I'm New

[Tigger]

Hi everyone, I'm very new here and if someone can help me through the ropes I'd appreciate it.

I've had chronic diarrhea for over a year and do NOT know what to do at this point. I've been tested for all the usual suspects. I've had the blood test for celiac and it came back fine.

Can someone bet gluten sensitive and still have a "normal" celiac test.

Help.

Tigger

[tarnalberry]

Yep, you absolutely can have a problem with gluten and still have normal blood tests. Of course, the first question that comes to mind is: what blood tests did you have? (A lot of docs don't run the full panel, or require more positives than others might require for a diagnosis.)

The other thing to consider, besides the interpretation of the tests is whether or not your intestines had enough damage for the antibodies the blood tests look for to escape the intestinal tract. They may not have had that much damage - yet.

If you still want to investigate gluten intolerance AND your doc already ran the correct tests with truely negative results (not just inconclusive), then I would encourage you to try the gluten-free diet (strictly) for two months to see how you feel. Do not, however, try the diet until you are done with all diagnostic testing.

[Carriefaith]

I've had chronic diarrhea for over a year and do NOT know what to do at this point. I've been tested for all the usual suspects. I've had the blood test for celiac and it came back fine.

I would guess that you may have a food allergy or intolerance. If I were you I would ask for the full celiac panel, a wheat allergy test, casein and lactose intolerance test, and maybe allergy testing (like skin prick tests) to see if you are allergic to other foods like, soy, eggs, and nuts.

[pixiegirl]

I had the runs for 11 years so I've got you beat! My Celiac blood work came back negative too. However I went on a gluten-free diet and my runs stopped in a very short time.

Since then I've had a DNA test and I do carry the main genes for Celiac and every time I'm accidently glutened I get the runs for weeks again. Some people "need" to have their doctor tell them a test was positive, I don't need that, the proof I get with my reactions to gluten is enough for me.

You might want to try a very simple diet for a few weeks, thats how I did it. I ate chicken, rice and some veggies for a week or so and bingo the runs stopped.

Susan

[Canadian Karen]

Maybe you should ask your doctor about the possibility of collagenous colitis..... After a decade of permanent diarrhea, they finally found out that's what it was....

Good luck!

Karen