Blood Test Normal

[mark t]

Well, my self diagnosis was incorrect. They show I do not have an allergy to wheat.(baring the possibility of a false negative). Doing the biopsy would make the crash complete, so I think I will wait. And just stay with the diet and see if it makes a differance I wanted to say how friendly and supportive you guys are. I am very grateful for that.

Thanks,

Mark

[KaitiUSA]

Well, my self diagnosis was incorrect.  They show I do not have an allergy to wheat.(baring the possibility of a false negative).  Doing the biopsy would make the crash complete, so I think I will wait. And just stay with the diet and see if it makes a differance I wanted to say how friendly and supportive you guys are.  I am very grateful for that.

Thanks,

Mark

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Celiac is not an allergy so celiac would not pick up on allergy testing.

[Nevadan]

Mark,

Do you know specifically what tests you just had done?

As Kaiti just said, gluten sensitivity isn't an allergy.

George

[mark t]

Perhaps my choice of words might be wrong. I asked my endo for the blood test for celiac, It was my understanding that the blood test showed any lack of nutrients in the blood that would indicate a gluten intolerance. None showed. Perhaps allergy is the wrong word, but no matter, the blood test was negative, so the result is the same.

Mark

[KaitiUSA]

Perhaps my choice of words might be wrong.  I asked my endo for the blood test for celiac,  It was my understanding that the blood test showed any lack of nutrients in the blood that would indicate a gluten intolerance. None showed.  Perhaps allergy is the wrong word, but no matter, the blood test was negative, so the result is the same.

Mark

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

any lack of nutrients would indicate a gluten problem? I mean it can be a symptom but if it is in beginning stages where you don't have that problem yet they may show up fine. You really need to have a celiac panel done in order to get proper results for celiac.

[Rachel--24]

I'm confused.

Were they checking for vitamin deficiencies or Celiac Disease? What tests did they run? If they ran the right tests they'd be looking for antibodies to gluten not lack of nutrients due to gluten.

[mark t]

I don't know. I asked for blood work to check my blood for celiac disease. My endo, who is at the top of her game, I trust her to make the intial check. She is familar with the connection of celiac and type 1 diabetesShe gave me the option of going to digestive physician. I was only reading on the internet that the blood test checks for nutrients lacking in the blood to check for gluten intolerance. It didn't say anything about vitamin diffeciency. I assume that is what was done, but does it really matter? If not eating any gluten makes me feel better, I will do that, I can then judge how I feel as to whether it is beneficial or pointless.

After 36 years of diabetes, I learrned a valuable lesson about eating, if the fuel is making you sick eat something else. Eating wheat or not is irrelevant. Being as healthy as one can possibly be is all that matters, if you can be more healthy by what you eat, it is such a simple choice. I will be gluten free if needed. I trust my body to tell me.

Mark

[Nevadan]

I don't know.  I asked for blood work to check my blood for celiac disease.  My endo, who is at the top of her game, I trust her to make the intial check.  to tell me.

Mark

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hate to say it, but it doesn't take much reading on this forum to find that dr's are generally pretty clueless when it comes to gluten sensitivity testing. You should get a copy of the lab work that was done so you can see for yourself what tests were done - I wouldn't trust that to any dr. Check some of Kaiti's previous posts for a list of the full celiac disease panel of tests and compare it to what you just had done.

I like your attitude re going gluten-free. It's only an inconvenience and if it yields better health it's worth it.

Good luck.

George

[blondehart]

I diagnosed myself as gluten intolerant, but couldn't get into a specialist until December. My Dr. feels that I might be celiac disease, but as soon as I realized what was making me sick, I stopped eating gluten. I feel as if I am between a rock & a hard place. I can't get an accurate diagnoses w/out eating gluten, & I am afraid to eat it. Help.....

[Nevadan]

I diagnosed myself as gluten intolerant, but couldn't get into a specialist until December.  My Dr. feels that I might be celiac disease, but as soon as I realized what was making me sick, I stopped eating gluten. I feel as if I am between a rock & a hard place. I can't get an accurate diagnoses w/out eating gluten, & I am afraid to eat it.  Help.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

First, I assume you self-diagnosed by dietary challenge: went gluten-free and saw some symptoms improve and maybe tried gluten again and saw the symptoms worsen. Dietary challenge (your self-diagnosis) is a valid, and perhaps the best, form of diagnosis. But if you still think you need a "professional" dx, you might want to look into Enterolab. They specialize in gluten sensitive testing using a stool sample which you provide from the privacy of your home. They claim their testing does not require the reintroduction of gluten if you have only been gluten-free for 2-3 months. They will also do a DNA test which can indicate if you are likely to have celiac disease, non-celiac disease gluten sensitivity, or neither. The DNA test doesn't prove you have anything, but it indicates if you are at risk. Be forewarned that Enterolab's testing is somewhat controversial in the med profession, mainly because the testing procedures have not been published for peer review, a standard part of the scientific method.

With that said, I self-diagnosed with diet challenges, then did the Enterolab testing about 6 wks later. Enterolab results confirmed what I already knew from my self testing plus their DNA analysis found I have two HLA-DQ1 genes which mean I'm not likely to develop villi damage common to celiac disease; however, I am gluten sensitive and subject to numerous other problems, many of them neurological (a few of which I have mild cases of), if I were to return to eating gluten.

The latest thinking is that celiac disease (villi damage) is only one presentation of gluten sensitivity ("the tip of the iceberg") so even if your celiac disease tests were to come out negative, you might still be suffering from gluten sensitivity. I recommend reading "Dangerous Grains" by Braly & Hoggan if you want to learn more about non-celiac disease gluten sensitivity.

Good luck!

George

[LLCoolJD]

I had an antibody blood test when my symptoms were in their early stages. It came back negative. Over time, the symptoms worsened, and the gluten-free diet did the trick. I'm under the impression that the blood test can give false negatives.

Going on a gluten free diet for 2-4 weeks should tell you better than any antibody test whether you have a gluten intolerance.

[blondehart]

thank you...this is good advice & I feel better already.