4 Days gluten-free--why Do Testing?

[CMCM]

Well, I've plunged into a diet that is gluten free. This is the 5th day and I already feel hugely different...for the better! Bloating/gas gone, D gone. I woke up with a mild headache the last couple of days, though, and this morning my head was itching like crazy, plus I had some other itching here and there. Strange. Is this some strange kind of withdrawal?

Anyhow, reading a recent post by someone who tested negative despite having symptoms, I'm really double thinking the idea of having the usual blood tests done. They just don't seem entirely conclusive, and I hate to waste my money on them. The finger prick test for $99 is interestng....but does it reveal as much (potentially) as the blood panel everyone gets? And there's also the Enterolab test panel for $350.

I'll continue with the gluten-free diet and see if my various other symptoms improve (i.e. chronic cough, the occasional asthma-type symptoms, the highish bp, and maybe my cholesterol levels will come down. For the time being, it's just nice to be rid of the strong digestive symptoms.

[ianm]

I have never been tested and so have many others here. I did not know about the tests until after I went gluten-free. There was such a dramatic turn around in my health that I just couldn't see the point in getting tested. The only thing you can do about it anyway is the gluten-free diet. I just did not want to eat gluten anymore so I never got tested. Some people feel the need to get tested and for others just feeling healthier is all they need to know.

[RiceGuy]

I have never been tested and so have many others here. I did not know about the tests until after I went gluten-free. There was such a dramatic turn around in my health that I just couldn't see the point in getting tested. The only thing you can do about it anyway is the gluten-free diet. I just did not want to eat gluten anymore so I never got tested. Some people feel the need to get tested and for others just feeling healthier is all they need to know.

I agree 100%. All my life I suffered at the hands of idiot doctors who know nothing but drugs. I stumbled into this whole gluten-free thing and celiac and all that, and I can truly say it's the best thing I ever did for my health. Too bad I didn't know a long time ago, because I could have avoided all the damage to the gut.

Anyway, as mentioned, the gluten-free diet is what I'd do no matter what any docs say, so I don't care about an "official" diagnostic. They'd likely be wrong anyway from what I've been reading. It seems you have to be glutenizing yourself pretty badly for the tests to really show it. That's with the exception of a genetic test, which apparently does exist if I read correctly.

[KaitiUSA]

The diet is really the ultimate test. Listen to your body...if you feel better off of gluten then stay off of gluten. If you can stay 100% gluten free without a diagnosis then I would go with that. Your body can tell you more than any test or doctor could.

Good luck