How To Prepare For Gluten Challenge?

[Insightful]

Hello friends!

I have been doing a 10 day cleanse (eating nothing but brown rice and raw fruits and vegetables along with cleansing herbs and morning enema) and surprisingly all my symptoms started disappearing! A friend informed me about celiac and I started suspecting that this is what I have.

I started feeling so good that I was afraid to reintroduce other foods in my diet. So I started slowly, adding 1 new food each day testing for allergies. Turns out I do not tolerate dairy except certain hard cheese and yogourt (which I already new) and gluten along with a food additive called carageenan.

I have now been on a gluten-free diet for a month and keep seeing improvement. I told my doctor and he said to stay on a gluten-free diet, see how I feel and when I am ready, we can do a "Gluten Challenge".

How does one prepares for that?

Is the longer you stay on a gluten-free diet the better? (how long is best?)

Is the Gluten Challenge done at home? (how long does it last?)

Do you have to get tests and biopsy before and after the Gluten Challenge?

I am nervous when seeing a Doc. and forgot about asking all these questions!

Thank you!

I am new to this and I am finding a lot of helpful info on this site!

[celiac3270]

Don't have any advice on preparing for a gluten challenge.....I never did one. I don't think that it's something really important unless you're doubting your celiac. I think that actual testing is the best judgment of that. If you feel better, I don't see the point in hurting yourself with more gluten.....the gluten-free diet is helping whether it's because of the gluten or some wheat allergy.......it doesn't really matter which, if you feel good. Just my opinion.............

[tarnalberry]

If you're just doing a dietary challenge - not necessarily a lengthy gluten ingestion that will allow for blood testing and biopsy - then you just need to eat gluten (and quite a lot of it) for a few days and see how you feel.

[lovegrov]

The purpose of a gluten challenege is to officially diagnose you. The "challenge" is that you go back to eating gluten every day for up to three months with the idea that if you do have celiac you make yourself sick enough again that the tests come up positive. If you've been off gluten long enough, the blood tests and biopsy will be negative even if you do have celiac.

The problem with the challenge is that it could make you VERY ill. You have to decide, along with your doctor, how important it is to have an official diagnosis.

richard

[tarnalberry]

richard, you can also do a dietary challenge the way allergists do them and that is just seeing if the food causes a reaction. no, it is not a quantitative lab test, but it is accepted for many purposes. (and is what allergists do in their office if all other testing fails to identify a food allergy.) you can do this as well with a food intolerance. of course, some doctors may not accept it as an official diagnosis, but some do. it is another alternative.

[lovegrov]

You're right, Tiffany, but every time I've seen a gluten challenge dicussed it's been what I described. I guess she needs to ask her doctor.

richard

[Insightful]

Thanks a lot for your reply.