Gluten Test - Is It Valid?

[jumpnjv]

I have had a lot of GI problems for a long while. I was diagnosed with IBS 20 years ago. I was researching my symptoms and I keep coming across Celiac Disease. I have taken out all of the bread and am eating a very basic diet - turkey burger, spinach, tomatoes, hard boiled egg and tuna salad. I seem to be doing a bit better. I asked my GI if I might have Celiac and he said he would run a blood test. I asked him if it would be valid since I have been eating without much gluten. He said it is virtually impossible to take out all gluten and that the test was very sensitive.

I will be getting the results in a week, but if it is not positive, do I trust it?

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"You can only be guaranteed to test positive for AGA, ATTA, and EMA (antibodies produced if you are gluten sensitive) if TOTAL villous atrophy has occurred--that is, only if the villi are completely flattened" --The Gluten Connection by Shari LiebermanPhD, CNS, FACN. So, if your bloodwork isn't positive, the MD may suggest an intestinal biopsy, or he may tell you that your bloodwork is fine and to go ahead and eat gluten. Keep in mind, if he does an intestinal biopsy and, again, the intestinal villi are not completely flattened, physicians usually rule out celiac disease and gluten sensitivity...despite ongoing symptoms. This is why so many people go undiagnosed for years and years.

On the other hand, a stool analysis and/or gene analysis can be performed without a doctors order. The stool analysis tests for the same antibodies as the blood test does--only in the intestines, where the whole problem originates. But, the medical profession, for some unknown reason, doesn't "recognize" the validity of this test.

Perhaps it's a liability thing. And the gene test will tell you whether you possess any celiac or gluten sensitive genes--which is pretty definitive if you ask me. I had the stool and gene testing done at a lab in TX. Very reputable; highly recommended, VERY helpful. Good luck.

PS: The lab states that the antibodies generated from eating gluten remain in your intestines for well over a year after stopping gluten.

[Lisa]

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