enough gluten consumed for blood test?

[mike74]

Hello everyone. My Doc has ordered celiac blood tests for me today (which i have up to a year to get filled).

ttg iga and ema igg

However i have concerns about the amount of gluten and length of time i have been consuming.

For the last 2 yrs of so i have been "gluten light". Meaning i would have say breaded chicken or breaded

fish almost everyday but not much more daily gluten consumption during that time. However the past 6 weeks

i have upped my daily gluten consumption to include 7-8 wheat crackers, a bowl of wheat chex cereal and of course

the breaded meats. 

My guestion is am i eating enough gluten daily and have i been eating the increased gluten diet long enough to get tested

now or should i be on the increased gluten diet longer than the 6 weeks i have been on it before getting tested?

Thanks for any info.

Edited February 14, 2020 by mike74

[cyclinglady]

Celiac centers are kind of wish washy about the length of time for a gluten challenge.  The goal is a daily dose of gluten which is about a 1 to 2 slices of bread or equivalent (what you listed seems like enough).   The time ranges from six to 12 weeks.  If you can tolerate it a bit longer, go for it: 8, 9 or 12 weeks.  I made my kid, who did not develop severe symptoms while on the challenge go a full 12 weeks since our house is gluten-free and she was gluten light despite my sneaking in gluten in her school lunch.  Can you believe, she prefers gluten free?  By the way, she tested negative again.  

Oh, I ONLY had a positive DGP IgA  on my celiac panel.  I had to wait seven weeks for my endoscopy due to work constraints.  I literally gorged on gluten.  Like a loaf of sourdough a day and a bunch of cookies, cakes, pies — you name it.  In my heart, I knew I had finally found the cause of my anemia and that I needed to bid a fond farewell to gluten.  By the end of my challenge, I just had a little indigestion.  But I had some severe damage based on my biopsies.  

Edited February 14, 2020 by cyclinglady

[mike74]

1 hour ago, cyclinglady said:

Celiac centers are kind of wish washy about the length of time for a gluten challenge.  The goal is a daily dose of gluten which is about a 1 to 2 slices of bread or equivalent (what you listed seems like enough).   The time ranges from six to 12 weeks.  If you can tolerate it a bit longer, go for it: 8, 9 or 12 weeks.  I made my kid, who did not develop severe symptoms while on the challenge go a full 12 weeks since our house is gluten-free and she was gluten light despite my sneaking in gluten in her school lunch.  Can you believe, she prefers gluten free?  By the way, she tested negative again.  

Oh, I ONLY had a positive DGP IgA  on my celiac panel.  I had to wait seven weeks for my endoscopy due to work constraints.  I literally gorged on gluten.  Like a loaf of sourdough a day and a bunch of cookies, cakes, pies — you name it.  In my heart, I knew I had finally found the cause of my anemia and that I needed to bid a fond farewell to gluten.  By the end of my challenge, I just had a little indigestion.  But I had some severe damage based on my biopsies.  

Thanks for the info. I think i will try to double my gluten intake for the next 4 to 6 more weeks so

i can increase the odds of an accurate blood test. That will give me 10 to 12 weeks on a increased gluten diet. 

Hopefully the diarrhea dosnt get much worse with the increase, but if it does it would be worth

it for a accurate diagnosis.

I dont think my doc ordered a DGP iga for my blood tests. Just ttg iga and ema igg. 

Thanks again.

 

[Fenrir]

I think you probably are eating enough to get positive tests, but you have to keep doing that until you are officially diagnosed which may include a biopsy.