Celiac Test Blood Test

[jdizzle]

I've been gluten free for about 4-5 months and as soon as I quit, the painful bloating, tiredness and bathroom misery ceased, but my new doctor insists that I get tested for Celiac disease with a blood test. I said 'but I heard I have to eat gluten before the test' and she said 'yes you do'.

Has anyone been tested this way and can tell me exactly what it entails?

Do they make any efforts to reduce your suffering after the test? or let you take enzymes? And do you just eat something before going that contains gluten? or do they give you something? Any input would be helpful, I'm really nervous! because the last time I accidentally ate a trace of gluten I had a miserable week afterward much worse than before I quit.

[nora-n]

It is called a gluten challenge, and maybe you can google it.

You have to eat a lot of gluten for several weeks, best three months or so, but it is individual when the tests turn positive.

maybe just take a blood test now to see what it says? It will probably be negative. But it is good to have this baseline before testing.

But, do you NEED a diagnosis?

[GFinDC]

For the blood test they draw some blood, no big deal. But you do need to be eating gluten for a while before hand. If you get sick when you eat gluten what is the point of getting the test?" You won't be able to eat it without getting sick anyway, so it seems kind of pointless. The test won't make it possible to eat gluten. That doesn't mean you can't do it of course, there are good reasons some people want to know for sure.

[jdizzle]

For the blood test they draw some blood, no big deal. But you do need to be eating gluten for a while before hand. If you get sick when you eat gluten what is the point of getting the test?" You won't be able to eat it without getting sick anyway, so it seems kind of pointless. The test won't make it possible to eat gluten. That doesn't mean you can't do it of course, there are good reasons some people want to know for sure.

I personally don't want the test at all! I argued that I had good reason to surmise that i was intolerant to gluten, but because I'm still unwell in some ways, as in, more and more foods seem to irritate my stomach, the doctor seems to think finding out if I'm a celiac is helpful. No idea how!

[icm]

Enterolab is probably a better way to go at this stage. Their staff are very helpful and you may not need to reintroduce gluten for it. Of course, if the gluten free diet is working well, then why not just stay gluten free? More and more evidence is showing that wheat isn't a great food anyway.

[GFinDC]

You may be getting gluten in your diet without realizing it. Vitamins and meds, teas, coffees, everything needs to be checked or eliminated. You may also be reacting to another food like soy, or dairy or nightshades etc. Cutting back to a very simple diet of whole foods only for a couple months may help.