Biocard And Symptom Diagnosis

[kylie123]

I would really appreciate some advice, as I think I have celiac disease but the doctor thinks I do not!

I have always suffered from bloating and constipation. Because of this I have felt uncomfortable and depressed and heavy all the time. My skin is not great, and I suffer from exhaustion.

My boyfriend picked up on this and suggested that I might be gluten intolerant. I went on a gluten free diet for a month or two. OMG! AMAZING! I cannot describe to you how different I felt. My energy went sky high, my skin cleared up, I wasnt bloating and I could GO TO THE LOO! I wonder if this is how people are supposed to feel all the time? If so, I have been seriously missing out...

I told me mother, and she informed me that I was both gluten and lactose intolerant when I was a baby! Now I dont know much, but I assume this isnt something that goes away? The doctor instructed her to introduce gluten and lactose gradually into my diet which she did when I was three

This was enough proof for both me and my boyfriend, but the gluten free bread and pasta was costing me a fortune. A friend then told me that I can get it for free on the NHS. So I went to the doctor.

He agreed to send me for a blood test, but he said that I had to eat gluten for 8 weeks first. I thought he was mad! It hurts so much and I didnt want to lose this marvellous energetic body and the feeling I had gained...

Anyways, I agreed to do it after discussing it with my boyfriend. In some respects there was a niggle in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe, this was all in my head.

So I have been eating gluten for a few weeks now. However, not very much, as I just cant bring myself to do it. In some ways it has been fun to go out for food and just order whatever wanted, but the pain and grumpiness that followed certainly hasnt. Only 3 weeks of on and off eating gluten has passed, and I simply couldnt take anymore.

I went for the blood test. I am awaiting results. In the mean time, I bought a self test kit called Biocard. After waiting five minutes, the test was negative. I was disappointed with this but hardly surprised because either :

1 this is all in my head, or

2 i havent eaten enough gluten for my body to produce enough anitbodies.

BUT I looked again at the card five minutes later and there was a VERY faint positive line.

Is this positive? I DONT KNOW! I'm so confused.

I am really worried at the moment. I have a feeling that the blood tests are going to come back as negative. Seriously cant cope with eating gluten anymore for another test.

Any opinions on my situation would be SO gratefully received. I dont know any celiacs here, and my doc wont talk about it or even take me seriously.

[mushroom]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Yes, I am afraid that after so little gluten for such a short period of time the tests will most likely be negative Very few people who are truly intolerant to gluten are able to make it through the full two-month challenge period at 3 to 4 equivalent bread slices a day. However, you can console yourself with the thought that even if you had made it that far your tests may well have been negative too. Non-celiac gluten intolerance is really common, and there is a known 20% false negative rate on the testing.

I have also heard other posters say that the receipt keeping for the tax deductions was just too much of a PITA and not worth the effort (not sure if you are in U.S., Canada, UK - each seems to have a different way of doing it.)

Finally, I have no idea if a faint line on the Biocard means anything as I am not personally familiar with it.

It used to be believed that children would grow out of gluten intolerance, but there are only one or two known instances where this has actually happened, that a celiac has been cured. It can go underground, but damage is still lbeing done somewhere - it is just not apparent at the time.

Welcome to the world of non-celiac (because undiagnosed) gluten intolerance. You are in good company - maybe half of our members are right there with you so feel right at home here

[Jaymie Jaymz]

I went for the blood test. I am awaiting results. In the mean time, I bought a self test kit called Biocard. After waiting five minutes, the test was negative. I was disappointed with this but hardly surprised because either :

1 this is all in my head, or

2 i havent eaten enough gluten for my body to produce enough anitbodies.

BUT I looked again at the card five minutes later and there was a VERY faint positive line.

Is this positive? I DONT KNOW! I'm so confused.

This is what the how-to PDF on the biocard has to say about test lines:

"After applying the drops, do not touch the test card for 2 minutes. The test result can be read after 5 minutes. Do not read the test result after more than 10 minutes." (Open Original Shared Link)

Seems you read it right at the 10 minute mark, so I'm not sure if the results you saw are valid. It's a tough call.

[kylie123]

Hi thankyou both so much for your responses. I don't mind being undiagnosed, but it does mean that I am not able to get the help that is available over here. (the uk)

Been gluten free for two days now and woooooow I feel good

I wonder if you think my recurring thrush has anything to do with a gluten intolerance? I suffer so badly with candida that I have had to go home from work once or twice.

Any more responses on my case are soooo welcome. Its so great to be able to talk to people in my situation. x

[kylie123]

I thought that maybe I should list the symptoms which made me think I might be celiac. Could you give me your opinion?

My symptoms:

Overheating, always hot!

Very bad constipation

Gas

Tummy pains

Irritability

Depression

Candida infections (vaginal thrush)

Bad skin

Feeling sluggish

Feeling nauseated after consuming dairy

(I have tried cutting out dairy which prevented the nausea, but the other symptoms described above remained)

The noises that my tummy makes when I have had gluten are quite impressive. Even after just a small cracker it can affect my tummy.

Cravings: salt, tinned tomatoes, chillis, orange juice, vinegar.