Son's Blood Test Negative

[CMCM]

My 19 year old son just had a physical, and since he was getting a cholesterol test done I decided what the heck, get the gluten antibody/gluten sensitivity test done too. The doc left a message and said his test was negative.

I didn't totally suspect my son might have celiac, but he does seem to have digestive issues of a strange, familiar nature, and since he regularly eats gluten I figured this blood test would possibly be useful. Celiac is in the family (his grandmother, my mom), and I'm pretty suspicious that I have it (I just sent off my Enterolab test but don't have results yet). I wanted to test my son so we'd know about this early in life rather than later, such as with me (I'm 56).

My question is, should I take his negative results as 100% conclusive that he does NOT have any kind of gluten sensitivity?? I do plan to contact the doctor tomorrow to get specifics on the numbers on the test.

Thanks...

Carole

[Guest nini]

My question is, should I take his negative results as 100% conclusive that he does NOT have any kind of gluten sensitivity?? I do plan to contact the doctor tomorrow to get specifics on the numbers on the test.

Thanks...

Carole

NO... the blood tests are only part of the puzzle... many people have had negative blood tests and still tested positive with the biopsy. Even if he were to have the biopsy and it was negative, that still is not 100% conclusive. The testing isn't perfect. The most accurate test IMHO is to try the diet and see if the symptoms improve or go away on the gluten-free diet. And that is with being 100% gluten free, no cheating allowed, trying the diet for at least 3-6 months... most people notice improvements within the first couple of weeks but it takes a good 3-6 months at least to see a real difference... at that point if the person wanted to reintroduce gluten and do a "gluten challenge" they could monitor any return of symptoms... That to me is the most conclusive test... does a person improve on the gluten free diet and then get sick with the reintroduction of gluten? The blood tests and the biopsies are only 100% if they are positive...

[Jnkmnky]

Did Enterolab do the blood test, or did your dr do the lab work? Also, I am neg for celiac disease as are two of my kids, but we are all gluten free after I read the book Dangerous Grains. Link below. I'm neg for celiac disease, but found relief of what was dxed as endometriosis when I went gluten-free. I think gluten may be just a flat out harmful product to put in a human body.

[CMCM]

Did Enterolab do the blood test, or did your dr do the lab work? Also, I am neg for celiac disease as are two of my kids, but we are all gluten free after I read the book Dangerous Grains. Link below. I'm neg for celiac disease, but found relief of what was dxed as endometriosis when I went gluten-free. I think gluten may be just a flat out harmful product to put in a human body.

No, just a regular lab. The doc did a blood order for his cholesterol, and added on a "celiac panel" at my request. That later had to be clarified to "gluten antibody and gluten sensitivity" test. Who knows what was actually done, I'll find that out today. No one ever seems to know anything much about all this. I just took advantage of the situation because it was the end of the year and my son's deductible was met for the year and as he was doing the other routine test, I thought I'd throw this one in just to see what it showed.