,
"poof!"another roadblock.  Even so, I AM hanging in there and I figure
if I've gotten this far, I can put up with pretty much anything for the
next three weeks (when my biopsy is scheduled).  At this point, I
wouldn't consider foregoing the biopsy, because if the test comes back
negative while feeling this bad, it may never read positive.

Over the next few weeks I will try to reply individually to each of
those who responded to my post who had specific questions or comments.
If you don't hear from me right away, you will"

Some people wanted to know why it was so important for me to obtain a
professional/official diagnosis.  I guess everyone has their own set of
personal reasons, but for me, these are among them:

1. To convince MYSELF.  Even though I feel terrible a lot of the time,
I've never really considered myself a sick person.  Deep down, I feel
that if I self-diagnose, I will always be second guessing myself".

2. To convince myself that it may be something ELSE besides CD or
gluten-intolerance that's making me feel so sick.  What if giving my
illness a name is is just my way of giving up the search?

3. To convince my FAMILY that I may have a real condition and that I'm
not just a bizarro or a hypochondriac.  They already think I'm a total
flake because I'm a vegetarian. If I add another restriction to my diet
without a real reason, they'll think I'm over the top.  My own mom (who
is a nurse!) is convinced that I am an anorexic/bulimic because she
thinks I'm too skinny (I'm actually just right at 5' and 100-lbs) and
because I'm always tired and sickly-looking.

4. To encourage some of my family members who also suffer the same
symptoms to be tested for CD as well.  My mother and especially my
sister have many of the same symptoms that I do and I'm concerned about
them, because they don't seem to feel any need to find out what may be
wrong.  Maybe they're afraid or maybe they're like me and don't want to
be "sick."

5. To have the advantage of knowing this may be a possibility for my own
children and knowing I can help them avoid suffering from symptoms (I'm
not a mom yet, but someday I hope!)

6. To have the motivation to maintain a gluten-free diet.  If this is
something I need to do for the rest of my life, then I want to know for
SURE, because it seems so-o-o very difficult!!  The positive side is
that I have always made it a priority to do whatever it takes to live
healthy"if I know for sure eating gluten is risking my health (as
opposed to just making me uncomfortable) then I will never touch it
again.

When I started this whole process of determining what was making me ill,
I was determined to do WHATEVER I had to do to have a diagnosis^×in
writing, on paper, so that I could hold it in my hands and pull it out
whenever anyone questioned why I was making the choices I was making
about what I will eat and what I won't.  At this point, I feel much
differently about it and I realize that it is not worth suffering just
to have that silly piece of paper.  It's not worth losing one more month
(or forbid another YEAR) of my life.

This group has been a fantastic support for me.  I can't tell you all
how much that has meant to me or thank you enough.

Best wishes to all,
- Theresa in NYC

P.S.  For those of you who suggested a second opinion"can anyone
recommend a GI in the NYC metro area that is knowledgeable about or open
to CD and/or gluten intolerance?