Allergy And Blood Testing Questions

[kellybear]

I am new to the Celiac/gluten allergy issues. I began having sharp stomach pains about 2 months ago followed by hives 10 to 15 minutes after pretty much every meal. The hives were so bad that I went into anaphylactic shock on two separate occasions. After several visits with my primary care doctor, I was sent to an allergist. I began doing my own research on Celiac after determining that it was the common factor in every meal I ate. As I did my research on Celiac, I found I had several symptom including bouts that varied between diarrhea/constipation, bloating, post nasal drip, frequent sinus infections, episodes of asthma related symptoms, chronic fatigue, foggy brain.

The allergist started me on two different nasal sprays for the nasal allergies and set me up for allergy testing. His thought was the hives were more likely related to environmental allergies. This did not seem to make sense to me as nothing had changed in my environment to cause the hives! Since seeing the allergist, I have cut out all gluten in my diet and the hives have stopped.

I am trying to understand Celiac and gluten allergy. I have eaten an abnormally high amount of carbs (3 pieces of sliced bread was a normal after school snack) my entire life without issue. I've noticed I have several of the associated diseases to Celiac including asthma, endometriosis, and hypothyroid. Since becoming pregnant with my daughter (who is now 1) I had a iron deficiency and a vitamin D deficiency. I'm wondering if my pregnancy caused the change in allergens.

 

My questions:

1) Will the allergy testing (my understanding is it is skin testing) be affected by my gluten free diet causing either a false positive or a false negative? If so, should I re-introduce gluten into my diet?

2) I am going to ask my doctor for the blood test that is preliminary to a Celiac diagnosis. Will my gluten free diet affect that test causing skewed results?

3) Is it possible for someone to develop an allergy/intolerance to gluten or wheat?

 

I am extremely appreciative of any help in understanding what is going on and suggestions for types of specialists to see to help.

[shadowicewolf]

1. Allergy testing? No, that will not effect it. The allergy test is generally a skin prick test where they use a needle to inject a small amount of whatever element they are testing for under the skin and wait to see if a hive develops.

 

2. Yes, yes, and yes. In order for any blood work to come back positive, you must be consuming gluten. There is debate on how long this period must be.

 

3. Yes. It can be triggered by an event (such as pregnancy, an illness, or surgery).

[kareng]

Celiac disease is not an allergy. Anaphylactic shock is not usually associated with Celiac, it is an allergic reaction. You can have Celiac and a wheat allergy or any other allergy. You need to be eating gluten to test for Celiac. The blood test looks for antibodies to gluten. You do not produce enough antibodies to gluten to show in a blood test if you are not eating gluten.