Tests...

[CJS]

Are there any tests that are accurate for Celiacs or GI if you are on a gluten free diet? The only two that I am aware of are the IgG blood test & the endoscopy. I was told that I needed gluten in my diet for 4 - 6 wks, 3x's/day before the either of the tests would be valid. Is there any other way?

CJS

[Lisa]

Are there any tests that are accurate for Celiacs or GI if you are on a gluten free diet? The only two that I am aware of are the IgG blood test & the endoscopy. I was told that I needed gluten in my diet for 4 - 6 wks, 3x's/day before the either of the tests would be valid. Is there any other way?

CJS

As you must be aware there are three ways to diagnose Celiac Disease:

1. IgA Blood Panel

2. Endoscopy/biopsy

3. Possitive Dietary Response.

The blood test is not accurate for those who are still on the gluten free diet. The endoscopy and biopsy can be hit or miss. The dietary response is a diagnosis in itself.

Four to six weeks on a gluten diet is perhaps the minimun exposure and even that cannot insure total accuracy.

[ravenwoodglass]

You could also go with Enterolab. They test for antibodies and the tests can be done up to a year after you stop consuming the toxin. They do not diagnose celiac but they can tell you if your body is forming antibodies to gluten. IMHO that is diagnostic, you wouldn't be forming antibodies if your body wasn't seeing gluten as something it doesn't want.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

As you must be aware there are three ways to diagnose Celiac Disease:

1. IgA Blood Panel

2. Endoscopy/biopsy

3. Possitive Dietary Response.

The blood test is not accurate for those who are still on the gluten free diet. The endoscopy and biopsy can be hit or miss. The dietary response is a diagnosis in itself.

Four to six weeks on a gluten diet is perhaps the minimun exposure and even that cannot insure total accuracy.

In addition to being hit or miss, the endoscopy/biopsy would also be a guaranteed negative for celiac if you are gluten-free (unless you have refractory sprue). In celiacs, the gut heals on the gluten-free diet, so an endoscopy/biopsy would reveal--nothing!