Diagnosing celiac/ wheat allergy?!


Question: My husband has had a stomache problem for a long time... like pain and bloating and diarrhea pretty much every day since we've been married. He has been to doctors and they never find the problem. Recently I saw a site about celiac disease and he has ALL of the symptoms that are listed there. I have completely eliminated gluten from his diet 4 days ago and........... He feels better! My question is, what tests are required to diagnose celiac, and/or a gluten allergy? This is the second time I posted this question..... I hope I get an answer this time! I will choose a best answer!


Answers: My husband has had a stomache problem for a long time... like pain and bloating and diarrhea pretty much every day since we've been married. He has been to doctors and they never find the problem. Recently I saw a site about celiac disease and he has ALL of the symptoms that are listed there. I have completely eliminated gluten from his diet 4 days ago and........... He feels better! My question is, what tests are required to diagnose celiac, and/or a gluten allergy? This is the second time I posted this question..... I hope I get an answer this time! I will choose a best answer!

My mother has celiac disease. Is your husband very thin? People with this disease can not digest wheat/gluten. Their body attacks it and therefore they do not get the nutrients they need. It can be deadly if undiagnosed for years. My mother was finally diagnosed when she was like 40. Every major surgery (she broke her arm, had back surgery, a hysterectomy) and birth of a child (she had 2) makes it worse. She now eats a wheat free diet and is doing much better. She gets bread and other wheat-free products from a place called Kinnikinnick.

Hopefully this will answer your question:

It is an autoimmune disease of intestinal damage due to gluten in people who are genetically predisposed. Classic Celiac disease is diagnosed by abnormal blood tests and an abnormal appearing intestine on biopsy and symptoms that resolve with a gluten free diet.

And some more info:

Several blood tests exist for Celiac disease. They have varying degrees of accuracy. Some are more sensitive, meaning they will be positive in milder forms of the disease but are not specific, meaning a positive test may not indicate Celiac disease. Others are felt to be very specific, meaning that when they are positive, it is almost certain you have the disease.

The most specific tests are tests for Celiac disease endomysial antibodies (EMA) and tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG) tests. These two tests are IgA based tests and can be negative if you are deficient in the immunoglobin IgA, which occurs in 10-20% of people with Celiac. When either EMA or tTG are positive Celiac disease is very likely and usually the intestine biopsy is positive. Recent studies indicate that the tTG may only be positive in 40% of true Celiacs when mild degrees of intestine damage are present on biopsy. Seronegative Celiac, meaning the blood tests are negative but the biopsy is positive, may occur in up to 20% of Celiacs.

The most distressing problem for people with lesser forms of gluten intolerance who have blood tests and/or biopsies that are normal or borderline yet respond to a gluten free diet is either not being taken seriously or knowing for sure if they are sensitive to gluten. For these individuals stool antibody testing for antigliadin and tTG have been helpful.

Good luck! It is very frustrating when you *know* something is wrong and no one will listen! E-mail me if you have any questions, my mom has tons of information, she has been diagnosed for almost 10 years now. The good thing is that the disease is becoming more well known. Now a lot of grocery stores and restaurants have gluten free sections, although the items tend to be more expensive. But it's better than nothing! Again, good luck! Oh, and the internet does have a lot of good information. If he does get diagnosed, try and find an online support group for celiacs. The best information is from other people with the disease, because of course you can't believe everything you read on the internet, and also the doctor won't tell you everything.

i dont know-well i should say the docs around here give me the run around when it comes to that test. my daughter was allergic to milk n i wanted more tests. they wouldnt give it. my friend is on a gluten free diet n all her pains n problems went away-if i can find my Q someone answered it with info on it -ill look right now.--huh-must have got reported. it was months ago n it wont let me click on it. it was something about gettin allergy test on ur arm or on back-3 tubes of blood after fasting then 2 tubes of blood after eating things with it in there. alot of foods had it in there! i think if u type in ''gluten free foods'' it will give a list n ppls letters from their life. if i find more ill put it on here--if u dont find out more check back in 2 days-or if some1 gives u all the info-great!-------found 1 sight that i seen. type in ''gluten allergy symptoms'' look down 2-it says ''gluten allergy''---by (www.parentsofallergicchildren.org) hope that helps--it has alot of info. good luck!!!!!!!!!!

They need to perform a blood test when you are not on a gluten-free diet.
1. anti IgA endomysial antibody
2. anti IgA tTG antibodies
3. anti gliadin IgA antibodies

Then they will need to biopsy the small bowel

A firm diagnosis requires a response to a gluten-free diet in 3 to 9 months with biospy results showing that the inflammation has resolved.

