Testing for Gluten Intolerance

My daughter was tested for Celiac disease by a blood test ordered by her peditrician. She was negative, thank goodness. Good luck.

Most doctors will want to start with a blood test. However, blood tests are not very accurate. The 'gold standard' of tests is an endoscopy of the small intestine. Your best doctor to see would be a gastroenterologist, one that also treats children. They will know what tests to do and what to look for more accurately than a family doctor. Many start with a blood test because it is less invasive and if you get a positive, then some doctors will stop the tests right then. However, many gastros will recommend the endoscopy to see how much damage there is in the small intestine.

Bottom line: find a gastroenterologist that treats children & go from there.

The tests were not a big issue, just a simple blood test. Now the results can be somewhat misconstrued. Many times a false negative can be the result. The only ways to determine a gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease is to eliminate gluten/wheat products from your diet and see if you feel any better. Also, an endoscopy will determine if you are suffering from Villi Flattening, which is a direct result of Celiac Disease. Although each condition shares some of the same symptoms, both are different, Celiac being the worse.

I had the blood tests and the results were that I had a 10 times greater chance of developing Celiac Disease than the general public, but that I did not have it. I just KNOW that by eliminating wheat/gluten from my diet the bloating, diarrhea, aching joints/body, brain fog, etc..went away in about 2 weeks. It is hard to start on this diet, but after 6 months I am a pro and it is not a big deal for me anymore. I have discovered that gluten intolerance was masking several other food based problems I was having and now I can avoid those: lactose intolerance and egg sensitivity. The lactose intolerance may go away at some point because it is usually a side effect of the damage in my small intestine from the gluten.
It is daunting at first, but the relief I have gotten from not eating wheat is worth all the frustration at the beginning.
Good Luck!

Start with a visit to a GI Specialist who knows something about Celiac's Disease. I would call several and ask if they are familiar with it. It usually starts with a blood test and then there may be a small intestinal biopsy. The blood test has a high rate of false negatives but the biopsy is definitive. For myself, I went gluten-free and all my symptoms went away. That was good enough for my doctor to diagnose me with Celiac's Disease. I've been healthy for 8 years now.

After going cold turkey I notice the nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, and water retention went away within the first week. After a month my cycle regulated, my skin cleared up, my joint pain went away and my depression lifted. After a year I had some good muscle ton, I was less anemic, and had a much higher energy level. It took another 3 years to have a baby.

Be patient, realize not everyone has the same symptoms, and don't give up until you figure out what's wrong. Oh, and take lots of vitamins.

My best friend has this and her test came back that she was not allergic. The only true test that is 100% correct is an intestinal puncture which of course she refused. She then cut out all gluten and has been fine ever since. All of her Fibromyalgia symptoms went away too!I suspected my daughter has a milk allergy, but the Ped. said virus. I got tired of her always having a virus and switched her to goat milk and --wow, no more 'virus'. No congestion, vomiting, rashes, etc.
I would have them run the ELIZA or ELISA test. I have seen it spelled both ways and there is one with the same name for HIV, so say you want the ELIZA food allergy test.
Good Luck!
Beth

One way to determine whether or not you and your daughter are gluten intolerant is to go on a totally gluten free diet. You can find information about how to do this by reading about gluten intolerance on a Celiac website. I would try this before going to a GI doctor. If your symptoms disappear (sometimes as early as one week) you might assume you are gluten intolerant. I've been gluten free for about 5 years now, and hardly have any health problems, such as constipation, acid reflux, tummy aches, etc. Many people suffer from other symptoms as gluten intolerance manifests itself in different ways. Another option might be looking into Enterolab which does stool testing for gluten. This is much more non-invasive way to determine if you have a gluten intolerance. I think that one must be totally free of gluten (gluten is hidden in many packaged foods) before you may see results. A gluten free diet seems impossible to do at first, but is really quite simple after you get used to shopping for gluten free products. Of course, one can cook homemade meals with only fresh veggies, meat and fruit with ease.

I had this test done on my son when he was younger. Fortunately, he was not celiac. But in some countries everyone is tested before they start school, so it is good to have it done. There is a Celiac Panel where they test for 3 things in a blood test, be sure and have all three tests done because none of them are definitive but together they can be almost conclusive. Here is a good simplified flow chart of the process for diagnosis - http://www.southernarizonaceliacsupport.org/documents/dia...

Hi A.; I'm just learning about Gluten-Free myself. Here is a link to a good friend of mine that has a blog & recipes. She guest posts on my blog about once a month. http://www.SueSewardLivingGlutenFree.com
I hope this helps. Sincerely, C. http://wecookwithdaddy.com

We recently with through this procedure for our 5 year old son. It started as a blood test and his results were a high positive. Normal blood work is a 3 and his results were 109. Dr fully expected him to be positive. We had the endoscopy (out patient where your child is put to sleep to have a camera run down their throat to their intestine) done and everything actually came back negative. Granted this was not an evasive procedure it is still difficult to put your child through these procedures.

You should be tested for celiac disease (autoimmune disorder that effects the small intestine when gluten is ingested). It is a VERY serious disease and if you think you have gluten issues, please test for this first! If negative and you only have a "sensitivity" then you can just avoid gluten. I don't know if they have a test for "sensitivity". Celiac disease can be very harmful to you and long term wise fatal. Your internist and pediatrician can test you for this but also a gastroenterologist. The initail test is a bloodtest. if positive, then they do an endoscopy. It is an inherited disease. I would avoid just going gluten free without being tested bc there are a lot of serious issues associated with celiac disease and you can not even have one bite of gluten if you have it. Also, you have to be ingesting gluten when you have the blood test or it won't be accuarate.

i was just diagnosed with insulin resistance. I went to a doctor in southern Indiana. hes amazing. all he did was a ton of lab work and he looked at all my number. what makes you think you have this?? email me if you have any questions. i can also give you some menu options if you are looking at going this route, (its really not that bad!)

My son was tested and it was just a blood test. However, I have heard some say there is a cheek swab.

A.,

I have been tested and it is fairly simple (for an adult). I was tested by my general care physician. It entails a couple of tubes of blood and that's it. Hope all goes well.

I was tested by a gasternologist. He did an endoscopy and colonoscopy. They drug you for the test so you feel nothing and do not remember anything. It is a half day event at the hospital. You go home and sleep after it is over for a little while. The prepping for the test the night before is the hard part. You have to take medicine to clean out your system. You will have a sore throat aftwards but that is it.