Paula,
Quite a few of us here have had some or all of these issues and certainly the skin issues are autoimmune related. Not sure about fungus issues, but discussed this yesterday with my ND in relation to my "weeping ears" and nails that separate from the skin underneath them erratically. He believes that there is a connection to GS damage and a susceptibility to fungal infections.
I am getting Prolotherapy from my ND to replace lost cartilage in my wrists and fingers that is the result of the autoimmune response to gluten. He has found that the patients he sees for joint damage, who will adopt a GF diet, are having remarkable results for other symptoms that they never came to him for. Yesterday he shared a story of an 80 yr. old woman with severe back pain that he's been treating for several months now. First with Prolotherapy for her back issues, and since with digestive issues that she didn't think were connected. Even at 80 she has had remarkable improvement in a very short time.
There doesn't seem to be an exact age when GS shows itself and can't be ignored, but late 50's seems to be the most common age. Looking back at just my life, my 2 daughters and 3 grandkids, when you chart it out it's pretty conclusive. I've written about this here before, but since you are new here I will relate a bit of my story. I am GS via Enterolab tests in late '09 when I found this place after being dx w/both C & L MC. Since then, 1 daughter and 1 grandson, who is only 2 and was dx with Crohns at less than 1 yr. old, have tested positive for GS via Enterolab and are GF and doing well. My other daughter has been GF for over a year longer than I. She is in Nursing School, she had had IBS, w/both C & D for years and chose to go GF because a friend with the same history had found success with it. Both her kids, had intestinal issues almost from birth and both instinctively won't eat bread, which is verbotten in their house now. As an aside, both of my daughters fought weight issues and bloating all their lives before going GF and I guess I did as well. Going GF for them has resulted in dramatic weight loss w/o dieting. I don't know where I fit in there, because most of my lost weight occurred during my 3 years of D, but we are all now at about a size 6 - down from 10-12.
My paternal GF died of an intestinal obstruction, my mom of stomach cancer, 2 siblings of colon cancer. My mom had 10 children. 4 of 6 of us females had "endometriosis", 5 of 6 of us girls have had "arthritis" - including my Mom - and NONE of us have had the genetic markers for what we've been "diagnosed" with for "arthritis" as far as I know. 2 of my older sisters are severely arthritic and walk with canes, one has had a spinal fusion, the other is literally circling the drain. The boys in the family fared no better and only 2 of 4 are still alive. I have been unsuccessful in getting any of the living to be genetically tested, although 1 has gone GF and feels much better, and have just given up at this point. One nephew - an MD - has already had a bowel resection and both his daughters have Crohns and are Nursing students who apparently are just fine w/o changing their diets and taking steroids in their 20's. We're not a close family so I don't know medical histories of most of the nieces and nephews and their children.
You can look at all this, and your family history and see what's there and you don't know what's coming down the pike with your own health and I know how overwhelming all this new information can be. Joan posted a link to Dr. Mark Hyman's article on this a few days ago:
http://drhyman.com/gluten-what-you-dont ... ll-you-11/
This is also a great article:
http://drhyman.com/why-treating-your-sy ... aster-3520
There is a wealth of information there, especially if you read the comment section where people talk about their own experiences. My PCP's husband has a family history of Crohns and knows gluten is a trigger, she said he "tries to avoid gluten". You can't fix stupid, she's is an MD, and that's what she said when I took my Enterolab results in and asked that they be a part of my medical record.
Connie
Resolved MC symptoms successfully w/L-Glutamine, Probiotics and Vitamins, GF since 8/'09. DX w/MC 10/'09.