Gluten Challenge

[misskatie]

I saw a doctor yesterday to discus celiacs with, unfortunately she really did not have a clue and also was not getting what I told her. I told her I had been eating gluten-free although I know there has been some consumption of gluten. She told me based on only 2 symptoms I managed to tell her she didn't think I was Celiacs, and that my fatigue I associated with gluten should NOT get better with a gluten-free diet if it was Celiacs!!! She gave me an order for a blood test, and only told me to fast prior to it, this is AFTER the fact I told her I was eating gluten free...

Anyways I'll be able to see my family physician at the end of April/beginning of May. So I decided that I would do the gluten challenge so that when I see him he can order me a blood test. So I started it last night and already as far as symptoms I've had constant smelly gas, constipation, bloating, and some mild abdominal pain. At this point I am fairly convinced that I am a Celiac. I just can't wait to get a diagnosis and some closure in my life!

[gf-soph]

I hope you are able to get some answers. A good idea is to keep a food and symptom journal over the next few months, it may help you to identify symptoms directly relted to gluten. It can be very useful to look back over when you are gluten free again, it can be a great motivator to track all the changes.

It may also be that your fatigue is related to other nutrient deficiencies. If you haven't already, get your iron, B12 and folate levels checked as a minimum. I'm sure some of the more experienced people here can give you some others to check out, those are just the ones that come to mind easily.

I hope your family GP is a bit more knowledgeable about celiac. However, if your testing comes back negative it is worth having a look around here at some of the posts about testing. I had positive blood tests but a negative biopsy, but that was enough for my GP to be sure I should be gluten free. It sounds like your dietary challenge is giving you a pretty strong indication already, but plenty of people feel much better off gluten even if the tests aren't conclusive.

[jerseyangel]

I saw a doctor yesterday to discus celiacs with, unfortunately she really did not have a clue and also was not getting what I told her. I told her I had been eating gluten-free although I know there has been some consumption of gluten. She told me based on only 2 symptoms I managed to tell her she didn't think I was Celiacs, and that my fatigue I associated with gluten should NOT get better with a gluten-free diet if it was Celiacs!!! She gave me an order for a blood test, and only told me to fast prior to it, this is AFTER the fact I told her I was eating gluten free...

This doctor is mistaken about a few things. Fatigue is a common Celiac symptom that will improve on a gluten-free diet. You do not need to fast for the Celiac blood test, and a proper gluten challenge should be 3-4 months of eating the equivilant of 3-4 slices of bread per day. The longer, the better.

[ravenwoodglass]

Your body itself is also a pretty good diagnostician. If gluten challenge makes you very ill IMHO you have your answer.