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

Gluten-free Diet Effect Other Tests?

sparrow

Recommended Posts

sparrow Rookie
sparrow
Posted

I took some advice from "ravenwoodglass" and called the original dr. that ordered the original bloodwork with high ANAs...she immediately ordered the celiac panel. Had blood drawn Mon. and had results back Thursday -- negative. ?? So I still have an appt with the rheum. Do I make an appt also with a GI or just wait until I see the rheum.? That appt is on the 24th of Nov. unless they get a cancellation b/n now and then. Do I still need an endoscopy? Or is the neg. bloodwork where it ends? And btw, I had the nurse read me the results to see if I had anything borderline...nothing seemed borderline. All read clearly negative from what she said. She's mailing me copies of all the bloodwork so can have it and take it with me when I go to other drs. I can accept not being celiac, but am still not convinced that I'm not gluten intolerant.

If I am gluten intol, does that mean that this intolerance may cause other autoimmune diseases (say for instance they determine that I have lupus) couldn't the gluten intol. possibly be the root problem? I'm so tempted to try the gluten free diet but am afraid it may skew the other test results that the rheum. is most definately going to order. If I have an autoimmune disease or something, couldn't a gluten free diet help it, thus making it harder to pinpoint and diagnose? Can I try the diet b/n now and then (nov. 24th) and then switch back a week before appt? I am so tired of feeling this way....

Any thoughts?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Wolicki Enthusiast
Wolicki
Posted

blood tests are frequently false negative. If you choose to have an endoscopy, stay on gluten until then, otherwise the results get skewed. From what I've read, ANAs can be elevated when you have inflamation. It doens't necessartily mean a rheumatological problem. I was misdiagnosed wtih Lupus 10 years ago because of elevated ana's. It was Celiac all along.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

The only tests being gluten free effect are the ones for celiac. If you are not planning on the endo for diagnosis you don't have to wait to try the diet.

sparrow Rookie
sparrow
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the thoughts... So, you don't think that going gluten free will effect those other tests/bloodwork even if gluten is the root problem? I'm wondering if I have another autoimmune disease because of gluten intolerance. ?? My friend who has already been thru this process thinks that maybe since my ana's were high (1:640), then going gluten free may not have such a dramatic effect on them in this short of time frame (4 weeks or less), therefore maybe not skewing the results...I just don't want to have more false negatives if something else is wrong...

I know I'm sort of asking the same thing again...just want to make sure I'm clear and making the right decision... :unsure:

I'm also thinking of calling rheum.'s nurse, but doubt they'll be familiar with the whole gluten world....since that's not their specialty... <_<

And, I also think I'll wait on the endoscopy....I don't want to wait that long to start this diet and I think that if my blood tests were clearly in the negative, then the biopsy is highly unlikely to come out positive, right?

Sorry for being all over the place with my thoughts....:wacko:

sparrow Rookie
sparrow
Posted
  • Author
blood tests are frequently false negative. If you choose to have an endoscopy, stay on gluten until then, otherwise the results get skewed. From what I've read, ANAs can be elevated when you have inflamation. It doens't necessartily mean a rheumatological problem. I was misdiagnosed wtih Lupus 10 years ago because of elevated ana's. It was Celiac all along.

Were your ana's speckled, by chance? Mine were 1:640, speckled...

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
Thanks for the thoughts... So, you don't think that going gluten free will effect those other tests/bloodwork even if gluten is the root problem? I'm wondering if I have another autoimmune disease because of gluten intolerance. ?? My friend who has already been thru this process thinks that maybe since my ana's were high (1:640), then going gluten free may not have such a dramatic effect on them in this short of time frame (4 weeks or less), therefore maybe not skewing the results...I just don't want to have more false negatives if something else is wrong...

I know I'm sort of asking the same thing again...just want to make sure I'm clear and making the right decision... :unsure:

I'm also thinking of calling rheum.'s nurse, but doubt they'll be familiar with the whole gluten world....since that's not their specialty... <_<

And, I also think I'll wait on the endoscopy....I don't want to wait that long to start this diet and I think that if my blood tests were clearly in the negative, then the biopsy is highly unlikely to come out positive, right?

Sorry for being all over the place with my thoughts....:wacko:

The only tests being gluten free will effect is tests for celiac. IMHO if your ANA levels go down then celiac was causing the elevation to begin with. But if you do have another autoimmune issue going on that was not caused directly by celiac disease then being gluten free is not going to effect those test results. I would give the diet a shot. You may find, and I will keep my fingers crossed on this one, that many of your issues resolve or improve before you even make it to the rheumy next month. While you don't want to have an additonal issue missed you also don't want to have a diagnosis of another autoimmune issue based on symptoms that are in reality part of the celiac effects.

sparrow Rookie
sparrow
Posted
  • Author
The only tests being gluten free will effect is tests for celiac. IMHO if your ANA levels go down then celiac was causing the elevation to begin with. But if you do have another autoimmune issue going on that was not caused directly by celiac disease then being gluten free is not going to effect those test results. I would give the diet a shot. You may find, and I will keep my fingers crossed on this one, that many of your issues resolve or improve before you even make it to the rheumy next month. While you don't want to have an additonal issue missed you also don't want to have a diagnosis of another autoimmune issue based on symptoms that are in reality part of the celiac effects.

