Gluten Challenge ?

[Miss J Loo]

I have been on my Gluten Challenge for about a week and a half now, and I am definitely feeling it. My symptoms have mostly been headaches, tingles, muscle aches and abdominal cramping since beginning the challenge. (Also, I am B12 deficiant and have been taking weekly injections, and my level is continuing to drop.)

My questions is (and please forgive me if it's been asked a lot of times before):

Do I really have to go through an entire month of eating gluten if I had only taken myself off of it for ~3 weeks? Wouldn't I be able to take the gene blood test now? That will result whether or not gluten is in my system, right?

Is it much more beneficial to hold out for the antibodies to be present, or is it just as valid to only test positive for the genes? All opinions are welcome, and thank you in advance...

[bluebonnet]

you don't need gluten for the genetic testing. and its about unanimous that eating gluten will NOT guarantee a positive result. crazy. good luck!

[ravenwoodglass]

The gene test can't tell you whether you have celiac or not. It can simply tell you whether you carry the genes, and many places do not test for all the genes. It is useful however when combined with the results of a challenge, and yours seems positive. Tell your doctor what is happening with the challenge, some are savvy enough to diagnose based on relief of symptoms gluten free and the reappearance of symptoms on the challenge.

[Miss J Loo]

Thank you both for replying--I appreciate both of your responses.

One other question: There are times when I feel alright, then times when I feel pretty sick. Could I still be having a gluten reaction, even if there are times when I don't feel completely sick? I can feel good for part of the day, then just awful later on.

[ravenwoodglass]

Thank you both for replying--I appreciate both of your responses.

One other question: There are times when I feel alright, then times when I feel pretty sick. Could I still be having a gluten reaction, even if there are times when I don't feel completely sick? I can feel good for part of the day, then just awful later on.

Yes that can be seen with a gluten reaction.