Getting Tested After 6 Mo. Non-Gluten

[supermaltese]

So, unless I'm wrong, I cannot get tested unless my diet includes gluten for 6 weeks prior to the test.  After about 30 years of doctors telling me I had nothing more than atopic dermatitis with no cure or treatment, I finally figured out I am allergic to gluten.  December 5, 2014 was the last time I ingested gluten on purpose, but I've had a few accidents since then where I failed to read the ingredients on something, or didn't understand that an ingredient meant gluten

 

So, my question to the community is two part:

 

1.  Do you have any advice for how I can prepare myself mentally or whatever before I go get the test (I am aware that your answer may address part 2 also);

 

2.  Is there anything stronger than Benadryl.  I took it since the mid-1990s and either I've built up a resistance to it, or it's just not that effective with my extreme level of skin-itch reaction.

[kareng]

I think a couple of us answered this for you on the Benadryl thread? On that thread, you said you were diagnosed with Celiac in December.

 

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There is no such thing as a gluten allergy. You could be allergic to wheat.

 Celiac disease is not an allergy.

Benadryl is not a treatment for Celiac disease or its skin manifestation (DH).

The Celiac Center in Chicago recommends a longer gluten challenge before blood testing.

 

"What is a gluten challenge?

A gluten challenge is the period of time when gluten is added back into a person’s diet to assist in the diagnosis of celiac disease. Antibodies take time to build into the blood stream before they can be detected through blood analysis. For a gluten challenge we recommend eating 1/2 slice of bread or a cracker each day for the duration of the challenge.

• Prior to blood testing we recommend 12 weeks of eating gluten.
• Prior to an endoscopic biopsy we recommend 2 weeks of eating gluten."