Hey, first I would switch doctors! If your doctor never suggested celiac disease...he is not very aware.

There is lots of info on the web here is one site and a paragraph from the site.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases...

"Recently, researchers discovered that people with celiac disease have higher than normal levels of certain autoantibodies in their blood. Antibodies are protective proteins produced by the immune system in response to substances that the body perceives to be threatening. Autoantibodies are proteins that react against the body?s own molecules or tissues. To diagnose celiac disease, physicians will usually test blood to measure levels of

* Immunoglobulin A (IgA)
* anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTGA)
* IgA anti-endomysium antibodies (AEA)


The site continues to explain that a biopsy can be done then to determine any damage the disease has caused, and to confirm the problem. When my blood work came back negative, my gastoenterologist gave me an upper GI to double check to see if any damage was visable on my lower intestines, in case my blood work was faulty.

If your husband goes through the testing and it is negative, I would also suggest getting tested for a Soybean allergy. I suffered for a year before through an elimination diet and then testing, I found out it was soy. Soy flour, soy lecithin, soy oil is put in nearly (and I am not exaggerating) every store bough carbohydrate that is wheat based on the market, and commercial restaurants. Soy is a growing food sensitivity and the soy businesses try to keep in downplayed....so do your research if the wheat/gluten is not the problem.

Good luck I feel sorry for him and you!

My Celiac was diagnosed via biopsy and lower
endospocy. The thing to remember about Celiac Sprue
or Celiac Disease is that it is more than just an
allergic reaction to gluten.
Celiac can cause damage to the small bowel and
that leads to complications you definitely want to
avoid! Small bowel surgery ranks second only to
heart surgery, in risk. So, be aware of what you eat! Lots of
foods have wheat by-products. Learn to be a good
label reader. You will be amazed at how many prepared
foods contain wheat and or gluten.
After a positive diagnosis, an appointment with a
Registered Nutritionist is a must.
Celiac diets are very restrictive. It's important to
maintain your health and keep a well-balanced diet.
The nutritionist can assist you in planning a diet
designed to your specific needs.
I hope this helps you. More importantly,
I hope your husband feels better soon.
Stomach pain of any kind is awful!

The testing procedure is to first do some blood work and see if there are gluten antibodies present. The standard for diagnosing celiac disease is an endoscopic exam to check the lining of the small intestine. He does need to be eating a diet containing gluten for the tests to mean anything.
It is still possible for the blood work to show negative, and the endoscopic exam to be negative and then several years from now to turn up positive. The book by Dr Green has a good discussion on that aspect.
The strongest evidence though is what you have done by the symptoms going away when he went gluten free. He may not have Celiac Disease but just be gluten intolerant.
I would recommend you contact the local chapter of the support group at www.csaceliac.org and see which doctor they work with if you want to try a new doctor.
I have been on a gluten free diet for over 5 years and my health is so much better than it was.
Good luck!!!

First, as hard as it will be, your husband should not be gluten free before the tests are done. Otherwise, the tests might show a false negative.

The first test that is usually done is the blood test to see if there are particular antibodies present.

Your husband will also need to see a gastroenterologist. The gastroenterologist will ask your husband to fast overnight before the test. Also, your husband needs "purge" his system so his intestines will be squeaky clean. The doctor will put your husband into a "twilight sleep" to relax him. This has the added benefit of being an amnesiac. My husband has no memory of the procedure and has said that he wouldn't mind doing it again because he doesn't remember that he was in any discomfort. Your husband will be asked to swallow a tube that will run down through his stomach and a little way into the small intestine. A tiny piece of the intestinal lining will be removed and biopsied. This is the part that will give you the more concrete diagnosis.

The gastroenterologist might also want to perform a colonoscopy to check for polyps in the colon because of the long duration of your husband's GI difficulties. The doctor will be looking for colon cancer or pre-cancer. My husband had both procedures done at the same time and doesn't remember either of them.

When my husband was diagnosed one of the most helpful sites was Silly Yaks, a US based Celiac support group. However, I live in Canada and I was having a hard time figuring out where to buy gluten free foods up here. I was given permission to start a Silly Yaks Canada chapter. You're welcome to drop in either or both groups to take a boo and see if we have any information that is helpful. It is free to join both groups and there are no membership fees.

Good luck! I hope the doctors are able to make a definitive diagnosis so your husband can start to feel much better soon!





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