Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Wheat Allergy Testing

Lane R

Recommended Posts

Lane R Rookie
Lane R
Posted

Considering that everyone here has provided more information for me than anything or anyone else, I thought I'd come to you for questions.

First - a little background:

--I've hurt somewhat most of my life - joint and muscle aches. Push on my muscle and it hurts. Didn't realize this wasn't NORMAL till a few years ago. However, I tend to have above average muscle mass for a woman. (we call this Wisconsin Hearty Peasant Stock symdrome.)

--Popping joints, cracking joints.

--I also have a gas issue, as I'm seemingly very gassy.

--I have a long history of occasional stomach upsetness. As child, really bad - only laying on the cold bathroom floor and drinking milk would help. Now it ranges, from mild upsetness to laying on the floor. I'd say it happens at an above average rate.

--Some bowel irregularity in consistency, frequency, etc. I don't recall this ever being any different. Some foods - usually eating out (like any meal at Denny's or McDonalds) cause a reaction within an hour or so.

--I've been overweight (30-50 pounds on average) most of my life and little seems to help me change this. Even steady exercise and limited caloric intake cause little effect.

--I feel tired a lot of the time, and my mother kept saying she thought we had ADD because things would get foggy a lot of the time.

--I LOVE bread and ate it all the time.

I received interdermal testing for allergies and came up wheat-allergic. I did some research and learned that interdermals can have false positives.

Still, I read Wheat Free-Worry Free, and decided to start a gluten-free diet. That was a week and a day ago, which I'm reading on here is not long enough to have a substantial change in symptoms. Still, I felt better during the first week and lost two pounds (which could be due to a severe change in eating habits, and psychosomatic response.)

My allergist, after some "Why would you want that?" questions, has said he'd order me a RAST if I wanted to ensure I'm allergic to Wheat, and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning where I will have to request a test for celiac.

The questions I have are:

--Is a RAST expensive?

--How reliable is a RAST?

--If I've gone wheat-free, is a RAST going to fail?

--Should I get tested for celiac?

All of your help is appreciated in advance.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Ursa Major Collaborator
Ursa Major
Posted

Hi Lane, and welcome to this board. Yes, you sound very much like you may have celiac disease. But it is unwise to go gluten free before testing for celiac disease. It won't matter for a wheat allergy test. Now, you may get a negative on the allergy test, because celiac disease is not an allergy and the gluten containing grains will usually not show up on allergy tests for people with celiac disease. They certainly didn't for me.

And your weight loss of two pounds would be pretty typical for somebody who GAINS weight on gluten (I am one of those). And of course your changed eating habits would have a lot to do with it.........after all, you've cut out gluten!

tiffjake Enthusiast
tiffjake
Posted
Hi Lane, and welcome to this board. Yes, you sound very much like you may have celiac disease. But it is unwise to go gluten free before testing for celiac disease. It won't matter for a wheat allergy test. Now, you may get a negative on the allergy test, because celiac disease is not an allergy and the gluten containing grains will usually not show up on allergy tests for people with celiac disease. They certainly didn't for me.

And your weight loss of two pounds would be pretty typical for somebody who GAINS weight on gluten (I am one of those). And of course your changed eating habits would have a lot to do with it.........after all, you've cut out gluten!

Double Ditto. If you think you might have Celiac, then you want to test for a gluten antibody in your system. And that is different than a wheat allergy. You will have to be eating gluten for it to show up though (you body won't produce the anitbody if you aren't subjecting it to the antigen-which is gluten, if you have a problem with gluten). So you will want to ask your doctor for the celian panel of anitbody tests, after you have been eating gluten again. OR, like so many people on here have done, stick with the gluten-free diet if it works for you, and you aren't needing a doc to give you a diagnosis for any reason. I am glad to hear that it is working for you!!!!!!!!! And that you are feeling better! (And I also gain weight when I eat gluten, a good eight pounds over night!)

Lane R Rookie
Lane R
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for your responses!

So, even a week off of gluten will make a difference in the testing?

Do you know if being off wheat will affect the results of a test for the allergy to wheat?

VydorScope Proficient
VydorScope
Posted
So, even a week off of gluten will make a difference in the testing?

