<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hello listmates. I posted this question several weeks ago:
My daughter is our only diagnosed Celiac. The rest of our
immediate family and my parents have all been tested as a result
of her diagnosis. We have all tested negative... My one son had a neg.
biopsy... I, though, have many of the symptoms of CD... I have been
tested for many possible causes but was negative.
This past month, I have experimented on eliminating wheat and
have noticed an elimination of almost all of my symptoms...
it seems to me that I definitely benefit from no wheat. But, I would
like to know if I have Celiac Disease so that I know whether I should be
cutting out all gluten.
Any suggestions on what to do to get an accurate diagnosis? ...
Or, should I just believe that I don't have CD and stay away from wheat?
I received many responses. Most suggested that I just go on a gluten free
diet if it makes me feel better. Many wanted to know why I felt the need to
have a test. A few, thankfully, suggested I go to Dr. Fine's research and,
also, use his enterolab for testing. The book Dangerous Grains was
recommended by several people. And someone suggested I do research on
whether gluten sensitivity and CD were actually the same thing.
I want to address why I felt I needed a test. I am surprised that you, who
responded to me, of all people, who know how difficult and expensive it is
to follow a gf diet would actually question why someone might want to avoid
it.
But, since you asked, here are my reasons:
I want to know if I need to be as diligent about watching every little crumb
like
I do for my daughter; I don't want to increase our monthly food bill any more
than it already is if it isn't necessary; I have relatives who exhibit
symptoms of
CD but refuse to get tested or acknowledge it, but maybe if I test positive
then
they might take their own symptoms more seriously; I showed relief of
symptoms from eliminating only wheat, so why would I want to give up the
other grains if I don't medically need to? On the other hand, an accurate
test
might
show me that I do need to medically eliminate the other grains as well.
Now here is the action I took. I made an appointment for next month
with the GI associated with my local Celiac Support Group. I ordered 3 copies
of Dangerous Grains, to share, but haven't received it yet. Tonight I
watched a
video of a presentation by Dr. Fine which was so very, very helpful and
answered my questions. Now I know that a person can have Gluten Sensitivity
without it having gone to the end stages resulting in Celiac. This could
result in
a neg. blood test and/or a neg. small intestine biopsy. So I am going to
have
the fecal test done at entero lab, which has a better accuracy of detecting
the
early stages of Cd, which is actually not CD, but just gluten sensitivity, if
I understood his research correctly. He likened CD as a heart attack of the
colon and gluten sensitivity as the heart disease which could be controlled
so
as to prevent the heart attack (CD). My husband and I are probably going to
take
the rest of our children and ourselves off of gluten, but may get Dr. Fine's
tests
done on everyone first for a base level, so we can make sure that we are
improving later.
Thanks to all who responded so I could benefit from your experience and
knowledge.
Laurie
* All posts for product information must include the applicable country *
|