False Negative On Blood Test Due To Breastfeeding?

[jonescatnj]

Hi,

My Mom just tested positive for celiac so I had the test done a month ago. The test results came back negative. Now, my Mom is telling me that she read in a book that my breastfeeding my daughter could have caused a false negative. Is this possible? I had the test done four years ago and it was positive but since my upper endoscopy didn't show any damage the GI told me I could eat wheat. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!

[Ursa Major]

I have never heard that breastfeeding a baby could cause a false negative for the mother's blood work. On the other hand, those blood tests are not very reliable in picking up celiac disease. Since you tested positive four years ago, you should have tried the gluten-free diet, even with a negative biopsy. Apparently, you had a very uninformed GI. The damage is easily missed by a biopsy, and false negative biopsies are very common.

I have read that pregnancy can trigger celiac disease, but it can also somehow do the opposite and give you a break. But if you have celiac disease, you'll get sick again sooner or later.

Have you tried the gluten-free diet? It can't hurt you, and you may find your answer. Another option is to get tested by Open Original Shared Link. You can even get tested by them while trying the gluten-free diet, as the tests will still be accurate up to a year after eliminating gluten from your diet.

[Annaem]

Have you been gluten free over the last four years. Intestines heal when you are on a gluten free diet. So it appears you don't have celiac but celiac never goes away once you eat gluten it comes back. Definetely do ENTerolab. It is recognized by G.I. in Canada and U.S. Also people can get damage anywhere along the intestine, they often don't check further down the intestine. More accurate way of endoscopy is swallowing that little camera that pictures all the way down.