Alot of debate about that realy, but I would say if you got back on it and stayed on it till the test prbly not... if you stayted off it... possibly.

Do you know if being off wheat will affect the results of a test for the allergy to wheat?

No, but any allergy meds your taking WILL, stop them at least several days, if not a week, befor.

Lane R Rookie
Lane R
Posted
  • Author

Yipes! I saw my doctor today and she suggested that I be tested for celiac - WOW. I've only heard bad things - I'm so glad to know that she thinks it is a good idea. I thought I was going to have to bring it up and fight to have it done!

The bloodwork is tomorrow...although I can put it off for a couple of days as well. I've only been off gluten for a week and a couple days, so if I started eating gluten again today - do you think that would show up tomorrow morning?

wonkabar Contributor
wonkabar
Posted
The bloodwork is tomorrow...although I can put it off for a couple of days as well. I've only been off gluten for a week and a couple days, so if I started eating gluten again today - do you think that would show up tomorrow morning?

How wonderful that you're doc suggested testing for Celiac. :) Just make sure he orders the full panel which consists of 5 different labs. Also, confirm that all of the labs for the Celiac panel were infact drawn before you leave the lab. The lab screwed up my son's bloodwork and "forgot" to draw blood for two of the tests. We unfortunatley didn't find this out until he was on a gluten-free diet for a full month!

If you could put off the labs for awhile, I would. Even though you've only been on a gluten-free diet for less than two weeks, it will effect your results. You need to be eating gluten in order for your body to react to it. If there's nothing for the antibodies to react to, you'll get inaccurate results. You really shouldn't change your diet at all until you've completed any testing for Celiac.

If you're taking any typeof medication with an antihistamine, you need to be off of it for 3 days prior to any allergy testing. An antihistamine will definately effect your results. Lots of luck!

--Kristy :)

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


tiffjake Enthusiast
tiffjake
Posted
How wonderful that you're doc suggested testing for Celiac. :) Just make sure he orders the full panel which consists of 5 different labs. Also, confirm that all of the labs for the Celiac panel were infact drawn before you leave the lab. The lab screwed up my son's bloodwork and "forgot" to draw blood for two of the tests. We unfortunatley didn't find this out until he was on a gluten-free diet for a full month!

If you could put off the labs for awhile, I would. Even though you've only been on a gluten-free diet for less than two weeks, it will effect your results. You need to be eating gluten in order for your body to react to it. If there's nothing for the antibodies to react to, you'll get inaccurate results. You really shouldn't change your diet at all until you've completed any testing for Celiac.

If you're taking any typeof medication with an antihistamine, you need to be off of it for 3 days prior to any allergy testing. An antihistamine will definately effect your results. Lots of luck!

--Kristy :)

That happened to me too, botching the bloodwork. The first time I my doc drew it the lab ordered the wrong tests. When I went back, 3 weeks later, for the results, the doc told me what happened, and order a new panel. When he got THOSE results, they were boarderline. He was suprised because he didn't think my levels would have gone down in just 3 weeks. But I informed him that I had already done the Lame Advertisement and Enterolab tests (and I showed him those results) and that I was VERY gluten-free after that first blood draw.

I would eat gluten between now and your test so the anitbody levels will show up. And Kristy is right about not taking anithistamines!!! Be careful with your meds, and only take what you must, like Birth Control, or Heart meds. I am glad that your doc was so great about everything! That is rare! I hope you get a good draw and good results that you and your doc can work with!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,050
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Mkumar
    Newest Member
    Mkumar
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      69.9k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Diabetic 2

