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Please forgive me if this has been posted twice:

Since I have been on the list the last few months I have learned more from
you guys than from any other source.  I don't usually comment, but this time
I felt it was necessary.

     As a new list member I noticed one thing right away.  There seemed to
be some sort of an attitude difference between SOME OF the people who were
biopsy diagnosed and those who were self diagnosed.  It could be that I
noticed it more because after paying for the expensive bloodwork only to
find out that it all came back normal, I felt out of place and could not
figure out where I belonged.  I remember visiting a web site where one of
the group members actually signed his post as "biopsy diagnosed"-with the
date, as though it were some sort of medal, or maybe a way of saying I am
definitly celiac, unlike many of the uncertains.

     Not all of us have good medical insurance or the money to keep throwing
at doctors just to get a piece of paper saying that we have CD.  I am self
employed, and I have a high deductable policy, so the test money comes out
of my pocket.  But I still don't understand testing if you get sick when you
ingest gluten.  Maybe it depends on just HOW SICK you get.  Not all of us
show the same symptoms, so maybe the challenge is easier on some than
others.  I feel that you can't judge someone else's opinion about their own
bodies and what they think they can tolerate or not.  As a mother, I also
feel that parents should be the decision makers as to whether to have their
children challenged or not.  Parents know their children and what they can
tolerate better than someone who sees their child once in a while for
check-ups.

     This is only my opinion.  Sorry if I stepped on any toes, but I agree
with Vance's duck theory.

Susan in NC