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Eating Gluten Before Blood Test?


LuvMoosic4life

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LuvMoosic4life Collaborator

SO I understand that before I get tested (if they do the antibody test) I should be eating gluten. Do I have to be eating it for a certain amount of time before the test?

I can't even go back to eating gluten right now, I tried and was completely miserable for 2 days and am still recovering today, I felt like i was coming down with the flu almost. I was just wondering if there has to be a certain level of gluten in your body built up, or if all it would take is say, a bagel in the morning before the test....

I havent been to a doc yet and just have been experimenting on my own. I was gluten free for a month or so and just wanted to see what would happen adding bread and cereal, ect... back in my diet.....I felt so horrible I got mad and cleaned my entire apt. of anything containing any traces of wheat/gluten! theres no way I can go back to living like that, and nobody understands what I feel like when I eat it, they think I'm making it up- so frustrating

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nora-n Rookie

My daughter was six weeks back on gluten and sick all the time, but she did it voluntarily in order to get a proper diagnosis (we are in Europe and get money if we prove we are celiacs...)

I do not know how neccessary it is for you to get a diagnosis.

Here is a link about how long one must be back on gluten (the minimum time, and I think it applies to children....I have not seen anything specific for adults)

https://www.celiac.com/articles/12/1/How-lo...gful/Page1.html

nora

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Ursa Major Collaborator

Quite a few people here have gone back on gluten in hopes of getting a proper diagnosis. Some ate gluten for several months, and still got negative test results.

In order to have even a slim chance of a positive test, you would have to eat three to four slices of bread a day for at least six weeks after being off gluten for a month, in my opinion. If you get that sick within two days, it would likely be dangerous for you to eat gluten for several weeks, only to confirm what you already know.... which is, that gluten makes you ill.

If you need something to show to people to prove your point, try getting tested with Open Original Shared Link, their tests are still accurate for up to a year after starting the gluten-free diet.

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LuvMoosic4life Collaborator

I think I'm going to try to get the gene test. I'm also going to try one more time to eat gluten. My digestive system is still recovering from a week ago when I tried it....I was under a lot of stress too, so mabye I had a worse reaction b/c of that. It seems like being gluten freee and then going back causes your body to react stronger.

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
I think I'm going to try to get the gene test. I'm also going to try one more time to eat gluten. My digestive system is still recovering from a week ago when I tried it....I was under a lot of stress too, so mabye I had a worse reaction b/c of that. It seems like being gluten freee and then going back causes your body to react stronger.

I would advise perhaps staying gluten free for a bit and then doing a challenge again if you feel you need to when you are feeling better.

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Aleshia Contributor

I have another question... if you have been eating gluten and haven't gone gluten free for more than a day and then you eat gluten for like a week but don't have any breakfast on the day of your test can you get a false negative?? I just ran out of time for breakfast before my appointment and it all came back negative and now I don't know what to think cause I thought I finally had the answer... celiac disease is the only thing that can explain all my symptoms :((

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aikiducky Apprentice

Skipping breakfast wouldn't affect the test. But you need to know that a lot of adults have negative blood tests anyway, and you might still have a positive biopsy despite negative blood tests.

Pauliina

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Aleshia Contributor
Skipping breakfast wouldn't affect the test. But you need to know that a lot of adults have negative blood tests anyway, and you might still have a positive biopsy despite negative blood tests.

Pauliina

thanks... how am I supposed to get a dr. to do a biopsy if they are convinced that I don't have it then? despite me having almost every symptom ever mentioned on every site I could find ?? guess you can see I'm pretty discouraged. :(

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LuvMoosic4life Collaborator
thanks... how am I supposed to get a dr. to do a biopsy if they are convinced that I don't have it then? despite me having almost every symptom ever mentioned on every site I could find ?? guess you can see I'm pretty discouraged. :(

Are you seeing a GI doctor? I know there are some GI doctors that specialize in digestive diseases so they should understand how the testing works. I'm having a problem even finding a doctor in my area right now b/c I have this feeling its going to be a long process just to find out if I have celiacs or not. This is why I think the gene test would be the best. If I dont have the gene, I dont have celiacs, if I do have the gene, I have had most of the symptoms and so have family memebers, so i dont see why they wouldnt do furthur testing...

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Reggie Newbie
I would advise perhaps staying gluten free for a bit and then doing a challenge again if you feel you need to when you are feeling better.

