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Best Method Of Testing

thegirlsmom

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thegirlsmom Apprentice
thegirlsmom
Posted

My husband has been having some digestion issues over the last 3 months and we are planning on doing some testing come the first of the year. Over Thanksgiving I talked to his family and found there to be a family history of colon problems including: His Aunt just had some of her colon removed, his cousin recently went to the er with a ruptured colon due to diverticulitis, his mom won't admit to anything but has always struggled with c and hemmies, and his brother is currently having issues and going in for test the first of the year also(I found this out through his wife-he won't admit to it.)

So back to my hubby, he feels very inflamed in his colon and get fever blisters any time he gets contaminated. I have celiacs and so our house is mostly gluten free but when we say eat steak at a friends house, I will react and he reacts stronger!

So I guess I have 2 questions:

Does anyone have "inflamation" in their colon when they get contaminated? Or do you think it sounds more like colitus (he has no D but many of the other very typical celiac symptoms of fatigue, excessive foul smelling gas, anxiety, brain fog, anemia, etc. that last's about 2 weeks from contamination and then goes away)?

And: what tests should I request from my DR? Or should I just go to enterolab myself? The expense will be out of pocket one way or the other.

Thanks

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

If he is eating mostly gluten free, and only flares when he gets some gluten, the traditional testing is not going to be a lot of use for him, since it requires a full gluten diet for 2-3 months. You could go the Enterolab route - while not diagnostic it does give a picture of what is going on, including the genetic predisposition if you so choose. Does he discuss his symptoms with his regular doctor? It sounds like an endoscopy and colonoscopy could be a good idea for him to rule out colitis, Chron's and anything else. If you are sure it is specifically a gluten reaction and he has been avoiding gluten, the testing options are pretty limited.

thegirlsmom Apprentice
thegirlsmom
Posted
  • Author

If he is eating mostly gluten free, and only flares when he gets some gluten, the traditional testing is not going to be a lot of use for him, since it requires a full gluten diet for 2-3 months. You could go the Enterolab route - while not diagnostic it does give a picture of what is going on, including the genetic predisposition if you so choose. Does he discuss his symptoms with his regular doctor? It sounds like an endoscopy and colonoscopy could be a good idea for him to rule out colitis, Chron's and anything else. If you are sure it is specifically a gluten reaction and he has been avoiding gluten, the testing options are pretty limited.

Yes I do know that it is directly related to gluten. I have watched his symptoms and what he eats. It's a cycle. he eats something, tummy gets icky, swelling begins, gas begins, when he starts to feel better a week later, he gets grumpy. Then when he starts to feel normal again after 2 weeks he eats something else that messes him up. He has been trying to be good, it just takes more knowledge to be aware of things like spices.

He hasn't been to the DR. I think he is nervous about what it could be. I am pushing him to get tested.

He says eating gluten to test is not an option and I don't want to waste my money sending him for a bunch of blood work if it is inaccurate. I am debating just doing the Enterolab gene test. Any idea how accurate it is in diagnosing?

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

The gene test is not diagnostic -- it merely indicates a predisposition to develop celiac disease if he has DQ2 or DQ8, although a small percentage of celiacs carry different genes. The Enterolab test will also measure overall IgA levels, also not especially diagnostic except if they are exceptionally high.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

What are you trying to learn with the testing? You already know he can't eat gluten. There are forms of colitis that involve reactions to gluten. I don't know whether it's autoimmune or an intolerance reaction.

Right now the science of celiac testing is in such a sorry state of affairs that we can only dceliac autoimmunity by making someone have a complete relapse, and even then the tests are only maybe 80% accurate if you get both blood and biopsy. As Mushroom said, enterolab and genetic tests are not diagnostic.

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