Would It Be Worth Trying A gluten-free Diet?

[wilem008]

Hi everyone!

Last week I had blood tests done for Celiac, Tyroid & a bunch of other things. To my dissapointment all the tests came back negative/normal. The only thing that showed up was a low iron count...indication that I could be anemic.

This would explain why I am so tired all the time but it doenst really explain all the other symptoms I have, including: daily headaches, anxiety, depression, brain fog, consipation, stomach aches & bloating.

I know that with the celiac blood tests, even if they come back negative you can still have celiac and the only way to find out for sure is to have a biopsy done. The problem is, Im not meeting with my doctor for another 3 weeks and Im not meeting with the gastro doctor for another 2 months!

Im wondering if you think it would be worth me spending the next 3 weeks (before I see my doctor again) trialing a gluten-free diet - just to see what happens. If the diet doesnt work then ive at least tried and if it does work then I'll just stick to it!

I can always eat gluten again before I see the gastro doctor.

What do you think? Should I give it a go? It cant hurt to try, right?

Thanks, I appreciate all your opinions.

Wilem

[dbmamaz]

You could do a gluten-free trial, but most recomend not doing it if you are considering a biopsy. However, many doctors wont do a biopsy if the blood test is negative. You coudl also try other testing (mostly you have to pay cash for it tho) such as enterolabs or A.L.C.A.T. After the dr's apt and any biopsy he might schedule, you still shoudl try a trial because it still could be a sensitivity - although it could be a sensistivity to other foods, too

[Ursa Major]

Anemia is one of the most common symptoms of celiac disease. And yes, of course anemia causes fatigue.

It is your choice if you actually want to wait for three months to have a biopsy (and get more anemic during that time), or try a gluten-free diet. If you feel better on the gluten-free diet, you will really have your answer, despite a negative blood test.

Unfortunately, if you do that for more than a couple of weeks, your biopsy (if you are going to have one) will likely end up being negative.

You can still test with Open Original Shared Link, as their tests are still accurate up to a year after eliminating gluten from your diet. Even though they can't diagnose celiac disease (as unfortunately, the officially accepted definition of that is still blunted villi), they CAN diagnose gluten, dairy and soy intolerance, and will tell you if you have antibodies to those foods, and if you have malabsorption (very likely, if you are anemic).

Edit: Ugh, second edit, as first I assumed you are a man, as Wilem is a Dutch men's name. And now I see you are in Australia. Mind you, if you can afford the cost of sending the Enterolab kit back to Australia by courier, you can still be tested by them.