Celiac Screening - Where Should I Go

[HenryT07]

Hi,

Glad I found this forum. Thanks in advance for the help .. I suspect I may have celiacs and am wondering where I should go for testing. I live in Ontario and celiac screening is not covered. I don't have a problem paying the fee for the test but I've read that many labs aren't really familiar with celiac testing and could come up with false negatives. I'm wondering if I shoudl just get the test done at a local lab or order an online test like many of you have done. Thanks for the help .

[blueeyedmanda]

Is there a way you could talk to your dr about it. Maybe he could point you to a lab which does the testing. Also entrolabs does celiac screening. I am not familiar with it but many of our members are.

Good Luck and Welcome to the Board.

[HenryT07]

thanks for the reply blueeyedmanda. My doctor is the one who perscribed the test but didn't mention that some labs might not be skillied at running it; I read that online. Anyone else know if I should go with a local lab or with entrolabs? Thanks

[Ursa Major]

It seems to me that here in Ontario doctors in general are very ignorant about celiac disease, and therefore don't order the tests very often. My doctor had no clue what to order when I asked for Susie to be tested a year ago, she copied from the brochure I brought in.

And since our all-wise government doesn't appear to think celiac disease screening is an essential service and so government insurance won't cover celiac disease testing, many people may not be able to afford paying for it, and would be hesitant to ask. So, labs won't have to do it very often, and lack the experience as a result.

Still, you do have the requisition, and might as well give it a try. You might actually get an accurate result, and could end up positive, which would save you the expense of ordering the tests from Enterolab.

Only if your test comes up negative would I advise you to go with Enterolab. Because, including shipping back to them by courier, it will end up costing you nearly Can $500.00. Not cheap, but worth it if you can afford it.

I am glad we had it done for Susie, our youngest daughter (16), because with seeing the proof that she is indeed gluten intolerant (just my own observations weren't good enough, of course), she is now on the gluten-free diet, and quite determined to stick with it.

I hope you figure it out.

Oh, and just to let you know, DO NOT go on the gluten-free diet until AFTER you've had the official testing done, if that is what you will opt for. Otherwise you will be guaranteed a negative result.

On the other hand, Enterolab testing will be accurate up to a year after eliminating gluten, if that is the route you decide to take.