Weak Positive Diagnosis For Celiac

[janu]

I am a retired schoolteacher, age 57. I've had 28 years of symptoms with various diagnosis, IBS, Ulcerative colitis, arthritis, trigeminal neuralgia, anemia, depression, high blood pressure, diahrea, etc. I have always been slightly overweight but have suffered many of the other symptoms associated with Celiac. My doctors always treated individual symptoms, usually with some form of medication to mask the symptom. After doing a medical d-tox through my chiropractor I felt hugely better! Then my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac. I traveled to see her doctor and had the antibody tests done. The results showed a "weak positive" probably because I had been gluten free for 2 months because it made me feel better. My dilema - should I go back on a regular diet for a period of time and have the tests redone or does it matter? I also have two other children that are having unexplained health problems. Would it help them if I had the confirmed biopsy or is that insignificant? :

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I was diagnosed with Celiacs and then my brother was but my Mom who had the same and even worse symptoms couldn't get a positive blood test. She didn't want a biopsy so wenton the diet and has benifited greatly from it. You don't NEED an official diagnosis unless for some insurance or something but other than that if you want to stick with the diet because you feel better then do it!

Your other children shuld get tested. Even if you aren't official their sister is.

[KaitiUSA]

You do not need an official diagnosis unless there is a reason you think you need one. I would personally just listen to your body...you know it runs in the family and you had a weak positive when trying to be gluten free for 2 months then that should also speak for something.

As Kristina said the rest of your children should be checked....other blood relatives should probably get checked as well considering it is genetic.

[Rikki Tikki]

I agree Janu, I don't think you need to go back on gluten to get a positive result. If you feel better, I would just stay away from gluten. If you already have a weak positive that should be good enough. I think the other kids should be tested. With me, the doctor didn't even tell me he suspected it, he received the blood tests did the endscopy and then told me. Of course, that was years after a doctor had told me my blood showed a disease, but he didn't think I had it because it was so rare! Guess what that was, celiac. Who knew.......

[ianm]

I don't have a formal diagnosis but I feel so much better since going gluten-free that I really don't need one. Try not eating gluten for a while and if you feel better then that is all you really need to know. The only "cure" for this disease is to stop eating gluten so it won't hurt to try.

[Guest chickadee]

( Open Original Shared Link ) If you cut and paste this link it will take you to the Mayo Clinic web site page that deals with diagnosis of Celiac disease.

For anyone who thinks they may have Celiac, going gluten free can alter your results.

Not everyone will have positive results no matter what they do.

I never had a positive result because my gluten intake had been limited by the time I went to see the specialist. I was told by the specialist to go gluten free if it made the symptoms go away. Part of the diagnosis involves symptoms.

When we took our son to the sick childrens hospital they told us that it was possiblel for our son to have the blood test and biopsy done, and still be negative.The recomondation when this happens is to listen to your body. If you eat something that makes you sick then dont eat it.

Take Care, Brenda

[Lesliean]

Being weakly positive is like being somewhat pregnant. You either are or aren't. And the antibodies start dropping immediately on a GFD.

The next step would be the "gold standard" biopsy and I believe it is starting to be questioned as a neccesary test for diagnosis. It is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack and those who are positive on the blood work are often already gluten-free and reluctant to eat gluten again for any reason. After 2 months your intestines might have healed enough to biopsy negative. My doctor said that in order for me to have the biopsy I would need to go back to eating gluten for 2-3 months. No way for me!

I am so glad you are getting good results from a GFD and that family members are pursuing this too. I hope the other kids will get tested as your serology was positive. Also, if your family has intestinal damage they might have temporary trouble digesting dairy too as it is broken down by the tips of the villi in the small intestines.

Leslie