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How Long To Eat Gluten Before Testing

beachbirdie

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beachbirdie Contributor
beachbirdie
Posted

When my doctor did a celiac panel a few weeks ago, I had been eating wheat for only a month or so. Is that long enough to give a good result?

I just found out I have a DQ2.2, which is "low risk" for celiac, and my celiac panel showed low enough levels of antibodies to be considered negative. Doc didn't test for DQ1, though I have much northern European heritage (Irish/German)

Just wondering about the time frame.

thanks.

beachbirdie

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cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

When my doctor did a celiac panel a few weeks ago, I had been eating wheat for only a month or so. Is that long enough to give a good result?

I just found out I have a DQ2.2, which is "low risk" for celiac, and my celiac panel showed low enough levels of antibodies to be considered negative. Doc didn't test for DQ1, though I have much northern European heritage (Irish/German)

Just wondering about the time frame.

thanks.

beachbirdie

My understanding is that 3 to 4 months of eating the equivalent of 3 to 4 slices of bread a day is needed for a gluten challenge.

Even then some of us test "negative" for celiac's.

This is why it is so very important to be tested before going gluten free. But of course doctors don't tell us that <_<

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

When my doctor did a celiac panel a few weeks ago, I had been eating wheat for only a month or so. Is that long enough to give a good result?

I just found out I have a DQ2.2, which is "low risk" for celiac, and my celiac panel showed low enough levels of antibodies to be considered negative. Doc didn't test for DQ1, though I have much northern European heritage (Irish/German)

Just wondering about the time frame.

thanks.

beachbirdie

I have Irish/German ancestry too, what more evidence do you need? :)

Kidding. I have read something like 6 weeks to three months of eating gluten, but the usual preference seems to be 3 months minimum. And there is still a chance of false negatives. You might want to read up on Enterolabs site. Dr. Fine has paper there suggesting that the blood tests are insensitive because they test the blood for antibodies, while most of the antibodies are actually inside the intestine. Testing the wrong area in other words. Sounds reasonable to me. I haven't tried Enterolab testing myself, but I think his ideas on that part of it sound right.

Hawthorn Rookie
Hawthorn
Posted

My doctor told me two weeks would be enough, after a year of being gluten free (or at the very least gluten light since I wasn't very aware of CC)

My bloods came back neg.

On the uk coeliac charity site, they recommend one gluten containing meal every day for six weeks so it seems that ideas on this varies greatly (as if all of this wasn't confusing enough right? )

Good luck :)

love2travel Mentor
love2travel
Posted

My doctors and dietitian all told me I absolutely must be eating the equivalent of four pieces of bread (at least) per day for three months (I had been off gluten for five months) for accurate results. As I did not have GI symptoms and love consuming gluten I was only too happy to oblige! :P But many would not be and I do not blame them one little bit.

beachbirdie Contributor
beachbirdie
Posted
  • Author

I have Irish/German ancestry too, what more evidence do you need? :)

Kidding. I have read something like 6 weeks to three months of eating gluten, but the usual preference seems to be 3 months minimum. And there is still a chance of false negatives. You might want to read up on Enterolabs site. Dr. Fine has paper there suggesting that the blood tests are insensitive because they test the blood for antibodies, while most of the antibodies are actually inside the intestine. Testing the wrong area in other words. Sounds reasonable to me. I haven't tried Enterolab testing myself, but I think his ideas on that part of it sound right.

:D LOL! I just mention the Irish/German thing because so many say there is a strong connection of celiac and northern European. More reading last night tells me my husband and I probably gave our kids a double gene whammy, two of them have strong reactions to gluten and my husband's Latin heritage probably contributed another gene. :huh:

I'm convinced now that with the one gene that I know about, my other autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis) and our symptoms, we don't need to pursue a diagnosis any further. We need to be gluten-free.

Thanks for your answer!

beachbirdie Contributor
beachbirdie
Posted
  • Author

Many thanks to all of you for your replies!

beachbirdie

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GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

:D LOL! I just mention the Irish/German thing because so many say there is a strong connection of celiac and northern European. More reading last night tells me my husband and I probably gave our kids a double gene whammy, two of them have strong reactions to gluten and my husband's Latin heritage probably contributed another gene. :huh:

I'm convinced now that with the one gene that I know about, my other autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis) and our symptoms, we don't need to pursue a diagnosis any further. We need to be gluten-free.

Thanks for your answer!

Oh yeah, Hashimoto's thyroiditis is strongly linked with celiac disease. There are plenty of threads on here by people with Hashimoto's.

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