gluten-free for almost 10 years, latest allergy blood test false negative?

[Babygirl6915]

Hi all!

I tested positive for a severe gluten allergy almost 10 years ago & have been gluten-free since (with the occasional accidental glutening from time to time). I had a weird skin rash (hives, dry skin, burning, etc.) come up about 3 weeks ago & my doctor said it was a histamine reaction. Did a blood test for a few major allergies (wheat being one of them) & the results came back showing me either negative or >10 for everything they tested for! I am so confused! I did take some Benadryl roughly 36 hours before the test to help with the rash, but my doctor assured me it had been long enough to not influence the test. I mean, literally nothing came back! No ragweed, no pollen, no gluten, no pet dander, no shrimp, NOTHING! Is it possible to have a false negative when you haven't had exposure to the allergen for a prolonged period of time?

Has this ever happened to anyone? I am at a loss for what to think.

[Posterboy]

babygirl6915,

some people do respond more severely to gluten when they have been off of it for a while.

Are you sure it is not a cross contamination issue (CC) even for those who are old hats at spotting gluten can sometimes be/get glutened by even small amount that before might of not bothered you before.

I had a friend who had a similar skin rash that you describe after cheating on gluten after being off it cold stone sober for over a year and the skin rash was very severe even though he had never had a skin rash before associated with his gluten allergy.

I hope this is helpful.

Posterboy,

[Babygirl6915]

Posterboy,

Oh its totally possible that's what the problem was, after 2 weeks of steroids & double my normal allergy meds I am seeing improvement. I am just confused about why I would test negative or >10 for a wheat allergy when I scored the highest possible level before I stopped eating it, not to mention the other things I am allergic to. I don't think I am magically "cured" of all my allergies & its a reputable lab so I want to believe they didn't make a mistake. So what do I do? Go get a skin prick test? Have another lab repeat the blood test? I don't understand how I could have so many false negatives.

[RMJ]

Different doctors test for allergies in different ways, some more scientifically -based than others.  Were the same types of tests run 10 years ago and recently?  Blood tests looking for allergen-specific IgE or skin prick tests are the most scientifically accepted tests for things like pollen, housedust, molds and pet dander.    I used to work in R&D at a company that made such FDA approved tests.  Food allergies can be different and I am not as familiar with those.  I don't know what you mean by negative or > 10.  For the tests we made a higher number would be more positive.

[sunsetgrill]

On 8/16/2016 at 5:35 PM, Babygirl6915 said:

Hi all!

I tested positive for a severe gluten allergy almost 10 years ago & have been gluten-free since (with the occasional accidental glutening from time to time). I had a weird skin rash (hives, dry skin, burning, etc.) come up about 3 weeks ago & my doctor said it was a histamine reaction. Did a blood test for a few major allergies (wheat being one of them) & the results came back showing me either negative or >10 for everything they tested for! I am so confused! I did take some Benadryl roughly 36 hours before the test to help with the rash, but my doctor assured me it had been long enough to not influence the test. I mean, literally nothing came back! No ragweed, no pollen, no gluten, no pet dander, no shrimp, NOTHING! Is it possible to have a false negative when you haven't had exposure to the allergen for a prolonged period of time?

Has this ever happened to anyone? I am at a loss for what to think.

Gluten allergy tests are different then regular allergy testing . Unless you ate gluten before the test It wouldn;t show a gluten sensitivity or  allergy.. Even Then it would have to be a blood test. Unless the testing has advanced farther  in the past few years.  My daughter was also told by one allergist she didn't have an allergy to peanuts or horses, Both were false... She almost died two weeks ago due to a peanut exposure.  Make sure  the allergist is a good one and if anything is wacky have a second opinion. I would suggest a gastro or GP for the blood test for Gluten sensitivity before going through the biopsy.   

[Posterboy]

Babygirl6915,

I remember reading some where that most antibodies goes down after 6 months with the most dramatic improvement after a month and why most doctor's follow back up after a month with more blood test and in again in a year for gluten free compliance.

I think this is good news.  You have successful kept yourself from gluten and have not had cross contamination issues in your environment in the last year.

see this excellent article by Dr. Ford the author of the Gluten Syndrome  that explains how long gluten antibodies of different types stay in your system.

I will quote the end of the article as a summary.

Read the whole article when you get a chance if you want to learn a lot more about gluten blood tests and antibodies.

Open Original Shared Link

Quoting

“Do I have to be eating gluten at the time of my blood tests?”

The answer depends upon which tests you are going to get. However, if you have been strictly gluten-free for the last 2 years or more, your blood tests should now be back to near normal (although some tests (IgG-gliadin and tTG) can take 3 or more years to get back to normal levels).

IgG-gliadin antibody levels. The blood tests for gluten (IgG-gliadin antibody) take about 6 months or more to change once you go gluten-free. So if you have only been gluten-free for a few weeks or months, then it is okay to get your blood tests. You do not have to go back and eat more gluten.

DGP levels can go down within a few months of going gluten-free.

tTG levels take a few years to go down on a gluten-free diet."

I hope this is helpful.

Posterboy,