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

Am I Ever Going To Get A Diagnosis?


2johndeereboys

Recommended Posts

2johndeereboys Explorer

Hello all!

As some of you probably already know I have yet to be formally diagnosed. I had a Celiac Panel drawn up 2 weeks ago tomorrow and I am still waiting on the results :rolleyes:

I am soooooo tired of waiting!! I wanna know if I have celiac disease or not! Plus I am so scared I will get a negative result. Even tho I know false negatives are fairly common with this test. And if I do get a negative result I am afraid she (my Dr) won't order the biopsy.

I am from a small town in South East Mo (350 people) and I have to travel to a town of about 17,000 which is about 20 min away to get any medical care! I guess this all just boils down to me being afraid of EVERYTHING! :unsure: I really have no other options if my fears come true!!!

Well thanks for listening! Maybe I am just counting my chickens before they hatch!

Have a good night everyone!!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Poppi Enthusiast

You don't need permission from a doctor to stop eating gluten. If your bloodwork comes back negative and your doctor won't order the biopsy then just stop eating gluten and see what happens.

I chose not to get tested for a number of reasons. The biggest one was that I had accidentally gone gluten free for a couple of weeks while on a cleanse and just wasn't willing to make myself sick again for a few months. Also, I don't have life insurance or critical illness insurance right now and I do't want any offical diagnosis of celiac to drive the rates up. I gather this can be an issue for health insurance in the states. If you've never been formally diagnosed then you don't have a pre-existing condition, right?

2johndeereboys Explorer

You don't need permission from a doctor to stop eating gluten. If your bloodwork comes back negative and your doctor won't order the biopsy then just stop eating gluten and see what happens.

I chose not to get tested for a number of reasons. The biggest one was that I had accidentally gone gluten free for a couple of weeks while on a cleanse and just wasn't willing to make myself sick again for a few months. Also, I don't have life insurance or critical illness insurance right now and I do't want any offical diagnosis of celiac to drive the rates up. I gather this can be an issue for health insurance in the states. If you've never been formally diagnosed then you don't have a pre-existing condition, right?

Thanks Sara!! :D

I thought about adopting the gluten free diet even if my results are negative. I HAVE to do something! My symptoms are getting worse everyday. I have had chroinc D for almost a year now. And we are leaving for vacation in 3 weeks and I am so scared to death of being trapped in a car on the road for 10 + hours.

I really appreciate your input!!

Have a good night!!

:)

lcarter Contributor

Here is what I do when traveling and will need to visit restaurants with fellow travelers. I always carry small pull-tab cans of tuna fish. Then, I order a plain veggie salad [for example: Subways are found everywhere, frequently even in airports] and order it with a simple dressing [oil+vinegar or just squeezed fresh lemon]. I carry gluten-free crackers/pretzels or buy basic potato or corn chips. Sometimes restaurants have simple grilled chicken breasts and steamed veggies which are another choice. Otherwise, I make my own safe trail mix of nuts and dried fruits, a bag of prepared carrot sticks and/or celery sticks, Kind or Laura bars and anything else "snacky" you like. Hope this helps.

Mariq Newbie

Hello all!

As some of you probably already know I have yet to be formally diagnosed. I had a Celiac Panel drawn up 2 weeks ago tomorrow and I am still waiting on the results :rolleyes:

I am soooooo tired of waiting!! I wanna know if I have celiac disease or not! Plus I am so scared I will get a negative result. Even tho I know false negatives are fairly common with this test. And if I do get a negative result I am afraid she (my Dr) won't order the biopsy.

I am from a small town in South East Mo (350 people) and I have to travel to a town of about 17,000 which is about 20 min away to get any medical care! I guess this all just boils down to me being afraid of EVERYTHING! :unsure: I really have no other options if my fears come true!!!

Well thanks for listening! Maybe I am just counting my chickens before they hatch!

Have a good night everyone!!

I had my bloodwork drawn a week ago yesterday, but haven't heard anything yet, either. I plan on calling my dr tomorrow to see if they have received the results. I also need to request a copy of all lab results so I can see the numbers myself. Just in case they say it's inconclusive.

Not sure what my dr has planned when the bloodwork comes back. When I asked what happens if it's positive/negative for celiac, I was told "she will explain everything to you when the bloodwork comes back". Not too happy about that, so we shall see.... My understanding is some drs will diagnose (sp) if bloodwork is positive, and you have a good response from the gluten-free diet. Most will not do any further testing if negative, but if positive, they will have a biopsy done.

viviendoparajesus Apprentice

I think you got to do what is best for you. I agree though that you can go on a gluten free diet without an official diagnosis of celiac's. I was told I essentially have it yet I cannot officially be diagnosed with celiac's given I did not have the standard accepted tests for it. Rather I had the genetic tests for gluten intolerance done. Even if the tests were not positive I still would probably be gluten free since it helped my digestion, skin, decreased my pain, etc. You could also try another doctor if having test results is important to you. I was also against further harming myself by going back on gluten when I feel better without it. I also tend to pass tests and have negatives since my symptoms are extensive, yet tests do not seem to convey my pain. I think the other poster made a good point about not having the diagnosis, which can be used against you when it comes to insurance (preexisting condition). Know that you are not alone in your struggles. Best wishes! :D

