Need Some Help Please

[jasonD2]

Hi- not sure if you can help me but I have a question.i just had a stool test and my anti-gluten antibodies were elevated (the value was 21 with 10 being the cut off for positivity on the lower end and 350 being the upper cutoff)- the person who tested me said i should go gluten free for life, thing is do I really need to? the stool tests are more effective for detecting antibodies but with a value only 11 points above what is considered normal, is that cause for a radical dietary change? i just dont wanna go my whole life w/o gluten if its not entirely necessary. I had a blood test for celiacs 5 years ago and it was negative but since then I have had a variety of digestive problems including IBS, constipation, lactose intolerance and food sensitivities. i'm just not sure what I should do - i'd appreciate any advice or feedback.

Thanks,

Russ

[mommyagain]

around here, we tend to call IBS a symptom, not the cause As for going gluten-free, the best thing you can do is give it a try. I would say give the diet an honest try for 6 weeks. Chances are, you'll feel better and "discover" all kinds of symptoms that you had, but didn't really attribute to food. Most people start feeling at least a little better within a few days, if there's a lot of damage to your intestines, it could take longer. As for your levels only being "a little" high, there are a lot of folks on here whose levels were lower than that, but their response to the diet is nothing short of amazing!

If you truly don't believe you have to go gluten-free, nothing any of us say will change your mind. But, before you decide to ignore the advice to go gluten-free, do some reading about what gluten does to the intestines of celiacs. And read about the subsequent illnesses that are common for celiacs who were undiagnosed for a long time.

[jasonD2]

i think i'll give it a try :-) thanks for your help. Do you think i should still go for a biospy? Also I find that when i remove gluten from my diet I get extremely constipated..like i wont go for 4-5 days w/o taking a laxative or Mg. longest i ever stayed on the gluten-free diet was 2 weeks and then i couldnt take it anymore

[MNBeth]

I would have the doctor run another celiac panel (blood test.) A lot can change in 5 years, and many people who initiallly tested negative will test positive later (because the condition has progressed, sadly.)

Of coure the blood test is often not conclusive, but it's a simpler, less invasive way to start. But that's just me. ;-)

[happygirl]

If you have further bloodwork/biopsy done, make sure that you continue to eat gluten-don't go gluten free til testing is completed.

Make sure that the bloodwork consists of the five Celiac tests.

Total IgA

AGA Iga

AGA IgG

EMA IgA

tTG IgA

If you have the biopsy, ensure that they take multiple biopsies in multiple places.

[gfpaperdoll]

Russ, you need to give up dairy. When you are eating gluten it balances out with the dairy. When you cut out gluten & not dairy you get the constipation. I think it will go away, if you cut out dairy. Also lots of fresh fruit & prunes are good...