And I would like to add here--Celiacs is not an allergy, it is an intolerance to gluten. Gluten is wheat, rye, barley, and usually oats. Which would explain cakes, cookies, muffins, spaghetti--anything made with flours, etc. They all contain gluten. The sites Brian gave you to check out are all very good ones. As Mrsd says, many gluten sensitive or intolerant people will have a lactose intolerance in the beginning. Many people can return to lactose after several months of gluten free. This is a lifetime diet, cheating is something that should NEVER be done. A gluten intolerant person has a 60% higher chance of stomach cancers. This is a very serious disease.

And yes, celiacs is an autoimmune disease. When a celiac is still eating gluten, their system does not absorb vitamins and minerals. When you are malabsorbing, then a chemical imbalance sets in. A vitamin B12 deficiency does cause neuropathy. My neuropathy was discovered before I went gluten free. Sometimes neuropathy will reverse itself in some gluten intolerant people, it didn't reverse in me, but the progression did greatly slow down when I went gluten free. My first symptoms were carpal tunnel, in which in a very short time, my toes started going numb, one at a time until all of them would be numb at once. That was over 8 yrs ago.