Newbie, Testing Questions

[tita2]

Hello all,

I am new to the whole gluten thing. I have been researching it for the past couple of months since a friend discovered her own sensitivity and feels better on a gluten free diet. She tested negative to celiac. I have had digestive problems for years, migraines, depression and a host of other issues. I finally started to eat gluten free (as much as I can) only 5 days ago and feel some difference. A while back I discussed it with my doctor and asked to be tested, but he quickly insisted I could not be celiac unless I had extreme symptoms, and mine have never been severe. Since then, I have become more informed. My question is this, why be tested if you already know you're feeling better on a gluten free diet? I want the test, but my friend thinks it is unnecessary. From what I have been reading so far, I disagree. Also, how do I convince my doctor that a test would be beneficial?

Thanks for your time and information. Great website and forum!

tita

[Lisa]

This is the collective test that you should have your doctor order, if you would like to be tested for Celaic:

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG

Total Serum IgA

It's important that you should be eating a full gluten diet, before testing for optimum accuracy.

Many people here are self diagnosed and they feel quite comfortable with that. Walk around this site and read others experiences. To test or not to test is a personal decision that only you can make. Some people want an official diagnosis, some people just feel better off gluten.

And Welcome!

[nvsmom]

I think being tested benefited me. I've been gluten-free for about a month, although I was glutened by smaller amounts than I ever thought possible so I haven't felt better much of the time. So being off gluten doesn't feel much better but being glutened seems to be worse. Also, after being diagnosed, it led to finding out that I have some sort of hypothyroidism, which will prevent me from feeling good gluten-free.

I'm an odd case who probably wouldn't have felt a lot better gluten-free because of another unknown pre-existing condition, so I don't know if I would have stuck with it. In many people's thoughts, I'm only half diagnosed because I did not want to pursue the endoscopy, and am comfortable with positive blood tests... It really is a personal choice though.

[tita2]

Thanks for your responses. I will keep reading about people's experiences and knowledge here.

[sosickofbeingsick]

The reason I think testing should be done (for my own case anyway!) is that there is a difference between having the autoimmune response to gluten that celiac patients have, and having gluten simply "not agree" with you.

However, if you are having some of the symptoms that indicate nutrient deficiencies, etc. , it seems to lean more to an auto immune response. If it just doesn't agree with you (ie causes diarrhea, bloating), it shouldn't be causing intestinal damage as far as I understand from the research I've read.