As I mentioned above, NCGS stands for Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. Celiac disease and NCGS share many of the same GI distress symptoms but NCGS does not damage the lining of the small bowel as does celiac disease and is not an autoimmune condition, as is celiac disease. NCGS is 10x more common than celiac disease but there are no tests for it. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. We actually know much more about celiac disease than we do about NCGS. Some experts believe NCGS can be a precursor to celiac disease. The only known antidote for either is total abstinence from gluten. Joint pain is a well-established symptom of celiac disease, one of the more than 200 symptoms on a growing list. And many of them present as non-GI related.

Well, as much pain as gluten has caused in the past, there's no way in hell I'm taking gluten on purpose.  What is NCGS?  And are there any remedies to quickly get over the swollen joints? My joints are swollen and hot to the touch and hurt.  For about two weeks they were too painful to even think about using them.  Six weeks later, I still can barely use my hands.  I struggle to get a bottle cap unscrewed they hurt so badly.  Edema in my legs and the knees hurt to walk.  And that was probably a minor exposure as the wheat was listed towards the end of the "contains" list in very fine print we couldn't read without a magnifying glass.

Yes, and they were OK.   

There really is no test for diagnosing celiac disease that does not require the consumption of wheat for weeks or months ahead of the testing. All testing either measures the antibodies produced by the inflammation in the small bowel lining produced by gluten consumption or looks for the damage the to that lining that the inflammation causes. If you take away the gluten, the inflammation subsides and so do the antibodies and healing takes place such that there is no damage to see. The only "test" that does not require gluten consumption is a genetic test but it can only be used as a rule out for celiac disease since 40% of the general population carries the one or both to the genes that have been tied to the development of celiac disease but only about 1% of the general population actually develops celiac disease.  The joint inflammation you describe could possibly be linked to gluten-related reaction, either celiac or NCGS.

Thank you.  Is there a test that does not include consuming wheat that I can request my doctor to have done?  Also, is it a celiac reaction for me to blow up my joints with gout like symptoms? thank you, is it safe to eat links that contain sucrose and dextrin?