  • 3 weeks later...
Mummyto3 Contributor

Have you got your results now? I'm currently waiting. I had mine drawn on Friday. My daughters results took 2 weeks to come back. It felt an age!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      126,097
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Claire Singer
    Newest Member
    Claire Singer
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.9k
    • Total Posts
      69.2k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Jeff Platt
      With patients who are experiencing ear ringing and ear pain I first want to make sure there is not any kind of ear infective process verified by your primary care. The next thing that I see as a dentist who treats a lot of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ), is that the jaw joint can be having a problem that causes the ringing to happen. My primary care physicians here in Colorado Springs will refer these patients to me for evaluation when they don’t find any source of infection with the ear. We are able to treat with a specific type of mouth splint and get resolution of the ringing and ear pain as we resolve the TMJ problem.  First a visit to your primary care to make sure your inner and outer ear is infection free. And if it is clean, a visit to a dentist who treats TMJ disorders. 
    • cristiana
      One thing I ought to add is that although any new medical condition diagnosis can come as a huge shock/blow, navigating the gluten free diet will one day become second nature to you all  Yes, mistakes occur on the way, but it will get easier.  A few things that have helped me on my journey: 1/ My husband has said to me a few times, and I think it helps. I should to try think of all the food I CAN still eat.  So much natural, unprocessed food, is gluten free, and a whole lot of processed and canned goods available in the supermarkets, too.  I can still eat Heinz Baked Beans and Tomato Soup, for example, and a lot of oven chips are gluten free.  Not all chocolate and candy contains gluten.  Excellent gluten free substitutes now exist in the supermarkets and I've lost count of the times I've been eating a product and shared it with a friend, and they have loved it.  Gluten-free doesn't mean taste free.  A lot of gluten-free substitutes are just as good as the 'real thing'. 2/ As time has gone by, I have met more and more coeliacs and other people who react strongly to gluten. This will happen to your son in time, and it often helps to be able to chat with someone who walks a similar path.  I now have over a dozen such buddies and we share tips and recipes, and also recommend 'safe' restaurants and cafes to each other.   3/ Family support.  It is good if you can offer a safe haven at home.  My family aren't coeliacs, but the only things they eat that are not gluten free is shop bought bread and pies, and occasionally biscuits and we keep them very separate.  The rest of the time we cook with gluten free substitutes and all eat the same.  I have always been a keen cake baker and my daughter who is not a coeliac actually prefers the crumbly texture of gluten free flour, so she always uses that, even outside the home.  You can spend lots of time cooking and baking with your son, he'll acquire a new skill, and without wishing to boast, if his cakes are as good as mine he will never be short of friends!!  My daughter has quite a following at Uni, and I don't think they realise that her cakes are even gluten-free! I hope some of this serves to encourage you. Cristiana    
    • cristiana
      @Kathleen JJ  I am based in the UK.  The following link is to a website for UK based consumers but even post-Brexit, we are still importing from and exporting to mainland Europe, so chances are some of the products mentioned in the link are from the same factory.  Therefore, what your son eats would likely be the same product that I eat when it comes to eating sweets. https://libereat.com/2021/07/gluten-free-sweets/#:~:text=Haribo Gold Bears are gluten,Starmix It would therefore appear that Haribo Gold Bears are the ones you need to buy for your son. In answer to your other questions - yes, European labelling is strict so "Gluten free" is trustable.  However, if I read "Residual gluten" on a label I would say that is not safe for coeliacs. But always check the ingredients lists first as ingredients do change over time.  When doing this, what you need to avoid (usually printed in bold in the ingredient list) are: Wheat, barley and rye. These grains all naturally contain gluten. Coeliacs must also avoid products which state, "May contain traces of wheat, barley and rye" or products where the statement occurs: "Made in a factory which also handles wheat, barley and rye"    However, one other thing to think about:  oats.  In the UK, we do produce quite a few cakes and some candy which contains oats.    Oats do not naturally contain gluten, but as the crops are often grown alongside wheat, barley and rye, or processed in the same plants, cross-contamination can occur and they pick up gluten 'en route'.   The good news is that some food producers now grow oats away from these crops, and process them in oat dedicated plants, so you end up with a product called "pure oats" which are suitable for the majority of coeliacs (a minority react to avenin, the oat protein, in the same way they would to gluten, but I won't go into that here - just making you aware in case down the line you think it could be a problem).   So increasingly, in the UK at least, manufacturers are now printing oats in bold.   In candy production, you might find vegan chocolate which contains oat milk, hence I mention it here.  Unless such a candy bar stated that it was suitable for coeliacs,  your son would have to avoid it.   Incidentally, I think the idea of having a party after your holiday is a very wonderful, positive start to your son's gluten-free diet journey.  I was symptomatic by the time I was finally diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and was quite keen to start the diet straight away.  But just a few days after my endoscopy I was due to visit Normandy.  My consultant said to me, "Don't bother about taking up the diet until you get back".   I did try to start it in France but back then French catering establishments didn't seem to appreciate coeliac customers (something my gastroenterologist seemed to know something about!) so I was so glad he told me not to worry until I came home!
    • Kathleen JJ
      @cristiana Do you have any suggestions for the gummy bear type of candy? Because that is what is getting passed around. Someone told me "you will have to read all labels thoroughly from now on" but to be honest: I don't know what I'm looking for that should or should not be there? And is the notion "gluten free" trustable? And what about "may contain residual gluten"? Is that safe?
    • CXinjera 2
      Would someone point me to a good injera recipe?
×
×
  • Create New...