Advice

[jmrogers31]

I appreciate any advice you guys have for me. Back in January I got a sinus infection and that's when everything started going downhill. I have always had allergies, asthma, nose bleeds, sinus and inner ear surgeries all my life, and burning pain with my bm's but nothing I couldn't deal with. After my sinus infection I was miserable. Everything I ate made me sick, I had horrible headaches all the time. My stomach was always upset with bloating, cramping, and bubbling. I also started to experience bad anxiety and a strong sense of doom all the time like something was going to happen to me. It kept me up at night and I couldn't sleep. I was an easy going person before this.

Well, finally in early July my doctor suggested I tried a gluten free diet for the stomach issues. I had no clue what Celiac was but not only did my stomach feel better, after about a month my anxiety went away and things I never thought of got better like my mumbling when I talked (less swelling in the face?). Well, I asked my doctor if I should be tested for Celiac and she said, "Why? You feel better on the diet just go with it." So I called a GI in town and they said, "You have to be recommended by a doctor." Okay, so I took a genetic test and came back with both DQ2 and DQ8 from both parents. So I want to know if I have Celiac because I want to know if my kids should be tested as well. Should I keep pushing to be tested? I have been gluten free for over 3 months so would it matter? Or should I just go with it since I feel better than I ever have? Thanks and sorry so long.

[Roda]

Your blood tests are likely to be negative now since you have been gluten free. If you want tested it is recommended to consume gluten for appx. 3 months at the equivilent of 3-4 slices of bread/day. Even then there is still a chance of false negative.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Your blood tests are likely to be negative now since you have been gluten free. If you want tested it is recommended to consume gluten for appx. 3 months at the equivilent of 3-4 slices of bread/day. Even then there is still a chance of false negative.

Ditto what Roda said. You would have to go back to eating gluten for an offical diagnosis (and even then it could be false negative). It's too bad your dr didn't test you before telling you to try the gluten-free diet. If your kids are not gluten-free, I would take them to the dr and ask for testing based on your symptoms recovery with a gluten-free diet. Then have them tested every few years or at the slightest sign that they may be gluten intolerant. You should be able to get htem tests based on symptoms so long as they are still eating a full gluten diet.