Testing- Is It Possible To Test After Being gluten-free For Over 2 Years?

[Zoed]

I need to get tested for celiacs but im not sure if the results will come up positive since i have been gluten free for over two years, my GP has suggested that i get a stomach biopsy but is not sure if i will be tested positive as i cannot activly eat gluten. I need to get tested so that i can get my food subsidised by the NZ govt.

are there any tests that will show that i am without me having to activly eat gluten?

[ravenwoodglass]

I need to get tested for celiacs but im not sure if the results will come up positive since i have been gluten free for over two years, my GP has suggested that i get a stomach biopsy but is not sure if i will be tested positive as i cannot activly eat gluten. I need to get tested so that i can get my food subsidised by the NZ govt.

are there any tests that will show that i am without me having to activly eat gluten?

Do they do mucosal challenges in NZ? Those are a test where they use either a rectal suppository or apply gluten to the mucous membranes in the mouth. Then they wait a couple of hours and biopsy the mucosal tissue and look for a reaction. This is not a test that is done in the US and I don't know what countries use this test. Your only other option is to do a traditional challenge with eating gluten for 3 to 6 months and then doing the blood tests and endoscopic biopsy. If you have been gluten free for 2 years the blood tests and endo biopsy will come back negative even if you do have the disease because being gluten free will stop the antibody production that they look for in blood tests and the villi will have healed giving a false negative.

[GFinDC]

Another thing to think about is what tests are recognized by the NZ health department or the evaluators who will review your case. That might be worth a phone call or letter to them to get a list of valid tests. And it seems to me maybe discussing your situation with them is worthwhile anyway. They may have run into similar situations and have some way of handling them that you can explore. Since the standard celiac disease treatment is to stop eating gluten, which makes the usual tests invalid, it is kind of a catch-22 situation. Nonetheless, they may accept something from your doctor like a letter or previous medical history?