Re:Welcome newbies!

[Guest guest]

I live in SF and at Sea Ranch.

CD was diagnosed around 2002 by biopsy after a negative blood test.

CD may have been triggered by another autoimmune disease that attacks the liver. Or, undiagnosed CD may have triggered the autoimmune liver disorder, which could well have been fatal. And still could be.

People who have one autoimmune disease are more likely than average to have another, or several.

I feel very fortunate to have had CD discovered and diagnosed.

H.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My name is Mark and I live in Lodi Ca. I know that this is a little bit out of the area but, after all, we are a bedroom community for the Bay Area. I was Diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 1995 when I was Forty years old. I had the symptoms ever since I was a child but none of the Doctors I saw could figure out what was wrong with me. My symptoms got a lot worse when I started taking Prescription Motrin for Arthritis. They then just prescribed Protonics for my stomach problems but it did not help much. It wasn't until my sister was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and I told my Doctor that she had it and my symptoms were the same that I was finally diagnosed. It was amazing that after I had the diagnoses how my doctors started saying that all my other problems were related and that explained why I had so many other problems. I was also amazed that after being on the gluten free diet for a while I could start eating spicy foods again (Which I Love) which had seemed to cause problems before.

[Guest guest]

Hi Mark in Lodi! Maybe I shouldn't speak for the one who started this

group, but I don't think she meant this to be ONLY for bay area folks.

Occassionally we have people pop in who will be visiting the area to

ask for restaurant help - and Lodi is closer to the bay than I am, so

there!

The more you read here (and other groups) you will find your story is

so similar to others. I think many of us who, unfortunately, waited

years for diagnosis. Like you, I cannot express how much better I felt

within days of eliminating gluten from my diet.

Forgive me for being so intrusive, but I'm just a curious person. Is

there any connection between your arthritis and CD?

So, thank you so much for introducing yourself. Welcome to the group,

Mark. I look forward to reading more posts by you.

Happy Weekend,

Carla (originally from San , now in Chico)

[Guest guest]

Hi Carla,

I was told that the arthritis and many of my other problems were associated with the CD. As H. Just described one auto immune disease my trigger another. I have several different types of arthritis. The Rheumatoid Arthritis , degenerative joint disease and the ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are all associated so I was told. So has been the Iritis, GERD, and Neuropathy. The restrictive lung disease and the severe asthma are a result of the AS so in a way they are also associated. I always wonder that if I had gone gluten free many years before if I would not have such severe problems now.

There is a genetic marker called HLA-B27 for AS and it is also maintained that people with this gene descended from Northern Europe. Everything that I have read on CD also says that it is primarily associated from people descended from Northern Europe. I wonder if there is any GEnetic association between the two and if there is a genetic marker for CD? That would be interesting!

Mark