Entero Labs

[JamMama]

I have been diagnosed with IbS for many years, and recently began having symptoms of dairy and gluten intolerance. I'm much better now that I have eliminated them from my diet. I find the Entero Labs views of stool testing vs. blood testing very interesting. Are they really more accurate? And worth the money for a full panel - al most $400?

[leadmeastray88]

I have been diagnosed with IbS for many years, and recently began having symptoms of dairy and gluten intolerance. I'm much better now that I have eliminated them from my diet. I find the Entero Labs views of stool testing vs. blood testing very interesting. Are they really more accurate? And worth the money for a full panel - al most $400?

Hi there

If you look in Yellowlilax's thread on "Enterolab results" I answered your question there.

[gfb1]

I find the Entero Labs views of stool testing vs. blood testing very interesting. Are they really more accurate? And worth the money for a full panel - al most $400?

interesting doesn't mean reliable or accurate.

in case you don't feel like searching here was part of lma88's answer. its worth repeating.

I would only recommend Enterolab testing if you've already had other testing done - for example:

1) The Celiac bloodwork panel, which includes:

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Total Serum IgA

2) An endoscopy with biopsy

Reason being, Enterolab's testing methods have not yet been approved/acknowledged by the current medical community. They claim to be able to detect active dietary gluten sensitivity in the stool, but NOT diagnose Celiac Disease.

[mogal]

I am new to this board and to gluten-free life.

I am curious...I used Enterolabs for the

Gluten Sensitivity Stool Test: Antigliadin IgA (CPT 83520)

My results came back with a 33. So, I've been gluten-free since January lst.

I didn't do the panel of other Celiac tests with enterolabs as I don't have health insurance.

The doctor that did my colonoscopy referred me to enterolabs, stating that based on my weight loss (14# in one year) and loose stools for over a decade that I was probably gluten intolerant. But based on what I have read here that Enterolabs results are not standardized and/or reputable by medical professionals???

So, I am wondering if I should have some of the blood work done that is recommended in this post to confirm that I am indeed gluten intolerant...and where is a good place to get those blood tests done?

I am having some chronic pain/muscle aches since I've gone gluten-free...I have never had this type of pain before and so am wondering if this is "withdrawls" or what?

So, I'm thinking that if this pain continues that I may go back to gluten as this pain is no fun and I felt GREAT before I went gluten-free and my only symptoms were the weight loss primarily.

Any help or ideas is appreciated.

thanks!

[sandsurfgirl]

I am new to this board and to gluten-free life.

I am curious...I used Enterolabs for the

Gluten Sensitivity Stool Test: Antigliadin IgA (CPT 83520)

My results came back with a 33. So, I've been gluten-free since January lst.

I didn't do the panel of other Celiac tests with enterolabs as I don't have health insurance.

The doctor that did my colonoscopy referred me to enterolabs, stating that based on my weight loss (14# in one year) and loose stools for over a decade that I was probably gluten intolerant. But based on what I have read here that Enterolabs results are not standardized and/or reputable by medical professionals???

So, I am wondering if I should have some of the blood work done that is recommended in this post to confirm that I am indeed gluten intolerant...and where is a good place to get those blood tests done?

I am having some chronic pain/muscle aches since I've gone gluten-free...I have never had this type of pain before and so am wondering if this is "withdrawls" or what?

So, I'm thinking that if this pain continues that I may go back to gluten as this pain is no fun and I felt GREAT before I went gluten-free and my only symptoms were the weight loss primarily.

Any help or ideas is appreciated.

thanks!

I'm curious to know what kind of doctor referred you because I haven't heard of any MD's using Enterolab. If he did the colonoscopy then I'm' assuming it's a GI doc? That is interesting and makes me wonder if Enterolab will be getting more acclaim in the future.

The problem for you is that the gluten free diet will negate the results of the blood test and the biopsy. You will have to be eating gluten for a month or longer to make those tests worth doing and even then they aren't 100% accurate.

I think it's weird that you felt great on gluten and feel bad off of it. Now with diarrhea you can have electrolyte imbalances that can cause pain. I was getting dizzy spells really badly and somebody on here saved me by recommending I get Gatorade or something that replaces electrolytes. After one bottle the dizzy spells improved and after 2 days of drinking it, they are all gone. Maybe you can try that?

[mogal]

I'm curious to know what kind of doctor referred you because I haven't heard of any MD's using Enterolab. If he did the colonoscopy then I'm' assuming it's a GI doc? That is interesting and makes me wonder if Enterolab will be getting more acclaim in the future.

The problem for you is that the gluten free diet will negate the results of the blood test and the biopsy. You will have to be eating gluten for a month or longer to make those tests worth doing and even then they aren't 100% accurate.

I think it's weird that you felt great on gluten and feel bad off of it. Now with diarrhea you can have electrolyte imbalances that can cause pain. I was getting dizzy spells really badly and somebody on here saved me by recommending I get Gatorade or something that replaces electrolytes. After one bottle the dizzy spells improved and after 2 days of drinking it, they are all gone. Maybe you can try that?

[mogal]

Yes, he was a GI physician here in KC that recommended me to enterolab, plus my acupunturist ref'd them as well.

