Jump to content
  • 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

Spit Test For Celiac?


ButtercupSarah

Recommended Posts

ButtercupSarah Rookie

I was getting bloodwork done a few days ago to test my thyroid and a few other things and I was recommended a cortisol test for adrenal function as my cortisol was double the highest number. I got the test home and realised that it also has a box to test for celiac. My doctor recommended testing as my symptoms are many.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the saliva test? I was confused because I have only ever heard of the blood tests and the endoscopy..

 

I am dx'd hypothyroid and taking armor also gluten free for 8 months.

 

After going gluten free my peripheral neuropathy improved dramatically, and my heartburn and gas also improved greatly. I'm still dealing with issues though....I am pretty careful with my diet, but when I do get glutened it is an awful experience. before going gluten free I hadn't had a solid BM in 2+ years! In the last month or so I have developed ridges in my nails, and I am concerned that they are from malnutrition. I am a fitness instructor and eat very well.

 

My main concern is that before I went gluten free I was hospitalized twice with extreme stomach and intestinal issues that they could find no reason for...vomiting, extreme pain, and *cough* having "accidents" ONE IN AN AIRPORT!! They just put me on percoset and sent me home. My Great Grandmother is hyothyroid and has stomach cancer, my Grandmother is hypothyroid and has a "wheat" allergy, and my uncle has MS.

 

My Dr. has the "just don't eat gluten and if you feel better great" attitude but I feel like I need to know the seriousness of the issue...and I don't know how accurate these saliva tests are! Or if it is worth glutening myself for an endoscopy?

 

Thanks so much for your input!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



1desperateladysaved Proficient

I think someone talked about it on the gluten summit.  They said it is a saliva test for antibodies for gluten.  When I asked about it on the forum someone said it is unproven.  The forum as a whole supports the use of blood tests.

Thursdaysangel77 Newbie

I am new to this whole thing and correct me if I am wrong but if someone has been gluten free for 8 months, wouldn't that potentially make antibody testing (Blood or Saliva) invalid? I am under the impression that you must be consuming gluten for the tests to be truly accurate and that your body can only produce the antibodies when you are exposed to gluten. Now of course, the levels can remain high for some time after discontinuing gluten consumption but more than likely testing after being gluten free for so long would result in a negative, whether you have Celiac Disease or not. 

So I am pretty sure you'd have to do a gluten trial regardless of the method you wish to test with. As far as the validity of a Saliva test in regards to Celiac Disease, I have no clue what it's efficacy is. I'd go with the standard blood tests if it were me but remember to research first and make sure you are following correct procedure to give yourself the best chance of accurate test results and I believe that would require gluten in your diet. Again, that is only if you wish to pursue it. Good luck, research everything and my apologies if I said anything inaccurate. Someone wiser, please correct me if I am wrong on anything I said.

~ Thursday

IrishHeart Veteran

There are no tests for diagnosing celiac disease using saliva (except those done for genetic testing.) at this time. ( but I think they are working on that one.)

 

"Salivary antibodies to gliadin lack sensitivity and specificity for celiac disease." That's according to Dr. Murray, a leading celiac researcher. 

 

But as you probably know, just having the genes associated with celiac is not a diagnosis, so that wouldn't help --unless you want to know if you carry those genes. It may be helpful for you in deciding if you wish to do a gluten challenge..

 

The screening process is here:

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

and unfortunately, yes, you would have to resume gluten for several weeks in order to have accurate testing done.

 

Because you have experienced symptom-resolution off gluten,I would guess you are not willing to go back on it for testing--and I do not blame you one bit!! But only you can decide if it is worth it or not.

 

Best wishes !

  • 2 weeks later...
ButtercupSarah Rookie

Bit of an update on this: I have been informed that the spit test I did for my high cortisol will also test for the celiac GENE, which makes a lot more sense. Hoping to get that test result back soon. Thanks a bunch guys!

Archived

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

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Florence Lillian replied to Jay Heying's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      5

      Celiac friendly probiotics

    2. - slkrav posted a topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      0

      Gluten free beer ?

    3. - cristiana replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      16

      Ibuprofen

    4. - Mari replied to KathyR37's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      5

      New here

    5. - Colleen H replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      16

      Ibuprofen


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,879
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Peta Dunn
    Newest Member
    Peta Dunn
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Florence Lillian
      In response to your questions regarding probiotics.  I have had Celiac for 40 years.  Stomach issues: digestion, IBS to chronic constipation, bloat after eating anything.  I was unable to eat a healthy variety of foods, tried probiotics supplements - some made me worse, others made no difference.  After reading about people with Crones, IBS, etc, who made their own probiotics I started making Milk Kefir: not water Kefir. There are 10 probiotics in milk KEFIR. After 3 weeks I was able to eat more, no gas, no IBS.  If you have a computer just ask for videos on making milk Kefir. I branched out and make my own Kombucha for even more probiotics. I do not make my yogurt because there are only about four probiotics in that. I started this when I was 82 and I still make my own Kefir and Kombucha. My stomach issues were fixed with the Milk Kefir alone. If you decide to try making it, make certain you order MILK GRAINS. The finished product tastes a bit like Buttermilk. I hope this helps in your journey to good health.
    • slkrav
      Help me out here. Lauren Dam gluten-free beer from Spain is listed as gluten free. Yet its made from Barley Malt. I thought barley and any form had gluten. Anybody have any more information about it?
    • cristiana
      Ferritin levels.  And see what your hemoglobin looks like too, that will tell you if you are anemic?  You can have 'low normal' levels that will not be flagged by blood tests.  I had 'low normal' levels, my lab reading was. c12, just over what was considered normal, but I had small benign lesion on my tongue, and sometimes a sore mouth, and a consultant maxillofacial ordered an iron infusion for me as he felt my levels were too low and if he  raised them to 40, it would help.   Because you are not feeling 100% it might be worth looking at your levels, then discussing with your doctor if they are low normal.  But I stress, don't supplement iron without your levels being monitored, too much is dangerous.
    • Mari
      Hi Katht -  I sympathize with your struggles in following a gluten-free diet and lifestyle. I found out that I had Celiac Disease a few months before I turned 70. I just turned 89 and it has taken me almost 20 years to attain a fairly normal intestinal  function. I also lost a lot of weight, down to 100 lb. down from about 140 lb. What Trents wrote you was very true for me. I am still elimination foods from my diet. One person suggested you keep a food diary and that is a good idea but it is probably best just to do an elimination diet. There are several ne and maybe one for celiacs. I used one for a while and started with plain rice and zucchini and then added back other foods to see if I reacted or not. That helped a great deal but what I did not realise that it would only very small amounts of some foods to cause inflammation in my intestine. Within the last few years I have stopped eating any trace amounts of hot peppers, corn and soy(mostly in supplements) and nuts, (the corn in Tylenol was giving me stomach aches and the nuts were causing foot pains). Starting an elimination diet with white rice is better than brown rice that has some natural toxins. In addition it is very important to drink sufficient plain water. You can find out how much to drink for your height and weight online. I do have difficulty drinking 48 ounces of water but just recently have found an electrolyte supplement that helps me stay well hydrated, Adding the water and electrolytes may reduce muscle cramps and gag spams you wrote about. . Also buy some anti-gluten enzyme capsules to take with meals. I use GliadinX advertised here. These are a lot of things to do at one time as they reflect my 20 years of experience. I hope you do what you can manage to do over time. Good luck and take care.
    • Colleen H
      Yes thyroid was tested.. negative  Iron ...I'm. Not sure ... Would that fall under red blood count?  If so I was ok  Thank you for the detailed response..☺️
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.