[dangero]

I think this is a common misconception. People have varying symptoms, but it's important to remember that those are symptoms and may not equate the the damage done to your system.

I was like you re:symptoms, but instead of going gluten free, I got an allergy panel done and celiac disease came back. I was actually still kind of disbelieving since my symptoms seemed light, so I followed it up with a stomach biopsy to confirm and I discovered I do have it.

[Frondo]

See, I wouldn't have even thought to seek out medical advice, I literally didn't think there was anything wrong except getting old.

The person who told me to cut wheat down wasn't a doctor nor a nutritionist, and the advice kind of came out of nowhere (not related to me complaining about my aching knee or anything).

I likely won't get tested at this point, because it sounds invasive, and I am (as before) happy with my quality of life, but you do raise an interesting point.

[Abraln]

An allergy test can be as simple as a doctor dipping a small plastic spike in some concentrated allergen, then poking you (lightly, not enough to break the skin, just enough to leave a mark that will fade in a few hours) with both that and a "control" spike, then comparing the redness after a short wait. Pain wise, it is no worse than an ant bite in my experience, and I was tested for the 50 most common allergies at once (we were trying to ID the source of some symptoms I was having).

IANAD though, so testing for celiac disease may require more.

[Frondo]

It was "stomach biopsy" that sounded more invasive than an allergen skin test. :)