Thanks! Couple of questions...first, what is IMHO? I'm not so up to speed. :) Also, when you say "celiac disease/effects", is that interchangeable with "gluten intolerance, for practical purposes? For instance, I could possibly not have celiac's and only be gluten intolerant, but it's still just as bad except my sm. intestines may not be getting destroyed...yet?? So if the diet works, then I can assume that I am gluten intolerant and/or have celiac's or am on my way to having celiac's one day?....And therefore need to mentally be aware of that fact so that I have greater resolve? Right?

And if there is another autoimmune issue going on, then it's just another problem, thriving on it's own now?

Thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate you being patient with all my questions!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
Thanks! Couple of questions...first, what is IMHO? I'm not so up to speed. :) Also, when you say "celiac disease/effects", is that interchangeable with "gluten intolerance, for practical purposes? For instance, I could possibly not have celiac's and only be gluten intolerant, but it's still just as bad except my sm. intestines may not be getting destroyed...yet?? So if the diet works, then I can assume that I am gluten intolerant and/or have celiac's or am on my way to having celiac's one day?....And therefore need to mentally be aware of that fact so that I have greater resolve? Right?

And if there is another autoimmune issue going on, then it's just another problem, thriving on it's own now?

Thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate you being patient with all my questions!

IMHO translates to 'in my humble opinion'. I am one of those folks that feel that celiac and gluten intolerance are basically the same thing. At times the antibodies will choose to attack other organs before the gut. That can seem to apply to just about every organ. As far as other autoimmune issues go it does seem that having one autoimmune issue makes you prone to have others. You could have other autoimmune issues in additon to celiac. Or, as was the case with myself, you may see the other autoimmune stuff go into 'remission' once the celiac is diagnosed. In which case the question remains as to whether they were independant issues or just offshoot effects of the celiac. I personally consider them to be the later, at least as far as my personal experience is concerned.

sparrow Rookie
sparrow
Posted
  • Author
IMHO translates to 'in my humble opinion'. I am one of those folks that feel that celiac and gluten intolerance are basically the same thing. At times the antibodies will choose to attack other organs before the gut. That can seem to apply to just about every organ. As far as other autoimmune issues go it does seem that having one autoimmune issue makes you prone to have others. You could have other autoimmune issues in additon to celiac. Or, as was the case with myself, you may see the other autoimmune stuff go into 'remission' once the celiac is diagnosed. In which case the question remains as to whether they were independant issues or just offshoot effects of the celiac. I personally consider them to be the later, at least as far as my personal experience is concerned.

Thank you so much for your help!! You have been a great resource!! I'll be starting the diet soon and will post as to how it's going....

Archived

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

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


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,134
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Kayla Conklin
    Newest Member
    Kayla Conklin
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      70.6k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Increasing symptoms after going gluten free

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @Jo Woodard! The problem with oats is not always cross contamination with gluten from other grains. The main protein found in oats is "avenin" and it has a structure similar to the wheat/barley/rye protein "gluten". It is similar enough to cause a gluten-like reaction in some celiacs. About 10% of celiacs cannot tolerate oats.
    • trents
      Does High DGP IGA Typically Mean Celiac?

      By trents · Posted

      You might find this interesting as it outlines the various antibody tests that can be ordered and rates them for their relative reliability: What symptoms do you experience and how long have you been experiencing them? Do you have any other blood work parameters that are out of range from say a CBC or CMP. For those with celiac disease, the immune system misinterprets gluten as an invader and sends attacking cells into the lining of the small bowel, causing inflammation. Over time, this inflammation wears down the "villi" that line the small bowel, millions and millions of tiny finger-like projections that constitute the nutrient absorbing organ of the intestinal track. This can greatly reduce the efficiency with which nutrients are absorbed and often leads to other nutrient deficiency-related medical problems such as anemia and osteopenia/osteoporosis, just to name a couple. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder and is often found in association with other autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto's thyroid disease and diabetes. There are over 200 symptoms/medical problems that have been associated with celiac disease, many of them not fitting into the classic category of GI distress.
    • Ryangf
      Do I really need to get a biopsy?

      By Ryangf · Posted

      @Scott Adams Thank you for your input- and I do think it’s best for me to just wait a little while before I do gluten challenge for a biopsy. Getting a dietitian is also a good idea.
    • Ryangf
      Do I really need to get a biopsy?

      By Ryangf · Posted

      @trents As much as I want to believe I have NCGS it seems unlikely that I do based on the fact that it caused other possible intolerances to other foods and I had clear signs of malnutrition exhibited by my rapid weight loss. Which may indicate stomach lining damage- as well as the anemia I already had has worsened. As far as the wheat flour particles that is valid- I may start putting on a mask when i know we’re going to be handling wheat otherwise I don’t really need to wear one because the wheat and any type of flours are in a small corner of the room far away from the cooking a preparing space and we have a cleaning regimen.
    • Ryangf
      Do I really need to get a biopsy?

      By Ryangf · Posted

      @Wheatwacked Unfortunately I haven’t been able to intake a sufficient amount of iodine through means of salt because most big name brand iodine salts contain dextrose which is a corn derivative…I have only been able to use kosher salt.
×
×
  • Create New...