This is the best paper I have ever read with definitions of celiac disease. He tells why some heal so well, why some do not. The different degrees of celiacs, why some are so easy to diagnose and why some are not. I printed the paper--be aware, it is 14 pages long and the tiniest print. I am sending the paper to my parents.

My dad has had stomach problems for years, as long as I can remember. He retired and has been sick since then, even before. He had terrible diarrhea, went from 260# down to 135#. The doctors did a exploratory surgery to see what was going on and his entire small intestine is calcified, completely, along with all of the blood vessels that attach to the large intestine. They told him that a person can live without their small intestine, yet they were afraid to remove it because of the involvement of the blood vessels. They had never seen anything like it before. At that time he was not gf yet, he had tried it and was still sick, so gave up. That was 4 yrs ago. Finally he did go gf for good in November of 2005. He does feel better, yet still has bouts of diarrhea, not as bad as before. He has gained some of the weight back, maybe up to 170#. My dad is not the big guy I remember, he is very pale, frail looking. It's so sad. As I was reading this paper, it kind of explains so much.

Please read it and let me know what you think. Dr. Murray is originally from Ireland, the paper was written in 1996, and is so very informative.

http://www.bayareaceliacs.org/widening-spectrum.htm

Deb