Validity Of The Saliva Test

[fontgirl]

Hi everyone,

Two of my doctors think that it's possible that I have celiac because I am deficient in at least three vitamins and developed osteoporosis 30 years before my mother! However, I did have gastric surgery and I have malabsorption. We're just not sure if it's from the surgery or something else, so the doctors want to rule out celiac.

Is the saliva test reliable? I had mine sent to Diagnos-Techs, Inc. My gastroenterologist also took a blood sample recently and those results should be back in a few weeks. He told me NOT to go on the celiac diet because it's so oppressive and I have a horrific case of hypoglycemia -- severe low blood sugar -- that was caused by my two stomach surgeries.

Right now, I'm completely intolerant to carbohydrates; am allergic to dairy, nuts, almost all fresh and cooked vegetables, intolerant to fruit and and basically miserable and surviving on 12 foods. That's why he didn't want me to try the celiac diet until I got the blood back and he doesn't want to torture me with another endoscopy because I've had about 16 and he thought the blood would be sufficient.

Anyway, I just wondered if other people have been diagnosed via saliva and blood and if that would be adequate. Thanks.

Sigrid

[Guest Kathy Ann]

I had been sick for about a decade and nobody could figure out what was wrong. My doctor ordered a saliva test from DiagnosTech. Having them also check me for gluten was an afterthought. When the test came back it was the first time I was ever told I had intolerances to gluten. DiagnosTech told me that false negatives WERE possible, but that a properly done saliva test was nearly 100% accurate when the results are positive. After that, I did the enterolab tests and they agreed. So I was actually first diagnosed using a saliva test. I also took blood tests, but had already been gluten free for a few months when I did. So they came back normal. I don't think the blood tests mean much unless you have advanced gastro problem.

[fontgirl]

I had been sick for about a decade and nobody could figure out what was wrong. My doctor ordered a saliva test from DiagnosTech. Having them also check me for gluten was an afterthought. When the test came back it was the first time I was ever told I had intolerances to gluten. DiagnosTech told me that false negatives WERE possible, but that a properly done saliva test was nearly 100% accurate when the results are positive. After that, I did the enterolab tests and they agreed. So I was actually first diagnosed using a saliva test. I also took blood tests, but had already been gluten free for a few months when I did. So they came back normal. I don't think the blood tests mean much unless you have advanced gastro problem.

Kathy Ann, that's really reassuring. Thanks so much for that. I know that my results were in because I got a statement from DiagnosTech asking me to contact my healthcare provider. Fingers crossed! It's kind of a no-win situation for me in that it's bad news if I have it and it's bad news if I don't. I'm afraid of the starving to death on the program because I can't add in new carbs because of my low blood sugar so this means eliminating my whole grain bread and Rye cracker. OTOH, maybe I will get an answer to the reason why I cannot stabilize my blood sugar and have all of my chronic fatigue, headache, feel like crap symptoms all the time.

I really hope that you're feeling better now -- how long have you been on the diet?

Best, Sigrid (very slow to respond to messages these days. Please excuse me. I've had a headache almost every day for a year which is making me mentally ill.)

[sunshinen]

It's kind of a no-win situation for me in that it's bad news if I have it and it's bad news if I don't. I'm afraid of the starving to death on the program because I can't add in new carbs because of my low blood sugar so this means eliminating my whole grain bread and Rye cracker. OTOH, maybe I will get an answer to the reason why I cannot stabilize my blood sugar and have all of my chronic fatigue, headache, feel like crap symptoms all the time.

I really hope that you're feeling better now -- how long have you been on the diet?

Best, Sigrid (very slow to respond to messages these days. Please excuse me. I've had a headache almost every day for a year which is making me mentally ill.)

Actually, you should definitely consider a positive diagnosis a win. It will be hard at first, but as you say, it can explain and FIX so many health problems, including some of the other food intolerances and some of the hypoglycemia. Since you have given up most carbs to begin with, you won't even have that much to sacrifice. And there are gluten free, multi-grain options that should be fine with hypoglycemia. Kinnikinnick even has a bread for those on a candida diet. You might just find that resources for this diet will help you find things you hadn't known about in terms of options. And once things heal up, you may even be able to start eating many of the things you can't eat now.

Good luck!

[fontgirl]

Actually, you should definitely consider a positive diagnosis a win. It will be hard at first, but as you say, it can explain and FIX so many health problems, including some of the other food intolerances and some of the hypoglycemia. Since you have given up most carbs to begin with, you won't even have that much to sacrifice. And there are gluten free, multi-grain options that should be fine with hypoglycemia. Kinnikinnick even has a bread for those on a candida diet. You might just find that resources for this diet will help you find things you hadn't known about in terms of options. And once things heal up, you may even be able to start eating many of the things you can't eat now.

Good luck!

Sunshinen,

Thanks for your positive take on the issue. I'm feeling more than a little depressed at the moment -- not that you could tell. LOL. I'm in total food prison but, yes, on the bright side, a positive diagnosis may be a way out of that.

Regardless of what the saliva and blood tests show, I'm going gluten free anyway tomorrow. And it's true that I have eliminated most of the carbs from my diet but whenever I dropp the wheat bread, I feel positively horrible because my blood sugar just doesn't go high enough. I've experimented with 10 -- 12 different types of breads. All of the pure whole-grain or rye give me violent nausea, migraines and bowel problems. They are really bad news.

Anyway, I will just rough it out because attempts with brown rice bread or brown rice crackers -- even very low carb versions -- have been disastrous, so it's easier to go bread free in the beginning.

Are you SURE that there might be a relationship between hypoglycemia and gluten? I would LOVE to believe that because I just can't imagine living my life on these 12 foods. It's insane. About 70% of the world the food is too high in carbohydrates for me; another 10% of foods give me migraines; in the last 10% set off sneezing attacks. Well, you can see how well I'm doing with my math, so I'm just going to sign off and thank you for your help. Also, I hope that you are feeling much better since going on the diet in February.

YF, Sigrid

[Guest Kathy Ann]