Wandering Hermit

That is something I have never understood about this board. On the dozens of other boards I have read, only the most critical 5% or so of threads get pinned. Here every thread is pinned. Totally defeats the purpose and concept of pinning threads. ???

The specificities of these assays are not 100%. That means false positives are always a statistical possibility. No test, of anything, is perfect. I've also read that AGA IgG can be high for conditions other than celiac disease. I read that in a journal article I found while browsing. This Open Original Shared Link says IgG AGA found positive in 10...

As someone who performs difficult measurements for a living (I'm an engineer in a high tech company) I can assure you that no test is perfect. I don't care what you are trying to measure, you can always screw it up. As for the contention that a positive blood test means that you have celiac with 100% certainty, I refer you to this document on this very...

Yeah, I definitely am viewing this as temporary. I will not get my hopes up. This is my 'farewell tour' to certain restaurants I love and foods I crave.

Ok, fair enough on Enterolab. As for my challenge...thanks for asking. It has been about 2.5 weeks and I don't feel any different at all. Have not gotten sick or anything. BMs are the same as they were off gluten. Of course I know this does not mean anything. It will be interesting to see what the blood tests say in a few months. But if nothing else, I...

Exactly. My question exactly. What is the sensitivity and specificity of his tests? Until I see these stats, I don't trust any of it. As far as I am concerned, the fact that there are nothing but testimonials on his site which say "thank you for telling me I have celiac" and none that say "thank you for showing me I don't have celiac disease" raises...

It helped me initially but eventually I learned what I could and could not have and rarely used it.

And here is the other frustrating aspect of this. Kaiti gave a good list of the various blood tests. We know that each of these tests has an associated sensitivity and specificity. But what are these stats when the blood panel yields mixed results? If you are AG IgG positive and tTG negative, what is the sensivity/specificty for these COMBINED results???...

jajus100: These are great questions. I was wondering the same thing myself. I'm trained as a physicist so I am always questioning the veracity of the stats I come across related to celiac disease. This is the other one that bothers me: on the blood tests I want to know what the measurement error is. You cannot measure or quantify anything without the...

I just eat low lactose. Have not tried total elimination of dairy, that is possibly a future experiment. I appreciate everyone's comments and concern. I understand that there may possibly be other issues with gluten beyond celiac disease. I also understand that I am taking a risk with the challenge, in the sense that there is some probability that I am...

Well, if I thought there was a really good chance that I would be miserable on gluten, I probably would say NO to the challenge. But like I said before, my gluten-free diet coincided with an abrupt change to my milk intake. And I know milk makes me sick, as I have done a 'milk challenge' - now it is time to do the gluten challenge in the same way for...

Well, I agree, that the world would be a better place if all gluten grains disappeared overnight! celiac disease or no celiac disease, I'd feel that way, just because I know how tough being gluten-free is. And even if it turns out I am not celiac I also deeply care and understand celiacs and try to help them in any way I can. But I would never force this...

Rachel: If the testing is negative but I *feel* better gluten-free than non-gluten-free then I will go back to gluten-free, no question. I'm a bit of a pessimist, so in the back of my mind I think I am a celiac. I am resigned to it. But I want to see a clear demonstration of it. There are several: 1. Clear difference in symptoms w/ and w/o gluten...

Tiffany: 1. The strain it puts on my family. Examples: Wife: The boys really want my homemade pancakes. Do you mind if I buy some flour? Me: Don't you dare open a bag of flour in my kitchen and get that crap everywhere. What are you trying to do, shorten my lifespan? Boys: Can we all go out for pizza to celebrate (something)? Me: Sorry son, I...

Thanks for the responses. I guess I would tend to agree with you guys, except that there are confounding factors in my case that make me think the challenge is a good idea: 1. My tTG has always been normal, even on gluten. Only IgG antigliadin was high initially, but IgA was not. Also I am not IgA deficient, that was checked. From numerous sites, I...