Biocard Home Test - Faint Positive? You Be The Judge

[jvdb]

So I caved and decided to get the biocard celiac home test sold at Rexall.  I followed the instructions and within 5-10 minutes (proper reading time) there was an EXTREMELY faint line in the positive area.  I mean so faint that it was hard to pick up on camera and you can only see it in proper light.  I have uploaded a picture and would like your opinions. 

 

The instructions do say that even a faint line is positive, but this one you have to practically squint to see.  Anyone else experience a super super faint positive, so faint that they were questioning if it was actually there? (hey this happened with my pregnancy test and it was positive lol)

 

Sorry it is very pic heavy.  A line in the FIRST box indicates positive.

[GF Lover]

I would read that as Negative.  The faint line in the first box looks like the pre-scored line that would fill in if positive.

 

Colleen

[nvsmom]

That line is pretty close to what I had when I did the Biocard test. I didn't quite get the right amount of blood so that could have affected my result and made it faint. When I went to the doctor and ran the test there (it's the tTG IgA) my result was over 10 times the normal range.... for me the test worked.

 

I remember googling the faint positive for Biocard tests and I found pictires of faint positives that were shown to nurses who often discounted them... but they were considered to be positive.

 

There was a board member last year (Stephanie) who had a faint line that was not supported by celiac tests; it turns out Lyme disease caused her symptoms so it isn't always correct BUT I think it usually is. It's like a pregnancy test - you can't get a faint line unless there is a reason for it. KWIM?

 

I would recommend getting further testing done. Perhaps request another tTG IgA, tTG IgG, DGP IgA and DGP IgG, and EMA IgA.... Just to be sure unless you are planning on going gluten-free anyways.  Good luck!

[jvdb]

Thank you to both the answers. I'm well aware that it could be simply the moisture revealing the area that would react simply due to a possible change in texture on the paper or who knows what. It is hard to see in the pictures especially, but there is no doubt the line did exist. From my experience reading pregnancy tests I know that often people would think they had a faint positive due to a situation like this, however I also know from my own experience that a line this faint can really also be a faint positive ( my husband thought I was imagining things when I showed him the test for our daughter, it looked very similar to my biosure test lol)

Nvsmom, I too had issues getting enough blood into the tube, it filled to about 70% despite having more blood ready on my finger. I have actually emailed the company about this and requested the possibility of receiving a retest since the purpose of purchasing this test out of pocket was to GET answers not to raise more questions.

The line did start to develop about 5 minutes in and I was able to see it at the ten minute mark. My husband and sister both agreed that they saw the line however they looked at the test an hour and two hours later when the line had darkened even more (you are not supposed to read it after 10 minutes, so them seeing a line that late is not really that helpful.)

[nvsmom]

The line did start to develop about 5 minutes in and I was able to see it at the ten minute mark. My husband and sister both agreed that they saw the line however they looked at the test an hour and two hours later when the line had darkened even more (you are not supposed to read it after 10 minutes, so them seeing a line that late is not really that helpful.)

 

I couldn't see any line until I was at about the 10 minute line. I remember checking it just before 5 minutes and there was nothing so I almost dismissed it. I went back to a book for 10 more minutes and almost fell out of my chair when I saw the positive line - which I held closer to the light to be sure it was actually a line.

 

I would take that test to the doctor with you and request further testing. Are you planning on going gluten-free regardless of future test results?

[jvdb]

I won't stop eating gluten until I have gotten satisfactory test results. Which to me means at LEAST proper blood test results. I has been ten days since my blood was drawn and no word yet. If the result is positive I will speak to my dr about endoscopy but may or may not have it done depending on how long the wait will be. If I have a positive test and feel better gluten free then that is all the answer I need. If my dr pushes for endoscopy and the wait isn't too long I will do it to make the diagnosis official.

I my blood test ends up negative I will likely try gluten free anyways just to see if it does make a difference in how I feel. If I feel much better then great, if not then we are back to square one. Although celiac sounds like the perfect match to every symptom I have experienced, there are still other possible causes and perhaps it isn't gluten at all. I am keeping my mind open but would really like to get to the bottom of this. As difficult as it is to go gluten free I much prefer the idea of a dietary change to solve my problems rather than some of the possible alternatives such as crohns or the dreaded "we don't know what is wrong with you"= IBS

[nvsmom]

Good luck.. Let us know how the results go...and get copies of it all for yourself so you can double check your doctor - I've caught them in errors in the past.