<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hello everyone! I received 51 replies to my question. Thank you all very much!!! Most of the messages I got were very encouraging. First to the simple question about how bad the biopsie is: Most people did not have any problems and they were sedated. One girl from Sweden wrote she wasn't - and would never do that again. One mentioned throwing up after and another one said, that the throat should be sprayed after the anesthesia and not before. If it is done before it can cause kind of a suffocation feeling. Secondly regarding pregnancy almost everyone stressed on the importance of being GF during the pregnancy. But of course also on being GF in general once you are diagnosed. I must apologize for probably not making my point clear enough. I knew that the purpose of eating gluten before the biopsie is to see the damage that occurs. What I was wondering is, why I should be doing that because I have been diagnosed years ago already. I would think in my case I would want to be GF and then do a biopsie to see how well healed everything is. That's what's important regarding pregnancy and proper absorption and not the assessment of the damage that has occurred I think. Sorry for the confusion that this has caused to some people. I would say about 80% of the replies were not in favor of another biopsie. Because of me being diagnosed already they did not see the need. At least they said I should get a second opinion. They felt that I should go GF right now, wait a few months and then start trying. Some people suggested, that just the blood work should be sufficient. Also getting B12 and folic acid levels tested was a suggestion. I actually did that about a week ago and the results were very satisfying. Also in my routine physical in March everything was good. A few also mentioned how difficult it is to get accurate results and that it might be redundant to run the tests because of all the errors that can occur. The people who were in favor for another biopsie thought that I would benefit from knowing the extent of the damage. For one because of pure medical reasons and then also for the psychological reason of being faced with the damage I have done to myself by cheating. Thanks to the women who encouraged me by letting me know, they've had healthy children. Some of them did not know they had CD during their pregnancies. So what am I going to do now? Well, I started my much stricter diet last Sunday and so far I am doing well. It's amazing, all those years I did not really see the need for a strict diet (it's not that I was cheating that bad though) and now something seems to have clicked. I don't feel the urge for that piece of cake anymore. Kind of like for smokers who reach the point of were they really want to stop. I guess everybody has to find his/her personal reason for quitting. For some it's easy by just looking at the medical facts. But I am sure there are people like me out there for whom going on the diet is much tougher and it takes them a while to do it. For whatever reasons. I will see another gastro who is on my insurance plan, but I am not sure how good that will be. The first one I saw is a celiac specialist, so what can this one tell me now? At least I will do the bloodwork and if they talk me into it, also the biopsie (that's if the insurance agrees on paying). I do not want to do a gluten challenge though. Now that I committed to the diet I could use some tips on travelling. What do you recommend as easy to pack snacks for on the road? We will be travelling from LA to San Francisco and to Yosemite. I assume there are lots of health food stores around, right? Thanks again everyone, Kerstin Atlanta, GA