Need To Go Gluten Free?

[person011]

I just got a blood test to see if I have Celiac disease. These were my results:

Gliadin Ab, IgA 39 positive if > then 35

Gliadin Ab, IgG 6 positive if > 35

Endomysial IgA 11 positive if > 30

Reticulin IgA < 1:2.5 positive if >1:20

My Dr. said that I tested only slightly positive for being Celiac...she said I can go see a nutrionist if I want...what does that mean? If I don't have to go gluten free then I won't but if I should I will.

I was just diagnosed with autoimmune tyroid disease last week..so maybe that influences the result. But I am going to get retested in 5 weeks to see if anything chages. I would appreciate anyones input. Thanks.

[iluvfupa]

My Dr. said that I tested only slightly positive for being Celiac...she said I can go see a nutrionist if I want...what does that mean? If I don't have to go gluten free then I won't but if I should I will.

By saying you can go to a nutritionist if you want is basically saying it is up to you if you want to go gluten-free since the results were inconclusive.

Personally, if I were you I would go gluten free for a while and see if you feel better. If you do have celiac your quality of life will improve a ton, if you don't you missed out on wheat for a month...no big deal.

[CarlaB]

Didn't they do a Ttg?

Are you planning on getting a biopsy? If so, then wait till after the biopsy to go gluten-free.

The thing is, you either have celiac or you don't ... there's no such thing as a "little" celiac. I would probably go for the biopsy since you're still eating gluten. If it's positive, then you know for sure. If it's negative, then you can try the diet anyway and see how you respond.

[mftnchn]

Maybe you could ask the doctor, "What would you tell me to do if I follow the diet for a month and feel much better?"

If he/she says he would have you do a biopsy then I would push for that before going gluten free.

If the answer is then you probably are celiac, maybe that would be sufficient diagnosis for your doc and for you.

Hope you find the right answer for yourself, and if you decide to do the diet this site will be a great help.

[Nancym]

If you're gluten sensitive then your thyroid disease may well have been caused by eating gluten. I've heard that something like 30% of people with early thyroid disease will go into remission if they adopt a strict gluten-free diet.

And another thing, this gluten sensitivity seems to come with the tendency to develop new autoimmune diseases easily. Having had two now, I'm hoping that I can prevent any further issues by eliminating foods I am intolerant of (gluten and casein).

You might want to read up on the subject of autoimmune and gluten, Dangerous Grains is a good book in that regard. thefooddoc.com has a lot of info too.