Going gluten-free Before Test Results?

[Eriella]

Hi,

I am currently in college and we are positive that I have celiacs (bloating, cramping, constipation (especially after eating bread or beer), mood swings, brain fog, anemia, low potassium even though I eat tons of bananas, sore muscles/joints, family history...). The thing is I can't get tested until I go home, which will be a little over a month and then 2 1/2 months until my GI appointment. When I am on a low gluten diet I feel better and I am better able to do school work. When I have ever 2 beers I will have "brain fog" for 2 days, which doesn't work when I am in finals. Should I go gluten-free to make myself feel and perform better and "risk" healing before I can get a diagnosis, or should I keep gluten in my diet until I am able to be tested? My only concern in risking not getting a diagnosis is that I still have to eat and a very gluteny cafeteria for another year unless I get a note from my doctor and can file under Americans with Disabilities.

Thanks!

[Ursa Major]

Would it be possible for you to get tested with Open Original Shared Link, could you afford that?

Why can't you get the blood tests done now? Don't you have a health plan in college? I don't know how it works in the US, but my kids had full health coverage through their college/university (above the universal coverage here, which won't pay for a lot of things) and could have seen a doctor on campus, and could probably have had celiac disease bloodwork done if necessary.

The problem of course is, that if you go even gluten light (and gluten-free would be best), your tests will possibly be useless and end up showing false negatives. Plus, if you start feeling fabulous and your villi heal, would you really want to go back on gluten and destroy them again? That is a terrible thing to do, and could result in permanent damage.

On the other hand, how are you supposed to get through the rest of the school year and exams feeling crappy? Really, you somehow need to manage to get the testing done now, so you can do well in school and feel healthy enough to enjoy life, rather than barely surviving.

Or just go gluten-free, and hope that based on excellent results on the diet, your doctor will diagnose you with gluten intolerance, which will be good enough for a note for next school year.