Getting Tested For Celiacs

[apac]

After 3 years of being sick, many tests, a misdiagnosis of IBS, and a great deal of research I chose to take myself off of gluten. I now have been gluten free for almost 8 months and feel a great deal better. I was tested for Celiacs in March which was negative. I was informed at the time that it could have been a false negative due to the fact that I had been gluten free for 3 months when it was done. I still have issues off and on but lately they seem to be more often than not and my body is making it harder for me to deal with it all. Each time I get sick it is exactly the same. I don't know anything about other food allergies because all of my focus has been on gluten. Do others represent themselves in the same as as gluten...i.e. diarrhea, nausea, vomitting, bloating? I talked to my GI doctor and he suggested I eat gluten for a month. He then will do an upper scope to get the biopsy along with a blood test. I am debating this for the obvious reason - who wants to make themselves sick for just to see if it is celiacs; but also because I lost a bit of faith in him when he swore up and down that I was a "poster child for IBS".

Would I benefit at all from testing positive for celiacs - or do I just try to figure out why exactly I am not on my "A game" every day?

Signed....so overwhelemed!

[Coinkey]

In my own recent experience, it was not worth eating gluten again to get tested- purely because it was negative and the pain was awful. You could try a proper elimination diet to try and find another culprit- many others on here are sensitive to milk and soy as well as gluten. Your off and on issues could also be due to cross contamination. For me having that positive test would have simply given me reassurance that it's not all in my head and also because the Canadian government helps with the cost of gluten free food through medical expenses used against the taxes (they won't do it if you do not have Celiac diagnosed through biopsy). So, think about why you want your positive tests and weigh them up against your reasons to stay gluten free. I only went through the blood test, and for me, it's not worth it to go back on gluten just to be properly diagnosed, I'd rather remain my sane happy friendly and enthusiastic self.