Blood tests for celiac disease one week after stopping gluten?!
Question: Hello! I seem to be allergic to gluten, have long been sensitive, i think, but for two months have had diarrhea and, later, dizziness, low morale, lack of concentration. i stopped gluten a week ago and feel MUCH better. i don't have rdv with GI specialist for a month, have seen generalist and rhumatologist. generalist thinks that after just one week of having stopped that the anti-bodies won't have disappeared, if i get blood tests. i am not at all eager to start up with gluten again for a few days. i was pretty seriously bothered, it seems. Any experts or people with knowledge about this out there? All experience with this welcome. Thank you!
Answers: Hello! I seem to be allergic to gluten, have long been sensitive, i think, but for two months have had diarrhea and, later, dizziness, low morale, lack of concentration. i stopped gluten a week ago and feel MUCH better. i don't have rdv with GI specialist for a month, have seen generalist and rhumatologist. generalist thinks that after just one week of having stopped that the anti-bodies won't have disappeared, if i get blood tests. i am not at all eager to start up with gluten again for a few days. i was pretty seriously bothered, it seems. Any experts or people with knowledge about this out there? All experience with this welcome. Thank you!
if u stopped gluten for one week and then had blood tests, there should be some trace of the antibodies at least.
Heres the thing, this is a diagnosis for life. Celiac disease is a huge lifelong commitment and if there could be another cause that u dont no of believe me celiac disease is a huge inconvienence u do not want. money, hassle, products, eating out stress.
so for u to eat gluten for a day or 2 before getting the tests, it is for a good reason.
if they do detect indicator of celiac disease ( 2 things, TTG and EMA antibodies) they will need to do a very small biopsy of the intestine to officially diagnose this. (thay wont ALWAYS do this biopsy but officially should).
sounds like u get a pretty severe reaction to something tho. Have u lost weight recently? Sounds like ur anemic too, important to include plently of red meat in the diet. It would be good to get an official diagnisis so u can move on. Perhaps ask them to test for a wheat allergy id symptoms continue with a gluten free diet (gluten free products are allowed to contain some wheat starch - some folk are sensitive).
Anyway i wish u luck and i hope i have nt confused u more!
Yes eating pasta at the weekend should be sufficient to produce some antibodies - i feel awful saying it to you but then at least if u get NO antibodies showing up, u dont have to say well maybe it was due to lack of eating gluten, which cud provide a misdiagnosis. allergy testing is done usually with a skin prick test (gold standard). U dont need one unless u keep gettin gsereve symptoms and cant explain them. I am not familiar with those conditions u are getting investigated, if u are celiac u need to be aware of bone health and get started on calcium supplements and get some sunshine (10 to 15 mins) a couple times a week for vitamin d (helps calcium to be abrorbed). Anyway talk to the docs when ur results come back, u will get everything u need to no, and maybe its not celiac disease after all. good luck.
A week is a little early, but if you want to be safe, even eating one/two slices of bread/day before the test would be enough to trigger a positive result- yes, it's uncomfortable, but it's worth the diagnosis.
(edited for poster's q:)
I'm gluten intolerant and actively involved in the autism community, so I'm often in the position of dispensing advice regarding testing to parents, or even some patients diagnosed in adulthood. Specialist via experience? :)
f the person being tested has not consumed any gluten for several weeks prior to testing, then celiac disease tests may be negative (although this may require many months of gluten-free diet). If the doctor still suspects celiac disease, she may do a gluten challenge