Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Getting tested and healing?

PumpkinChic
 Share

Recommended Posts

PumpkinChic Newbie
PumpkinChic
Posted

I figured out I have serious problems with gluten earlier this year and I believe it's celiac based on symptoms and family history but decided not to go get tested because of the pandemic. But recently my mom has figured out she has her own allergies and we, along with my sister, have all been talking about seeing an allergist. I've already been gluten free for 4 almost 5 months now. Is it too late to get tested? Would I have to reiintroduce it to get a proper diagnosis? 

I've also realized I've been dealing with this for 10 years now. I'm in my 20s so I still have youth on my side, but because it's been there for so long, do you think it'll take a long time for everything to heal?

 

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

All celiac disease testing requires you to be on a full gluten diet.  To do a gluten challenge would require 6 to 8 weeks of gluten (1 to 2 slices of bread daily or equivalent) or 2 weeks if going directly to endoscopy.  The gut literally can heal in as little as a few weeks.  Most people do not heal that fast, but some can.  Also it takes time to build up the antibodies that leave the gut and circulate in the blood stream.  Best to follow what all the celiac research centers  say.  

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

Given that the gluten-free diet is perfectly safe, provided you're getting enough fiber an nutrition, it's your call if you need to go through the gluten challenge and be formally diagnosed. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • How important is it to you to have a piece of paper from your doctor telling you that you have this? 
  • Would having a diagnosis help you stay on the gluten-free diet for life?
  • Would you cheat on the diet otherwise?
  • Are you ok with paying higher life insurance premiums, and if the ADA (Obamacare) is overturned, having a pre-existing condition and possibly paying higher insurance rates?

The official recommendations by doctors would be to do the gluten challenge and get a formal diagnosis, however, that path does not work for everyone. Many people on this forum are self diagnosed.

trents Grand Master
trents
Posted

Since Celiac Disease is not an allergy, I would not go to an allergist for testing but to a GP or a GI doc. It is possible you are allergic to gluten but that doesn't account for most problems with gluten. What are your symptoms, anyway?

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

I agree, if you are going to get tested for celiac disease it is best to do it right via your doctor and if they recommend it, a GI.

Wheatwacked Veteran
Wheatwacked
Posted
On 10/18/2020 at 2:17 PM, PumpkinChic said:

recently my mom has figured out she has her own allergies

I was a mouth breather my entire life, doctors said it was something I just had to live with. At 63, I awoke every two hours to either breath, pee, or from back pain. Since starting gluten-free, my prostate has shrunk, back pain is gone and I am now a nose breather, among other improvements in my life.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Rejoicephd
      - Rejoicephd commented on Scott Adams's article in Origins of Celiac Disease
      8

      Do Antibiotics in Babies Increase Celiac Disease Risk Later in Life? (+Video)

      I had actually forgot about the stretch of time that I was on antibiotics for acne. The more I think back on it, I was on antibiotics for a very good chunk of my childhood and into teenage years for a range of issues.
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Known1's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water

      I've heard RO water is bad, too. Distilled water has all the minerals distilled out of it, so it will pull minerals out of your bones, too. I only use distilled water to fill up my clothes iron so it won't get mineral deposits inside and quit working. I drink mineral or spring water.
    3. Yaya
      - Yaya replied to Yaya's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Great Value Veggies cannot be trusted.

      Scott. Thank you for your reply. I'm still having symptoms, but significantly better. I will go back to batch cooking and freezing vegetables. I have had success with Pict Sweet frozen, single item (not mixed) vegetables. My Kroger carries very little Pict Sweet variety. Regards, Yaya
    4. Known1
      - Known1 posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water

      I am hesitant to post this as I have seen many people here recommending RO water. With that said, I want to share my experience and how RO water now impacts me. Three or four years ago a local store installed a RO water refill station. I had been buying gallons of distilled and spring water prior to that. I switched over to using the RO water refill station...
    5. Known1
      - Known1 posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      0

      What would you do - neighbor brought gluten-free pizza from Papa Murphy's

      My neighbor's mom was diagnosed with celiac disease 16 years ago. She is a very kind person and has shared some info about local grocery stores and daily (soon to expire) meat deals. This evening she brought over 2 slices of Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza. It looks to be topped with chicken and spinach. I asked, "aren't you concerned with cross contamination...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,443
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Squirrel75
    Newest Member
    Squirrel75
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      I've heard RO water is bad, too.   Distilled water has all the minerals distilled out of it, so it will pull minerals out of your bones, too.  I only use distilled water to fill up my clothes iron so it won't get mineral deposits inside and quit working. I drink mineral or spring water.  
    • Yaya
      Great Value Veggies cannot be trusted.

