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Testing for celiac and food intolerances (australia)

Mat82

By Mat82
in Meet Up Room

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Mat82 Apprentice
Mat82
Posted

Hi guys

Im in the process of trying to get tested for celiac and food intolerances. The naturopath that first put me onto a gluten free diet has said he can test me but he said that in australia we only get tested for the main strains of celiac disease and not all of them like usa and other countries do, so you might have one of the rarer strains and it will come back as negative. does anyone know if this is true? i think he said it was like $50 for one test and $100 for the other

with the food intolerance test which he recommends he said it will cost $650, which to me is alot of money. is it cheaper to go to a doctor and get the tests done? im  a little hesitant to go to the doctors from all the negativity ive read from doctors not believing in gluten issues. how much should a test like this cost?

Also my naturopath said i only need to eat gluten for 4 days before the test, but everything else ive read said its at least a month or longer

so im a little unsure what im doing, i am thankful for the naturopath as he is the only one that has actually made me feel better, the doctors have not help me at all, but in saying that the naturopath isnt a doctor, and i cant claim any of his stuff through medicare which is costing me alot of money

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Jmg Mentor
Jmg
Posted

Hi again :)

Long time since I lived down under but I'll give it a shot pending any Aussie members replying...

Your naturopath has helped you and put you on what sounds like the right track, but now consider that you may be better off with a conventional doctor for the testing process. 

Be wary of food intolerance tests. They are notoriously inaccurate and as you've found expensive. The first priority is to get a celiac diagnosis/exclusion, you can proceed better from there.

The tests to request are:

  •  Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA
  • Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG
  • Total Serum IgA

Some practices will only test one. Request a 'full celiac panel'.

Before you see the doctor make some concise notes / bullet points that detail:

  • Your past medical history
  • Your positive initial reaction to the gluten diet
  • Your wish now to seek a medical diagnosis and willingness to comply with any requirements

That should be sufficient for a doctor to request a test.  

59 minutes ago, Mat82 said:

Also my naturopath said i only need to eat gluten for 4 days before the test,

No! Your naturopath doesn't know what they're talking about if they're talking about the accepted celiac tests. You'll need to do 8-12 weeks eating gluten to ensure an accurate test. Otherwise you're throwing money away. 

A local doctor should be able to request the tests so if you have one you're happy with try there. Alternatively you can search to see if anyone within a reasonable distance is listed maybe with Coeliac Australia or via some of the links here Open Original Shared Link

Again, *good luck with it all and keep asking questions, this place was very helpful to me and I'm sure it will prove so to you also.

Cheers,

Matt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*ps But bad luck in the Ashes to compensate :P

 

Mat82 Apprentice
Mat82
Posted
  • Author

Thanks Matt again

My Doctor just moved away so i dont even have a doctor at the moment, thats why its so hard, ill pretty much be going to some random doctor who doesnt know me at all and asking for a celiac test, hopefully i pick a good one :)

ps you can have the ashes for being helpful :P 

 

Jmg Mentor
Jmg
Posted
On 9/19/2017 at 8:31 AM, Mat82 said:

Thanks Matt again

My Doctor just moved away so i dont even have a doctor at the moment, thats why its so hard, ill pretty much be going to some random doctor who doesnt know me at all and asking for a celiac test, hopefully i pick a good one :)

ps you can have the ashes for being helpful :P 

 

You're welcome :)

I don't think any doctor should be too reluctant to request a blood test if you set things out for them in the right way. You have symptoms consistent with celiac/gluten sensitivity, you have anecdotal evidence (your positive reaction to going gluten free). So you have a good case. 

If and when you get some tests scheduled you will have to go back on gluten. This can be rough. It helped me to come on here and document how I was feeling. Support from here helped me get through the challenge period. So do come back on if your doing the challenge.

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