Hi,

I have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes secondary to Hemochromatosis. I have had severe muscle,joint pain,overall illness,profound fatigue, sinus problems. My MD r/o Lupus,fibromyalgia. Thought it might be from my hemochromatosis. I went gluten free for 3 weeks and felt great. My energy returned,my pain ,and sinus problems gone. Just some very minor osteo pain in knees with ladder work,or walking on concrete-v- just getting out of bed. After reading the celiac forums I started eating gluten again to get an official diagnoses d/t insurance coverage. I'm suffering so,it is 3x worse going off and back on gluten. How long should I continue eating gluten before getting tested? I have read to eat 4 slices of bread everyday for a month,or less if symptoms are bad. Thank You For Your Time Reggie

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nora-n Rookie

Hi, atleast six weeks, better 3 months or more, and 0,3 grams of gluten per kg.

That would add jup to about 21 g of gluten per 70 kg. This would maybe be more than three.four slices of bread (the protein amount in wheat cosists of about 90% gluten) so you might have to do some reading and some math to find out how much bread to eat.

it might even be 10-12 slices. You just have to do the math.

Mind you this is the amount for children. Noone has the numbers for adults and the amounts may vary.

And, normally the gut regenerates as fast as the damage is done by gluten, and only in times of stress the gut does not grow back quick enough to catch up. So you might not get this visible villi damage back on gluten unless you manage to duplicate the stress that cuased your original cliac symptoms to appear...

nora

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mickaelcfr Newbie

In my case I only stopped gluten 3 weeks ago (I'm 28), and have the biopsy in one week.

Do you think that the result should still be quite accurate?

I started gluten again yesterday and have been having worse than ever of my usual symptoms (heart arrhythmias (benine PACs) and gallbladder and back pain/pressure).

I didn't really have evidence of improvement in 3 weeks but it definitely feels worse since yesterday.

Even though I feel bad with gluten since yesterday, I'm not sure 100% it's the cause yet, I'll definitely keep eating a pasta plate a day and some crackers and some shredded wheat for breakfast, as long as my gallbladder doesn't explode (it doesn't have stones), or my heart doesn't stop.

Also I had IgA Negative and IgG slightly positive, which the allergy doctor said it's equivocal, you should try a gluten free diet and come back in a month. In the mean time I finally decided to get the biopsy anyway because it wasn't really improving and it could have been something else (bacterial overgrowth, etc...) Maybe they'll catch something else on the upper endoscopy.

I guess the use of being diagnosed positive for celiac is that you know that you can't ingest a particle of it, whereas if you're just gluten intolerant, you might just need to avoid large quantities of it?

I fear once more the "You have IBS" diagnostic...

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LuvMoosic4life Collaborator

I don't know if I have celiacs. But I do know for example that if I eat something like shedded wheat cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and pasta with dinner, and if I did that everyday I would be in so much discomfort I wouldn t know what to do with myself and would not be able to go in public. I do experience GI symptoms even with a small amount of gluten, say just a few pretzels or a slice of bread, but the more it builds up in my system and the greater qauntities I eat of it, the more severe my problems become and they are much more than just GI symptoms: fatigue, muscle fatigue and sinus pressure are a close second to the GI symptoms.... I dunno if this would be just gluten intolerant or signs of celiac....if anything I definitly know my body is sensitive to gluten, no doubt. If I'm constantly relying on gluten products for my meals and end up being under a lot of stress I can feel myself falling apart, its like a cycle that has been happening my whole life. And when I get sick its the same thing everytime. It takes forever to recover...and one I do recover it seems it comes back not too much longer down the road. I've also noticed whenever I do get really sick its alwas around the time of my period. Even if I'm not getting sick I often feel soarness or slight pain in my tonsels a week before my period and stuffy sinuses.....everyone always thinks I'm BS-ing them. This is not cool when you are a singer :(

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LuvMoosic4life Collaborator

has anyone ever gotten puffy-ness in thier face from gluten? I always thought this was a pms thing for me, but now that I'm a few days on gluten again the puffyness is back, even my lips look puffy but mostly my sinuses and I have puffy circles under my eyes... I'm starting to think this isnt even worth it just for a blood test.

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buffettbride Enthusiast
has anyone ever gotten puffy-ness in thier face from gluten? I always thought this was a pms thing for me, but now that I'm a few days on gluten again the puffyness is back, even my lips look puffy but mostly my sinuses and I have puffy circles under my eyes... I'm starting to think this isnt even worth it just for a blood test.
My daughter gets puffy face and dark circles when she is glutened.
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