Being new to this gluten-free world, I am learning alot, but wondering which test(s) is conclusive? I may go back to gluten if the pain/aches continue...but will give it a good 3month trial. I could do the blood tests then perhaps.

Besides the aches, I have yet to gain any weight either...with malabsorption/weigh loss being the primary reason/concern for going gluten-free.

I will try the electrolytes...thanks for that tip.

Also,

[Edo]

interesting doesn't mean reliable or accurate.

in case you don't feel like searching here was part of lma88's answer. its worth repeating.

I would only recommend Enterolab testing if you've already had other testing done - for example:

1) The Celiac bloodwork panel, which includes:

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Total Serum IgA

2) An endoscopy with biopsy

Reason being, Enterolab's testing methods have not yet been approved/acknowledged by the current medical community. They claim to be able to detect active dietary gluten sensitivity in the stool, but NOT diagnose Celiac Disease.

Just to throw in my two cents here. I'm relatively new to all this celiac business (about a month's worth of research) so I'm no expert, but this is how I understand it from everything I've researched. I've also had Enterolab testing.

Yes, it's true that Enterolab's testing methods haven't been submitted for peer review yet and thus haven't been accepted like the "official" tests your doctor would give you (the bloodwork panel and endoscopy). And no, Enterolab can't diagnose celiac disease, only gluten-sensitivity. Which is because, as I understand it, the only way to get an official diagnosis of celiac is from the endoscopy biopsy showing that intestinal villi have been destroyed. Isn't it only celiac if the villi are destroyed? Otherwise they call it gluten-sensitivity, right? So of course it isn't possible for Enterolab to diagnose celiac, because they use a stool sample for the test. They can't see your villi from a stool sample. But they can see gluten antibodies if present, which wouldn't be present unless gluten was recognized as a foreign substance by the immune system.

Yes, it's not the official diagnostic test. But just because Enterolab isn't proven to the medical community yet, that doesn't mean we should immediately dismiss it as unreliable or inaccurate. From my own research, the science behind it, although new, seems pretty solid and logical so I decided to trust it. No one can guarantee for certain that Enterolab results are trustworthy yet, but then again, we do know for certain that bloodwork and endoscopy results are frequently untrustworthy. Many people have gotten false negatives on those tests.

I understand the viewpoint that, if one has health insurance, there's nothing wrong with having the bloodwork and endoscopy testing done before resorting to Enterolab. If those tests come back positive, there's no need for any more testing. But it's also a matter of personal preference. For some, the official diagnosis is important to them. Then again, some may not care about an "official" celiac diagnosis, but just want something on paper telling them gluten is the problem. Then, some may trust both tests but really dislike the idea of getting an endoscopy and all that, and prefer the simplicity of the stool sample. Maybe some don't trust any of the tests. Some will tell you that feeling better after going gluten-free is enough of a diagnosis for them and they're happy to forgo the testing completely. It's a personal decision.

I decided to go for Enterolab personally because I don't have health insurance, but I wanted some results on paper. I also wanted to go gluten-free right away, which isn't a problem for Enterolab testing as it is for doctor testing. I was in a lot of pain and didn't want to go through the wait of acquiring insurance, setting up appointments, and having to stay on gluten until the tests were over. Especially if those tests had a good chance of giving me false negatives; then it would be a lot of time, expense, and pain for nothing. I wouldn't have trusted any test results to be accurate unless they were positive (as I understand it, there aren't really any false positives in these tests, only false negatives).

I trusted that Enterolab was more sensitive and had far less chance of false negatives. And though I have heard some claims that Enterolab results are "never negative" and thus it "must be some kind of scam," I agree with the replies to those accusations, which are that most people who are willing to pay for a nearly $400 test are already pretty certain they have a problem with gluten and just want some science to back them up on it. Plus, it's been pointed out that people have indeed gotten negative Enterolab results before. There are even posts here by people sharing their negative results, and I've read them to be certain.

So, after a lot of research and thinking, I decided to get tested through Enterolab and go gluten-free immediately (I was already feeling much better by the time my results came in).

My suggestion to anyone in the pre-diagnosis position would be to do a lot of research and form your own educated opinion. Then do what you feel comfortable with. If you go for a test you don't trust, the results will be worthless to you anyway. In the end, my most trusted diagnosis was that I felt much better after going gluten-free, but I like having the "on-paper" results to back that up. So I don't regret what I personally decided to do. It's important to do what you think is right for you, and don't let anyone decide that for you.

[bluebonnet]

after my "at best okay" (doctor qoute) bloodwork i decided to look into enterolab as a backup. i got the $400 testing because i wanted the genetic portion too. after i received my results i spoke with a couple of different people at enterolab and they explained everything in detail. i was/am very glad i decided to use them. its been almost 1 month since doing gluten free (with a couple of accidentals) and i see my doctor this morning for rest of labs/tests. i plan on bringing him a copy of my results for my file. (i did test positive via iga and genetics). i will not do the endoscopy because i feel like with my gluten free response and my paperwork from enterolab that i have enough to consider myself validated in the eyes of the medical field. my friend works at quest labs and she says there are inconsistencies and false tests all the time. it absolutely helps to get a second opinion from another source especially when you are sick with no answers.

best wishes!