Navy Questions

[Mangold-B-A]

Hi! I am in the US Navy, and have been on a gluten free diet since 2008. Celiac runs in my family, and because of the adverse reactions I have to gluten, I chose to change my diet and avoid gluten. I hadn't had any issues with the Navy diet ( which allows many fruits, vegetables, and healthy foods) Until we were evacuated and had to live off of MREs for a few days. One food piece later, I was on the floor with severe pain ripping through my chest, back and rips, as well as upper abdomen, and difficulty breathing. I was given a blood panel test but the results haven't come back yet.

My question is, if they come out negative, does anyone have any advice as to how to talk to my doctor about the issues with gluten? I absolutely cannot tolerate even a small portion without being terribly sick. Is there anyone that knows a little bit about how blood panels work, or have experience working with military medicine?

Thank you!

[pricklypear1971]

Use the search function on this site and you'll come up with some posts about the military.

[kareng]

If you have been gluten-free for 8 years, its unlikely a little gluten for a few days will get enough antibodies in your blood to register positive.

[GFinDC]

HI,

The testing involves eating gluten for a period of time and then testing for antibodies and maybe an endoscopy. Your doctor will need to tell how you how long the challenge needs to be and how much gluten you would need to eat each day. There is always a chance of false negatives with the testing even after a challenge.