Eating Gluten Before Test

[claireh]

Hi all,

Just came back from the doctors and I have to have a test for celiac in January. I have been gluten-free for 6 weeks now (as far as I am aware) after years of generally not feeling well, and now am feeling fantastic. I had joint pain, hair loss, bloating, pain, tiredness etc. Hair stopped shedding after 4 weeks and joint pain went after 4 days, so obviously I don't want to go back there again!

Doctor suggested I should find out for sure if it is celiac or gluten intolerance, and I should eat gluten everyday. I asked her how much, and her reply was 'enough'.

I am wondering how much is 'enough' to get an accurate result? Any thoughts would be appreciated,

Thanks

[Takala]

Oh, just enough to get the doc's office reimbursed by the health insurance when the claim is submitted......

did this dosing genius bother to send you to a lab now for some blood samples to be drawn for a celiac panel, so they could be compared to something done in the future, to see if there is any change when you do ingest gluten, or is she waiting for the New Year ?

[claireh]

Just waiting for New Year. I got some blood tests back for annual health check and all fine, except for big vitamin D3 deficiency. I started eating gluten again and symptoms coming back

[Cara in Boston]

My doctor told me 2 slices of wheat bread a day for 4 to 6 months . . . and even then it might not be enough. If you go through with it and your tests are still negative, it does not mean you don't have celiac. It means your doctor is uninformed and put you through this for no apparent reason.

Regardless of the test results, will you do anything differently? You already know gluten makes you ill, how will taking this test change anything?

Antibody tests are different for everybody. My blood test went from positive to negative after just 2 weeks of being gluten free and didn't show a positive after eating gluten for 3 months to get retested. My son's blood test remained positive even after being on the diet for 6 months. He finally showed improvement after 1 year.

[julissa]

this is such a crazy thing, I don't get it at all. a nurse from my health insurance company called the other day to consult about some other issues I had been having. I told her about my going gluten free for the past 2 months, and how I felt worlds better. I had a colon biopsy earlier this year, and was told no celiac.

she told me I should go to my doctor and confirm that I am gluten intolerant. I asked her how that would be done, she said he would have me eat gluten and if I got sick that would be it. I asked her if she would like to eat rat poison and see if she got sick.

[Ollie's Mom]

You felt better off gluten. You started a challenge and your symptoms are returning. This is confirmation that you are at least gluten intolerant.

Personally, I'd skip the testing if I were you. In fact, that's what I did for myself. You know you have a problem with gluten. No doctor confirmation required and (the best part!) You don't need a doc's Rx for treatment. You can control your diet all on your own.