llreynolds50

^{Thank you! I have been taking the medication for years, for my asthma. They say that inhaled steroids only go to your lungs but that can't be true because long term use causes side effects in other parts of your body (eyes, bones etc.)  So it must be in the bloodstream. I'll ask the lab about it. Thanks!}

Thanks for your help! I hadn't thought of asking the lab, it's a good idea.

Hello everyone. I'm new here, and I probably don't even have celiac disease but I have a few questions and I'm hoping someone can help.

I recently requested a blood test for celiac disease. I have a few relevant symptoms, and I have a close family member who has several symptoms as well. The test came back "normal" (I don't know the details, the receptionist told me this over the phone) but I am unable to let the whole idea go. I had removed most of the gluten from my diet two or three months before I had the test done, and I started eating it again five days beforehand. I know now from reading articles online that it wasn't long enough to make the result accurate. Also, when people say that steroid use skews the test, what exactly does that mean? I take a corticosteroid inhaler for my asthma, two puffs once a day. I have taken this medication daily for many years. Is that enough for the steroid to be in my bloodstream? If so, should my doctor have advised me to stop taking the inhaler before the test?

I'm not sure what to do now. I could continue to eat wheat, stop taking my inhaler and then have the test redone (assuming my doctor will give me another requisition) or I could continue to experiment with a gluten-free diet on my own and assume I am "gluten sensitive" in a way that can't be measured by the test.

Has anyone here had the blood test redone after preparing for it properly and had different results?