Is This A Good Idea?

[sidelined]

I've been gluten free for nearly 2 months, but I never had the Celiac tests done before going off gluten. My GI doctor believes that I have celiac, and encourages me to take the gluten challenge, but I'm holding off because I really want to be recovered by the fall in time for fall sports. However, since some of my symptoms have yet to resolve themselves (almost everything except my energy levels, which have skyrocketed), I'm eager to get some indication of whether gluten is my problem. Would it make sense to eat a bagel or two one day and see how my body reacts. I would only do this once, under the assumption that such a small portion would only take a few days to recover from. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks so much!

[Kelsie]

I've been gluten free for nearly 2 months, but I never had the Celiac tests done before going off gluten. My GI doctor believes that I have celiac, and encourages me to take the gluten challenge, but I'm holding off because I really want to be recovered by the fall in time for fall sports. However, since some of my symptoms have yet to resolve themselves (almost everything except my energy levels, which have skyrocketed), I'm eager to get some indication of whether gluten is my problem. Would it make sense to eat a bagel or two one day and see how my body reacts. I would only do this once, under the assumption that such a small portion would only take a few days to recover from. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks so much!

I am in the midst of doing a Gluten Challenge myself, in hopes of getting a proper diagnosis.  I am eating one meal a day that contains gluten (equivalent of 1-2 slices of bread), and then I have a Gastroscopy booked for June 12.  Unfortunately, its the only way to get a diagnosis.  Which I think is important to really understand what is going on with your body.

[nvsmom]

It can take days to weeks to recover from one exposure to gluten if you have celiac disease. Symptoms do not always correspond to the damage that is being done to you body when a celiac eats gluten. If you eat the bagel, you might feel poorly and that could affect your energy for a few days to weeks.  Or you might feel fine, and then after a few more days (or weeks) or eating gluten you might have symptoms slowly  creep up on you.

 

If you do feel okay after eating the bagel, you might want to consider doing the 8-12 week gluten challenge (of about 1-2 slices of bread per day)... but you may not be recovered by the fall. On the other hand, you'll probably know if it is celiac disease or not.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.  

[Georgia-guy]

Sidelined, I went about 2 weeks gluten free to see what happened, and I noticed a huge improvement. When I started eating gluten again, I feel worse than before. I'm still fighting to get the tests run, so I'm still eating gluten. I don't tell you this to scare you out of a gluten challenge, but to just give you a head up. Some of the reason I feel worse is because there are things I didn't really notice until they stopped without gluten.

On the other hand, I was put in touch with someone who "self-diagnosed" 10 years ago without testing... They wanted to get their child tested for celiac, but true insurance said "he** no! There's no family history anywhere, so we will NOT pay for it!" Their doctor years ago added "presumed celiac" to their file for prescription reasons, and believes cealiac is accurate. However, they just had to start a gluten challenge to get themself tested, and then get thier child tested. After 10 years of feeling great, the symptoms of gluten have literally incapacitated them. This makes me think that the longer you wait, the worse the gluten challenge will be on you. I recommend doing it now. You may not be fully recovered for fall sports, but I'm assuming that you tried out and have played in the past with gluten symptoms, so healing during the season will still be better than previous seasons.

[BlessedMommy]

A gluten challenge can work for many people. Be sure to listen to your body, though and don't overdo the gluten. I made a mistake of not being careful during my gluten challenge and had to cease it early, so as not to go on and have a full blown stroke. (I had a TIA after experiencing severe headaches)

 

So I'm not diagnosed and I will never do a gluten trial again. If the insurance refused to pay for my child being tested on that basis, well there's labs where you can order the tests yourself and self-pay.