18 Days Gluten Free - Too Late For Antibody Blood Test?

[beingmommy]

I've been gluten free for 18 days. Is it too late to get the antibody test?

[cruelshoes]

It can take quite a while for bloodwork results to drop (months or longer in some people). You may get positive results with only 18 days gluten-free. But the bloodwork is only the first step in the diagnosis process. If the bloodwork is positive (and often if it isn't) your GI will want to order an endoscopy. Changes to the villi have been shown to occur in less than 2 weeks on the gluten-free diet. It can be quite a while to get an appointment for the biopsy. If you remain gluten-free all that time, your chance of getting accurate test results is greatly diminished.

If what you want is a gold standard diagnosis, you need to continue eating gluten until after all of the testing is complete.

[beingmommy]

Darn, I can't eat gluten at present because I am nursing my 17 month old DS who just got diagnosed with probable celiac.

Edited to add: His diagnosis is "probable" because we are forgoing the biopsy as he is so young and it is so invasive. But his antibody blood test was positive 18 days ago. He hasn't been gaining weight so he needed to be gluten free ASAP before of affects his development. I guess I will have to look into it for myself somewhere down the line . . .

[cruelshoes]

If it were me, I would have the complete celiac panel run immediately, and then let those results determine the next steps. No harm in getting the blood work done. If you decide to do this, make sure your doctor orders the full panel, and not just one or two if the tests.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[beingmommy]

Thanks! I will talk to our doc about it. I guess if there is a chance it can be positive it would be worth it and if it's negative I know I could still have it ( and check again at some point when I can do a gluten challenge - i.e. no longer nursing)