The 'Masking' of Celiac: Do Not Ignore the Smoking Gun

It would be interesting to see a rebuttal of this article by Dr. Green or Dr. Fasano.

100% agreed.

Fourteen year old daughter had many symptoms but negative to blood tests and no family history. Went on gluten challenge and was diagnosed on follow up endoscopy. Yes, I guess we can say that the challenge "caused" damage, however had we not done that, she may still be eating gluten to this day (she would not have gone gluten-free without proof). There are many celiacs who test negative to the blood tests, and even to the endoscopy. Not an easy disease to diagnose. That goes without saying.

Ankylosing Spondylitis is another disease of immunity where doctors(not all) want to see "damage" to the joints(sacroiliac) before they will diagnose it. Fortunately they seem to be moving away from this. I agree that diagnosing through inducing damage is primitive.

I always want to ask people who say don't stop eating gluten until tested, WHY? Would you tell a smoker to keep smoking until they get lung cancer? If a person feels better and healthier on a gluten free diet that they have chosen to eat, then more power to them. Getting diagnosed gets you nothing extra. No one gives you free pills or money or anything for getting diagnosed.

celiac disease/Gluten sensitivity represents in the simplest form antigen-antibody or allergic reactions. The receptors on endothelium and T-cells in an activated state react with the antigen (gluten) and cause the damage to the intestinal lining. When you take gluten away (from the diet) by consuming gluten free diet or even by taking the enzyme (AN-PEP) with the low gluten or "so called" gluten-free diet, you have removed the cause of the disease, pure and simple.

Please send more info on gluten intolerance and anxiety and depression.

Sue, you can easily do your own research ..... just "ask" Google the following ... "are gluten intolerance and anxiety related to celiac disease" ? You will get many responses to your question. Read many of the numerous responses to get a well-rounded bit of information.

BTW -- People tend to use words that "say" one thing but mean another such as using the word allergy. A wheat allergy is a separate thing and not the same as celiac disease. When you have celiac disease that does not mean you are "allergic" to gluten. The same applies when you've been diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. For those of us with a gluten (actually gliaden) intolerance -- the proper terms are those used above. I hope this is helpful to you.

Keep reading and researching .....

Good information. It helped me understand some symptoms that I actually have never had. My Dr. was concerned because I was taking iron pills...more research was done.

Is it possible that the processed food industry has an interest in putting down the idea of going gluten free? After all, there are not many processed foods that celiacs would feel safe in consuming. I go down the frozen food cases and toss back one package after another because there is wheat listed in the ingredients. It is nice to be able to pop some enchiladas in the microwave for a quick dinner, but most contain wheat, even though the tortillas are made from corn. I think that wheat is a cheap filler/thickener to use in food, so it appears in most everything. And wheat is ubiquitous in the snack food aisles. Just think of the drop in snack food consumption if a large percentage of the population went gluten free. It would be interesting to know if the food industry sponsors physician conferences in which there is discussion of going gluten free.