Quote:
Originally Posted by shezbut
Thanks for the input, NoBread.
My troubles continue, and it has been impossible for me to keep up with the BRAT diet all of this time. :guilty: I've been eating bananas, applesauce, steamed (plain) white rice, as well as either plain chicken or pork tenderloin. Otherwise, I'm starving! I snuck a couple of Ritz crackers a few days ago, and less than a few minutes later, sufferred the consequences! 
I'm still waiting another month or so, before Mayo Clinic digestive doctors can see me. Ugh!  |
Hi Shezbut,
You should probably decide if a diagnosis for celiac is important to you. If you aren't eating gluten up until the blood is drawn for the tests, they won't be accurate. The other test they do for celiac is an endoscopy of the small intestine. Either way, if you are not staying on a normal gluten filled diet until the tests, the chances are they will be a false negative.
It sounds like you are having a reaction to the crackers though. I wonder if there is another doctor who can do the tests for you sooner? A celiac clinic is fine of course, but any doctor should be able to draw the blood and send it in for a celiac panel. I went to the Baltimore celiac clinic myself, and had to wait 3 months for an appointment. By then I had stopped eating gluten and many of my symptoms had begun clearing up. So my blood test were negative. I had the option of going back on gluten for 3 months and doing the tests again but didn't want to to do that. It wasn't wasn't worth the pain and symptoms for me.
If you do get the blood tests, make sure they give you a copy of your test results, so you can see for yourself what tests were run and the results. There is a forum on celiac.com with some medical students and doctors (who have celiac) who can interpret test results.
Paul
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Hi all !
It's good to be here, Paul.