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[sadfaceemoji]

Hi guys, 

its been a while since i posted on here. It is just over a year since i started the gluten free diet and as you can see from my first post - i was very health anxious and worried about everything. Firstly i would like to say that overall i am feeling better than i was, i.e i have put on weight which is one thing i was worried about back then and my iron / vitamin levels are good.

However, i have come back to this platform as the support and help i had from everyone last time helped me to feel so much better about everything and i feel like i need this again.

As its coming up to over a year i have been reminded by my doctors that i am due for an updated antigen blood test to check my levels have dropped. as i stated in my first post i was told by a doctor that my levels were "among the highest hes ever seen" ( i am age 23) and i think this is what started my health anxiety about things such as cancer as i started googling everything and every symptom. Because of this, i am worried to get an updated blood test incase they are still high and i have read stories where doctors have told individuals that if they arent more strict with their diet they will most likely get cancer etc. I personally dont think i could deal with this after starting to feel better. I know that some might respond and say i am assuming the worst - which i am - but i am well aware that my levels will still probably be regarded "high" as they started off so high. Also, despite being quite good with the gluten free diet, i have made some mistakes resulting in being glutened as i am still learning. 

I guess what i am looking for is some reassurance/ personal experiences with this that might help. 

I really appreciate this. Thankyou

 

 

Just to add on to this, part of me would want the blood test to be reassured that my levels are actually decreasing as something i was worried about last year after my googling is refractory celiac disease. 

[RMJ]

I’m glad you’re feeling better and gaining weight!  That’s great.

I see from a previous post that your original level was >700.  If that is how it was stated, greater than a number, you don’t know if it was actually 701 or 7500. If 7500 it could decrease by 90% and still be over 700! So until you get into a range with an actual number rather than being above the range of the test, it will be difficult to see how fast your numbers are coming down.

I’d really recommend that you get retested. With an original number that high, I wouldn’t expect normal levels after one year.  Anything less than 700 would be a wonderful improvement.  If still >700 it might be an improvement - you wouldn’t be able to tell from the test but feeling better and gaining weight says you are improving. Some doctors are happy with any decrease, while some accuse patients of eating gluten if the numbers don’t return to normal quickly.  I hope yours isn’t that type, but if he/she is just return here and we’ll comfort you 🙂.

One other thing, be sure to get the new test at the same lab as the original one.  The tests aren’t standardized between labs so results from one can’t be compared to another.

It took more than six years for all of my numbers to get into the normal range, but they decreased steadily during that time. My doctor was happy, although I was frustrated.

Please let us know what the new results are!