Should I get tested for celiac disease?!
Question: Should I get tested for celiac disease?
Thing is, my dietary changes do not exclude gluten entirely; I'll still eat graham crackers and stuff like that, but not enough to cause much pain. My concern is that, since I've had a number of other symptoms associated with celiac (used to get mouth sores all the time, tooth spots, no menstruation for months in a row, etc.), I might actually have it and thus shouldn't eat ANY gluten at all.
So, do I just eat to relieve the symptoms of whatever the issue is, or should I seriously consider celiac disease?
Answers:
You can get a blood test for Celiac Disease from your general doctor. It's definitely worth being tested for it. However you need to be on a gluten diet for a few weeks before the test, otherwise it'll come back negative even if you've got it.
If your blood test comes back positive to confirm the diagnosis you'll need to have a biopsy. If it all comes back positive then you need to avoid all gluten even if you feel ok after eating it. If your blood test and/or biopsy comes back negative then there's no need to be gluten free. You might feel better being gluten free so if you want to you can avoid it, but you don't have to.
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