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I'm puzzled over the tendency to refer to non-biopsy-diagnosed persons as
"self-diagnosed." I was advised 33 years ago by a legitimate physician,
licensed and board-certified, that I should be on a gluten-free diet. I had
no medical education and until then I had never heard of such a disorder.

Now, after many years of compliant, gluten-free living, I am baffled and
irritated to find myself being referred to as "self-diagnosed" with its
connotation of imaginary or psycosomatic illness.

There are many illnesses that are informally diagnosed by doctors without
benefit of laboratory tests or x-rays. There are other diseases that cannot
be positively confirmed with tests and x-rays. Do we refer to the victims of
all these ailments as "self-diagnosed?" I don't think so.

Thanks to Susan for her excellent comments.

Margaret