DNA Test?

[Aniya]

Hello my name is Kristy and ive been sick since april. Stomach pains, Diarrhea, and Fatigue have been the main problems. I went from thinking i had a virus to parasites with any tests coming back negative and normal. Ive been limited in testing and doctor visits as im now unemployed and without health insurance. Just over a week ago my mother told me i should check into Gluten intolerance so i did and ive been on the diet since. I think its helped but im not sure and its hard to do when i dont KNOW if its my problem. I learned that my grandmother has always had stomach issues but never found the source, perhaps she had celiac and perhaps i have it now too? So my main question here is should i get the DNA test to see if i have the celiac genes and how much does this kind of test cost?

[ravenwoodglass]

The DNA test is not a diagnosis. For one thing many carry the genes and not all will have celiac. In addition gene testing is a relatively new science and many companies only test for 2 out of the 9 known celiac associated genes.

IMHO you would be better off getting a celiac panel done through your doctor. If you have been seeing one for these issues they may be able to order the test and you could pick up or have the lab slip mailed to you without having to pay for an office visit. You do need to keep eating gluten until all testing is finished. There is also about a 20% risk of a false negative with the blood tests and biopsies so if you do go that route do go gluten free after the tests are done. Your body will give you the answer.

There are people here on the board who are 'self diagnosed' as you really don't need a doctors permission to be gluten free. However if you do go gluten free any tests you want done later will be negative without a gluten challenge of about 3 months. The challenge will make most of us very sick if we need to be gluten free as the body will really not like having those antibodies reactivated.

You could also go the Enterolab route, they do gene testing for all the 9 genes but IMHO the more valuable part of the testing is the stool test for antibodies. You can check out their web site for prices and also check out some of the posts here about Enterolab to make an informed decision on whether you want to do their tests or not. Some do not like Enterolab because they haven't had their testing procedures 'peer reviewed' but others consider them to be a valuable part of the diagnosis.

Read as much as you can here as the diet does involve more than just food. Ask any questions you need to.

[Jestgar]

Just to emphasize what RWG said, there are no Celiac genes that have been identified. A DNA test is interesting, but not informative.

If you think gluten is your issue, consider either trying the diet, or exploring other testing.