      By Yaya · Posted

      Scott.  Thank you for your reply. I'm still having symptoms, but significantly better.  I will go back to batch cooking and freezing vegetables.  I have had success with Pict Sweet frozen, single item (not mixed) vegetables.  My Kroger carries very little Pict Sweet variety. Regards, Yaya
    • Known1
      Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water

      By Known1 · Posted

      I am hesitant to post this as I have seen many people here recommending RO water.  With that said, I want to share my experience and how RO water now impacts me.  Three or four years ago a local store installed a RO water refill station.  I had been buying gallons of distilled and spring water prior to that.  I switched over to using the RO water refill station saving money by brining in my own clean empty gallon jugs.  Every 6-months I would replace the jugs by buying new gallons of distilled water.  This RO water is the only water I would drink while at home.  Two huge glasses every morning before work and two more after work.  I would also use the RO water to make coffee and hot coco. This past December, prior to my celiac diagnosis, my gut was making more noise than anything I had ever experienced.  Seriously, it was crazy, almost like fire works going off in my stomach.  I happened to pick up some distilled water for my 6-month jug rotation.  Literally, as soon as I started drinking the distilled water my stomach settled a great deal.  I could honestly feel the difference after the first glass of water.  I thought that maybe the RO water from the store's refill station was contaminated with some sort of cleaning agent.  I swore to myself I would never drink from that RO refill station again.  Instead I went back to buying distilled along with gallon jugs of spring water.  No issues with either of those as far as an upset stomach is concerned.  Cost, well that's a different story all together. After being diagnosed marsh 3c, I went shopping at Aldi's for the first time in my life.  I noticed they also sell water by the gallon.  Over the course of the last few weeks, I have purchased a total of 6-gallons of their water.  (Thankfully they were out on two of my visits.)  After having my stomach starting to make noises similar to mid-December again, it dawned on me, maybe its the Aldi water?  Initially I had contributed my bubble gut to some sort of gluten exposure or cross contamination.  Even though everything I have put into my stomach is naturally gluten-free or has been labeled gluten-free / certified gluten-free.  I had assumed that the Aldi water was spring water.  Come to find out, that was a bad assumption.  Looking close at the label it says purified by RO or distillation (or something like that). Again, I switched to different water.  Just like last December, the non-RO water instantly calmed my stomach and even felt better going down the hatch.  This was earlier today by the way.  Prior to creating this post, I did a few searches via Uncle Google.  I bumped into a thread on Reddit (where I am not a member) that has multiple people complaining of GI issues related to RO water.  So my initial thoughts on a cleaning agent in the refill station RO water were likely not correct.  Unfortunately, it seems the RO water itself causing me problems.  I am not sure if we are allowed to post links to other sites and hopefully I will not get into trouble for doing so.  I did try printing the Reddit thread to a PDF file.  Unfortunately, the file is 2MB in size, which is well over the 500KB file attachment limit here on this amazing forum.  Again, hopefully this is ok.  🤞  Here is the Reddit thread. This may not be a popular opinion here, but personally, I will not willingly drink another glass of RO water for the remainder of my life.  Who knows, maybe drinking RO water for the past several years is part of what activated my celiac?  No proof, but just a thought.  Come to find out RO water is well known to leech minerals from your body.  With people like us often lacking minerals to begin with, RO water does not seem like a wise choice.  As the Reddit thread mentions, there are RO water filtration systems that will inject minerals back into the water.  However, those systems are likely not being used at the grocery store refill stations nor by the bottling companies producing RO water for sale at your local store. Please do not shoot the messenger as I am just sharing my personal experience and letting others know that most RO water will leech minerals from your body. God bless and stay well, Known1
    • Known1
      What would you do - neighbor brought gluten-free pizza from Papa Murphy's

      By Known1 · Posted

      My neighbor's mom was diagnosed with celiac disease 16 years ago.  She is a very kind person and has shared some info about local grocery stores and daily (soon to expire) meat deals.  This evening she brought over 2 slices of Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza.  It looks to be topped with chicken and spinach.  I asked, "aren't you concerned with cross contamination"?  She said no and apparently eats it on a somewhat regular basis. I found an old article here along with another thread pertaining to Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza.  The article is quite old, so I do not think it holds much weight nowadays.  The thread I found was also a bit dated, but certainly more recent and relevant.  The information in the thread I found was a bit inconclusive.  Some said they trust Papa Murphy's gluten-free pizza and others were a big no way.  One person even took time to train their local franchise on how to ensure the pizza remains gluten-free without cross contamination. Anyway, being recently diagnosed as marsh 3c, I am currently working on week 3 or 4 in my new gluten-free journey.  I do not want to be rude and toss the pizza out, but I also do not want to have a reaction.  Since she has celiac and obviously ate much or at least some of the pizza, I am leaning towards eating the two slices for lunch tomorrow.  As this thread's title states, what would you do?  Would you eat it or toss it out?  I suppose I could also just give it back to my neighbor to polish off. I look forward to reading your thoughts. Thanks, Known1
    • Scott Adams
      Great Value Veggies cannot be trusted.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      That must have been really upsetting to discover, especially after relying on a product you believed was safe. Labeling can change at any time due to supplier shifts or shared equipment, so it’s always important to double-check packaging—even on products we’ve trusted for years. A “may contain wheat” statement usually indicates potential cross-contact risk rather than an added ingredient, but for people with celiac disease that risk can still be significant. If you’ve been having symptoms, it may take days to weeks to fully settle, depending on the level and duration of exposure. In the meantime, switching to fresh produce or brands that clearly state gluten-free status is a reasonable step. It may also help to contact the manufacturer directly to ask when the labeling changed and what their current cross-contact controls are.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.