gluten-free Diet Before Dx?

[Tami24]

Has anyone gone on a gluten-free diet before being dx? If it helped you feel better did you go back on gluten just to do the test?? How bad did it make you feel and how long do you need to be back on gluten before testing?

[Guest nini]

I tried the gluten free diet four years before my dx. I felt a lot better, was able to get pregnant and carry the baby through the first trimester (after several previous miscarriages) and I let my ignorant Dr. talk me out of the diet, he said that it wasn't healthy for the baby . I proceeded to get a lot sicker and continued to eat gluten, not wanting to believe it was the problem. It wasn't until my daughter was almost 3 that I was finally referred to a gastroenterologist and correctly dx'ed.

I wish that I had listened to my gut instinct (pun intended) and stayed off of gluten the first time after I figured out it was bad news for me. But that being said, some of us (me included) need confirmation of what is wrong from a positive test. I can tell you to trust your body and just stay gluten-free if you know it makes you feel better, or advise you that you may always have doubts if you don't have it confirmed by a Dr. That being said, keep in mind that even some people who have never tried the gluten-free diet, still end up with false negative results from a Dr. and then years later are finally correctly dx'ed after the disease has progressed so far that they are deathly ill.

The testing is imperfect. The most valid diagnostic tool is how your body responds to the diet. Take that for what it's worth.