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Lightingthunder2, I understand how confusing Celiac can be, especially when one develops other health problems. I developed Type Two Diabetes and was prescribed Metformin.  I started feeling weak and tired.  I searched for answers using my nutrition and microbiology education to find answers.   I learned that Metformin can cause Thiamin Vitamin B1 deficiency.  Metformin blocks the thiamin transporters that allow thiamin to enter cells.   Keep in mind that Celiac Disease causes poor absorption of all nutrients, vitamins and minerals that our bodies require daily to live.  Thiamin can be rapidly depleted because it cannot be stored for very long (3 - 21 days).  With Metformin blocking entry into cells and malabsorption from celiac disease, thiamine deficiency can set in quickly.  The early symptoms of thiamine insufficiency can be vague and easily be attributed to other things, like a bad day at work, and doctors can easily overlook the symptoms.  Doctors aren't well educated in nutritional deficiencies.  My doctors were clueless.   I took thiamin in the form Benfotiamine and followed the Autoimmune Paleo diet (developed by Dr. Sarah Ballentyne, a Celiac herself).  Benfotiamine has been shown to promote intestinal healing.  The Paleo diet cuts out most high carbohydrate foods.  This helps me keep my blood glucose levels under control without Metformin or other medications.  Now, I do add in occasionally rice or potatoes.  I avoid most gluten free processed foods since they are not enriched with vitamins like gluten containing products and are filled with saturated fats.  I do not take any pharmaceuticals for high blood glucose.  I control my type two diabetes with diet, and take Benfotiamine. Thiamine deficiency is found in both Type One and Type Two Diabetes.  Thiamin is not properly reabsorbed in the kidneys in both types.  Since thiamin is water soluble, it is lost easily in urine.  Type One Diabetes has a genetic component which involves thiamine transporters in cells not functioning properly due to faulty genetic information.  Type Two Diabetes may result as a consequence of thiamine insufficiency.  Ninety-eight percent of diabetics in both types are Thiamin deficient.   Discuss with your doctor and Nutrutionist any dietary changes and supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals while you are healing. Here are some articles I found helpful.  Thiamine and diabetes: back to the future? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8505293/ The potential role of thiamine (vitamin B1) in diabetic complications https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18220605/ Thiamine Level in Type I and Type II Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Comparative Study Focusing on Hematological and Biochemical Evaluations https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32528766/ Exploring the link between dietary thiamine and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk in US adults aged 45 years and older: Insights from a cross-sectional investigation https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39642136/ Metformin Is a Substrate and Inhibitor of the Human Thiamine Transporter, THTR-2 (SLC19A3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26528626/  
    • Scott Adams
      Can food allergies like milk and soy flatten villi?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I'm not a gastro doctor, but it seems reasonable to conclude that they would be able to spot any cancer-related issues during the endoscopy, at least in the areas that were checked.
    • Matt13
      Can food allergies like milk and soy flatten villi?

      By Matt13 · Posted

      Sorry cut out. Scott! Thanks You are really the master of this things! Thanks! One more question please, i did 2 EGD. In first EGD there was taken 2 samples from duodenum where they found MARSH 3b. In second EGD after 1year (i described in first post of this topic) they have taken multiple Samples from duodenum and jejunum and everything is ok (other than some of the samples is not readable but the explanation is very small and short, villi form good samples is OK and  they only found inflammation in lamina propria. Sorry, I am little overwhelm by this and scared so dr.google almost every-time frightens me. Would my GI and histology expert doctor see if there were like something serious like small bowel cancer or neoplasms(especially in histology)?  
    • Matt13
      Can food allergies like milk and soy flatten villi?

      By Matt13 · Posted

      Scott! Thanks You are really the master of this things! Thanks! One more question please, i did 2 EGD. In first EGD there was taken 2 samples from duodenum where they found MARSH 3b. In second EGD after 1year (i described in first post of this topic) they have taken multiple Samples from duodenum and jejenum. Would doctor GI and histology expert doctor see if there were like something serious like small bowel cancer or neoplasms(especially in histology)?
    • Scott Adams
      Can food allergies like milk and soy flatten villi?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      It's quite common for the mucosa to appear normal during an endoscopy in patients with celiac disease, especially in cases of Marsh 3a or 3b histological changes. Studies have shown that the "naked eye" assessment of the small intestine during endoscopy often misses the subtle changes associated with early or less severe villous atrophy. This is why multiple biopsies from different parts of the duodenum, including the bulb, are essential for a reliable diagnosis. Visual clues like scalloping, nodularity, or atrophy may not always be visible, particularly in patients with less advanced disease. In fact, research indicates that histology can reveal significant findings even when the mucosa looks normal on endoscopy, reinforcing the need for biopsy as the gold standard for diagnosing celiac disease. For anyone preparing to have an endoscopy, it's important to ensure that your gastroenterologist takes multiple biopsies from various areas to increase the likelihood of an accurate diagnosis.
×
×
  • Create New...