scooper

My daughter, who has celiac, and I will be traveling to Sierra Leone Africa in a few weeks. We plan on packing a lot of gluten free bars, and my understanding is that there is no problem bringing them into the country. We have been told by another teen who traveled there last year and was gluten free, that there were not a lot of processed foods. She ate a lot of beans, rice, and meat. She also asked, when appropriate what was in the meal and often found that is was gluten free. She had also brought along some cans of Ensure, but said she did not end up needing the cans as she was always able to find something to eat.

Our plan is to be prepared with other options and just keep a good attitude on the trip, realizing that the food is not our main emphasis on this mission trip.

Safe travels!

Do any of you have any experience utilizing the US BioTek Food panel to identify other foods that you might have a sensitivity or intolerance to?

Any other food panels you might recommend?

The test can be ordered at orders@theDr.com .

The website is theDr.com and the phone number is 1-877-GLUTEN-1.

It is called the Gluten Sensitivity Screen and tests for Deamidated Gliadin Antibodies (IgA, IgM) and Transglutaminase Antibodies (IgA, IgM).

Through the kit, you send in 4 mL of saliva.

I sent my test in about 3 weeks ago, and I am still waiting for the results.

The kit was $125.

They recommend being gluten free for less than 4-6 weeks for the results to be accurate.

I heard a lecture last week from Dr. Thomas O'Bryan at Denver's Celiac Support Group. He talked about a brand new Saliva test that will measure gluten sensitivity. Have any of you heard about this? I bought a kit, since I was 3 weeks gluten free, and he said it was accurate if you have been gluten free for less than 4-6 weeks.

I sent in my sample, but I am wondering if any of you have heard of the test? It is posted at theDr.Com.

Thanks for your information.

My daughters were diagnosed with Celiac in Jan and March through positive blood tests and a positive intestinal biopsy for my oldest.

Since the diet change, my 13 year old has started her period and grown 3 inches.

My 11 year old has stopped having stomach problems and looks much healthier.

I don't remember the GI specialist giving any directions on returning for further follow-ups. Do you guys suggest doing another blood test - if so after what amount of time? We'll go see our pediatrician soon for a check up, but she seems to look for my lead in terms of the Celiac treatment.

The GI doc originally did a bone scan and checked for diabetes and thyroid problems. Is there any reason to repeat those tests periodically?

Thanks for any suggestions.

My two daughters were diagnosed with Celiac this year with blood tests and intestinal biopsies. The rest of the family tested negative on the blood test so the doctors said not to worry about gluten. However, we tested my husband and myself with the stool test through Entero Lab at www.enterolab.com and our results came back positive for gluten sensitivity.

Who do we trust - the doctors or the stool test results? My husband has symptoms for gluten sensitivity but I don't (at least none I know of).

The doctor said the stool test is not reliable.

Any experience with the validity of the test?