Will An Allergy Test Give An Indication To Celiacs?

[Guest hesoverthere]

More specifically, will an allergy test give an indication to ANY food intolerance? I understand that allergies and intolerance are two different things but will an allergy test show an individuals intolerances as well? Going to cost me around 310 dollars...which sucks but I need to find out or have some place to start.

It is a blood test, this much I know. I don't know any other specifics, just told it is a food allergy test. Do I have to have eaten the food beforehand to get accurate results? I've been attempting gluten free for about a week and a half now and will start up again to receive an accurate result. Forgive me but I don't understand how the two (allergies and intolerances) relate completely yet. Thanks.

[elonwy]

Yes and no... It can show you food that gives you issues, but it won't show an indication for/against celiac disease. I tested positive for celiac, and I don't test positive for wheat allergy. The blood test for allergies is also not always conclusive because you have to be eating what they are testing for for antibodies to show up. Its a good place to start, but its not the last step. You may want to talk to your allergist about food diaries and elimination diets as an alternative to spending money on testing. Mine talked me out of testing and towards elimination dieting for the reasons I state above.

That being said, I just got allergy testing done and found out the things I am allergic to that aren't food, and its been very helping getting rid of those extra symptoms that have nothing to do with food. Good luck, and keep asking questions

[dbmamaz]

I tested negative for celiac (tho the test was after I'd been off gluten for about 6-8 weeks already). I took the A.L.C.A.T test, which cost more than that, and is a mail-order thing, for sensitivities and reacted to 1/3 of the 175 foods. I went to an allergist who specailizes in food allergies, and he did scratch tests and then did small injections for the ones which i didnt react too badly too the first round. I reacted to 90% of the 60 foods he tested for.

The two tests had a lot of overlap, but not totally. A.L.C.A.T, which is a sensitivity test, said chicken was safe, but the allergy test said it wasnt. The allergy test said rice was safe, but the A.L.C.A.T test had it as a moderate (not mild or severe) reaction. I did react to wheat/gluten and milk/casien on both tests.

Furthermore, my son did an allergy blood test through the pediatricain which showed NO allergies and his celiac was also negative. The A.L.C.A.T test showed a strong reaction to gliadin (but not to gluten, oddly), and his 3-5 x per week D went away when I took him off gluten.

Different tests find different things. furthermore, the blood allergy tests (often called rast) are sometimes not as accurate as the scratch and prick tests. The scratch and prick tests are awful, tho - i felt sicker as it went on - first I was just spacy and weak, then i burst in to tears (after the first set of prick tests - and it wasnt from pain) and finally i just felt . .. .just sick. Just achey and miserable and mildy feverish and exhausted.

[nora-n]

I had the yorktest which tests for IgG antibodies for more than 100 foodstuffs. It also tests for antiiadin IgG but I had been off gluten for many months so it did not show positive for gliadin IgG. I did react strongly to yeast. I had been off milk so it did not show anything on milk (but i react violently to even traces of milk)

There are even IgM tests out there.

Ordinary allergies are IgE.

And some things you cannot do a blood test for, I think.

And there is Enterolab which many have used to find out about gluten intolerance and they can test for other things too. It is more celiac-ish than the other allergy tests (celiac is not an allergy, but autoimmune)

The ordinary celiac tests are :

Tissue transglutaminase IgA and IgG

antigliadin IgA and IgG

and then you also need the total IgA

and there is the endomysium antibody test

and it happens that people only test positive for one, any one of the tests, that is why they recommend to do all of them here.

Doctors tend to only do the tissue transglutaminase IgA test but some cases might be missed that way.

nora

[Guest hesoverthere]

Well I went ahead with the test either way, if it is an allergy hopefully it will show up. I'll have to look into the other tests mentioned but my funds are limited so I may just go with an elimination diet. I've been trying but its difficult due to my circumstances and not providing my own meals 1/3 of the time. In another week I will be able to so that will probably be my best option. I'm still able to limit my gluten pretty good but not really completely and some effects have subsided quiet a bit, like the bumps on my elbows. I was doing okay until I had another stupid episode of feeling like trash. Yesterday, the itchy bumps on my elbow got really bad around 3 in the afternoon. I can't decide if its gluten or potatoes or something else yet, but I think its one of those two. I had a burger/fries two days before and minimal effects, just a slight stomach ache afterwards. However yesterday I had a bagel around 730am and a plate of hash browns around 1230pm, the bumps and itching showed up and progressed around 3pm and this is usually the first indication of how I'm going to feel for the next day or so. I had been going off of 6 hours of sleep/day the past 2 weeks and yesterday was the first day I took a nap. Then of course today I feel like garbage. This brought another question to mind though, is the concentration of gluten in a bagel higher than that of a hamburger bun from a fast food place (in this case, Carl's Jr.)? ...and could an intolerance cause symptoms to show up that quickly or would something showing up quickly like that be more of an indication of an allergy? I wish I knew if it was gluten or potatoes or whatever but its not like I have the money for a doctor to help me out so I really appreciate your responses. Thanks.

[ShayFL]

All of these tests are expensive and I must confess I have felt duped sometimes.

For instance I had no reaction to raspberries this past A.L.C.A.T. but get a reaction when I eat them. And some of the things I reacted to, I can eat just fine.

About 2 years ago I did Enterolab and everything came back negative (wheat, dairy, egg, soy). At about that time I also did a home test blood spot for gluten and wheat which came back negative as well. A.L.C.A.T. was negative for wheat and gluten too. Regular Allergist did skin prick and I was negative for wheat. Now that was A LOT of money to spend!!!

Fast forward to 4 months ago. Negative for celiac (both blood and genetic). Positive genetic DQ1 and DQ3 with Enterolab. I didnt do the stool this time and I didnt do the genetic last time. A.L.C.A.T. this time showed SEVERE reaction to gliadin and MODERATE to wheat.

This is my 3rd A.L.C.A.T. and I never responded to wheat or gluten before.

The funny thing is that you are MORE likely to show a response to a food on A.L.C.A.T. if you are currently ingesting it on a regular basis. I had been gluten-free for a month when I had this A.L.C.A.T. done this time, so the fact that it showed up was enough for me to feel secure in my decision to go gluten-free. That and my genes.

Now I am migraine free for almost 3 months. That is like getting 12 days of my life back so far!!

So they may be helpful or they may not. You still have to do A LOT of sleuthing yourself.