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Endoscopy Gluten Challenge

kylee

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kylee Newbie
kylee
Posted

Although I have just signed up and this is my first post, I've been referring to this site for the past couple of months. After recently being diagnosed with celiac from the results of my blood tests, my doctor has referred me to a GI in order to confirm the diagnosis. My GI has scheduled an endoscopy and told me to eat gluten for the week before the procedure. Is eating gluten for one week enough to do the damage to diagnose celiac? She said typically the gluten challenge before an endoscopy would last three weeks but because I feel so sick and miserable after eating gluten she cut it down to one week. From what I've read I am a little skeptical that one week is enough time. 

Also, I had been on a gluten free diet for three months prior to my blood test. I began eating gluten in order to have my blood drawn but ended up really sick and changing my appointment to the next day (so I only ate gluten for one day before getting my blood drawn). Would my IgG and IgA levels have been higher if I had eaten gluten for a longer period than just the night before? My doctor said they were in the 30's (I don't really know what this means but I know it indicates less sensitivity than levels in the 100's). 

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Missingbeer Rookie
Missingbeer
Posted
3 hours ago, kylee said:

Although I have just signed up and this is my first post, I've been referring to this site for the past couple of months. After recently being diagnosed with celiac from the results of my blood tests, my doctor has referred me to a GI in order to confirm the diagnosis. My GI has scheduled an endoscopy and told me to eat gluten for the week before the procedure. Is eating gluten for one week enough to do the damage to diagnose celiac? She said typically the gluten challenge before an endoscopy would last three weeks but because I feel so sick and miserable after eating gluten she cut it down to one week. From what I've read I am a little skeptical that one week is enough time. 

Also, I had been on a gluten free diet for three months prior to my blood test. I began eating gluten in order to have my blood drawn but ended up really sick and changing my appointment to the next day (so I only ate gluten for one day before getting my blood drawn). Would my IgG and IgA levels have been higher if I had eaten gluten for a longer period than just the night before? My doctor said they were in the 30's (I don't really know what this means but I know it indicates less sensitivity than levels in the 100's). 

Hello ! I'm also new to this whole thing so haven't got much to contribute unfortunately, but there are others out there with answers! 

Recently I've had a negative biopsy. I told my doctor I wouldn't have been eating much gluten before the endoscopy, but he said this is irrelevant and if I was celiac the test would still be positive if I had little to no gluten in my system.

I'm interested to find out which is true, does a large amount of gluten need to be consumed before the test or should it show regardless? 

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
10 hours ago, kylee said:

Although I have just signed up and this is my first post, I've been referring to this site for the past couple of months. After recently being diagnosed with celiac from the results of my blood tests, my doctor has referred me to a GI in order to confirm the diagnosis. My GI has scheduled an endoscopy and told me to eat gluten for the week before the procedure. Is eating gluten for one week enough to do the damage to diagnose celiac? She said typically the gluten challenge before an endoscopy would last three weeks but because I feel so sick and miserable after eating gluten she cut it down to one week. From what I've read I am a little skeptical that one week is enough time. 

Also, I had been on a gluten free diet for three months prior to my blood test. I began eating gluten in order to have my blood drawn but ended up really sick and changing my appointment to the next day (so I only ate gluten for one day before getting my blood drawn). Would my IgG and IgA levels have been higher if I had eaten gluten for a longer period than just the night before? My doctor said they were in the 30's (I don't really know what this means but I know it indicates less sensitivity than levels in the 100's). 

Not true.  I was barely positive on the blood test, yet biopsies revealed a Marsh Stage IIIB (Moderate to severe damage).   Antibodies can take months to build up in the bloodstream.  That is why leading celiac disease experts recommend that you be on a gluten diet for 8 to 12 weeks prior to a blood draw.   I am concerned that your doctor "said".  Please get and maintain copies of your lab results.  It might come in handy if you see another doctor in the future.  ?

If you need that firm diagnosis, consider doing the challenge longer or accept the results that may occur (even if negative, consider yourself a celiac....and will your GI do the same?????). Something to discuss with your GI.  

You are in a tough spot.  I wish things were easier for you.  

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

If you were gluten free for 3 months before the blood draw and it still came out positive as you stated, then your antibodies must have been really high before you originally started the gluten-free diet.  Too bad the blood work wasn't done then. However, all is not lost. If the numbers of whatever testing they did were in the 30's, then that is a positive for Celiac Disease.  It would be helpful to know what tests were run. 

Cyclinglady is correct in that the levels on your blood work do not correlate to the amount of damage in your intestines. You can have the testing come back negative to barely positive and have a lot of damage done.  That is the funny way that the immune system works.....results can vary wildly between people.

You still could be showing damage on the scope at this point but I think if it does come back negative, you need to be gluten free.  You get really sick from eating gluten and you had positive blood work.  If you let them convince you that you are negative for Celiac if the biopsy comes back that way, then you will continue to be sick. I would not continue to eat gluten for 3 weeks just to have a positive scope if my blood work were positive.  In fact, I was diagnosed via blood work only because I failed the testing by large numbers (more than 10X the normal limit) and like you, I got violently sick form eating the stuff.  11 years later, I am doing great and feel better than when I was younger. You'll get there too!

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