Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

DNA Test?

Aniya

Recommended Posts

Aniya Newbie
Aniya
Posted

Hello my name is Kristy and ive been sick since april. Stomach pains, Diarrhea, and Fatigue have been the main problems. I went from thinking i had a virus to parasites with any tests coming back negative and normal. Ive been limited in testing and doctor visits as im now unemployed and without health insurance. Just over a week ago my mother told me i should check into Gluten intolerance so i did and ive been on the diet since. I think its helped but im not sure and its hard to do when i dont KNOW if its my problem. I learned that my grandmother has always had stomach issues but never found the source, perhaps she had celiac and perhaps i have it now too? So my main question here is should i get the DNA test to see if i have the celiac genes and how much does this kind of test cost?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

The DNA test is not a diagnosis. For one thing many carry the genes and not all will have celiac. In addition gene testing is a relatively new science and many companies only test for 2 out of the 9 known celiac associated genes.

IMHO you would be better off getting a celiac panel done through your doctor. If you have been seeing one for these issues they may be able to order the test and you could pick up or have the lab slip mailed to you without having to pay for an office visit. You do need to keep eating gluten until all testing is finished. There is also about a 20% risk of a false negative with the blood tests and biopsies so if you do go that route do go gluten free after the tests are done. Your body will give you the answer.

There are people here on the board who are 'self diagnosed' as you really don't need a doctors permission to be gluten free. However if you do go gluten free any tests you want done later will be negative without a gluten challenge of about 3 months. The challenge will make most of us very sick if we need to be gluten free as the body will really not like having those antibodies reactivated.

You could also go the Enterolab route, they do gene testing for all the 9 genes but IMHO the more valuable part of the testing is the stool test for antibodies. You can check out their web site for prices and also check out some of the posts here about Enterolab to make an informed decision on whether you want to do their tests or not. Some do not like Enterolab because they haven't had their testing procedures 'peer reviewed' but others consider them to be a valuable part of the diagnosis.

Read as much as you can here as the diet does involve more than just food. Ask any questions you need to.

Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

Just to emphasize what RWG said, there are no Celiac genes that have been identified. A DNA test is interesting, but not informative.

If you think gluten is your issue, consider either trying the diet, or exploring other testing.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      130,116
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Shirley Seabrook
    Newest Member
    Shirley Seabrook
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Zuma888
      Gluten challenge and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

      By Zuma888 · Posted

      Hello, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis about 3 years ago. At that time I quit gluten and it really helped my symptoms. I hadn't known that I should've tested for celiac before doing so.  Up till recently, gluten would cause my symptoms to flare up, although I never noticed anything with cross contamination, so I wasn't strict about that. But recently, I noticed I could get away with more gluten, and so I decided to do a gluten challenge to see if I had celiac and if I had to be strict. Note that my thyroid antibodies had been decreasing steadily up to this point. My anti-TPO had reached 50 IU/ml from 250 IU/ml (reference range 0-5.6) when I had first been diagnosed. After just a week of the gluten challenge, I measured my thyroid antibodies and they were at 799 IU/ml! I felt fine, but a few days after I started to feel the symptoms. Extreme brain fog, insomnia, diarheaa, fatigue, sleepiness yet cannot sleep, stomachache after eating gluten, nausea, swollen throat (probably due to my thyroid), burping, and gas. I cannot function properly. I'm also worried that I'm killing my thyroid. Should I just quit the challenge? It's been almost two weeks, but the first week I wasn't tracking well, so that's why I didn't want to count it. I can't eat gluten anyway because of my thyroid, but I wanted the diagnosis to know if I should be strict about cross contamination or not.  
    • Zuma888
      Should I ask for more testing? Celiac vs. Gluten Sensitivity

      By Zuma888 · Posted

      You really saved me as I was on day 4 of 3 g per day for 6 weeks. Thank you very much!
    • trents
      Should I ask for more testing? Celiac vs. Gluten Sensitivity

      By trents · Posted

      Two weeks is the minimum according to the guideline. I would go for four weeks if you can endure it, just to make sure.
    • Zuma888
      Should I ask for more testing? Celiac vs. Gluten Sensitivity

      By Zuma888 · Posted

      Thank you so much! So I can do 10 g worth of gluten in the form of gluten powder per day for two weeks and that should be enough?
    • trents
      Should I ask for more testing? Celiac vs. Gluten Sensitivity

      By trents · Posted

      It applies to both blood tests and biopsies. Guidelines for the gluten challenge have been revised for the very issue your question raises. It was felt by medical professionals that the longer term but less intense consumption of gluten approach was not proving to be reliable for testing purposes and was resulting in too many false negatives. But do keep in mind that the gluten consumption doesn't have to be in the form of bread slices. It can come in any form: pasta, cake, wraps, etc. Another approach would be to buy gluten powder at a health food store and mix it in a shake. The idea is to get at least 10g of gluten daily, whatever form it comes in.
×
×
  • Create New...