My husband is about to have a blood test for celiac disease. He has been been following a gluten free diet for a week and is already starting to feel a bit better. Will the blood test be accurate if he has not had gluten for a week? His doctor is adamant that it will be accurate as the antigens remain in the body for quite a while
I would really value your thoughts. Thanks.x
I have a niece with celiac disease and our understanding is one should eat gluten before this blood test otherwise it will show up negative.
Hi dedeottie
I'm glad your husband is feeling a little better by not eating gluten. However please tell him to start eating it again, just for a little while longer - until all the tests he needs are completed (Sorry!).
An accurate coeliac diagnosis requires antibodies to gluten to be present in his body. These are going to be steadily decreasing if he's on a gluten-free diet. The blood test may be imminent, however if it comes back positive he will need to have biopsies of his small intestine done to confirm the diagnosis. Although he will most likely be treated as an urgent case, there is often a wait of several weeks (six weeks in my case) before this can take place. If he's gluten-free, his guts could have partially healed and so the biopsies taken may not give a true picture of any inflammation that's going on - potentially leading to a false negative diagnosis.
I really do understand how difficult it is for him at the moment - i'm a diagnosed Coeliac; and like many others here, I've been where he is now. I found that all you want to do is feel better, but the doctors tell you to keep making yourself ill by eating gluten. That's so frustrating!
However I would say that on balance, it's so much better to get the tests out of the way now, rather than trying to do them after a prolonged period of being gluten-free in the future.
Maybe you could tell him to think of the next few weeks as an opportunity to say a proper goodbye to his favourite gluten foods. Doughnuts are an example of something that doesn't have a decent GF alternative.
He doesn't have to gorge himself, but my understanding is that he does have to eat at least one food every day containing gluten - such as a slice of toast, a few biscuits, pastry or a serving of pasta etc.
Best of luck to you both.
This is a brilliant answer by Regalbirdy. Couldn't have put it better myself. Yes, please continue to eat foods that contain gluten because otherwise it could create a false negative result and then you'll have to fight to get more tests done. Trust me, it's much harder to go back to eating gluten again after, say for example you've stopped eating gluten for a good few weeks, than if you just grin and bear it through the tests. Trust me I did this and I understand your pain, it's hard but you want an accurate result. I wish I'd continued to eat gluten before doing tests because now I've only been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity because there weren't enough antibodies in my system to properly test for coeliac so I don't know if I am just sensitive to it or have an intolerance to it but I still continue to eat gluten free now because it still makes me ill. Hope this helps, good luck with your tests and good luck with your doctor because he doesn't sound like he knows a thing about coeliac disease. It may be a good idea to find a better GP who does understand it and is willing to support you and believe in you.
Excellent reply from Regalbirdy as for doughnuts I'm glad i can't eat them LOL. But whatever he does he ought to keep eating gluten until told not to.
And do let us know how he gets on and if he is diagnosed then he'll be in good company on here.
Thank you for such a thorough answer. I can see the logic in what you are saying too. I will show this too hubby and start lining up the pies! X
Hi,
You're welcome.
Like the others have said, I was advised to keep eating gluten until the tests are completed.
As Claudio also points out, your doctor may lack experience in the diagnosing of coeliac disease. If this becomes an issue, you may want to advise them about NICE guidelines CG86.
I think I surprised my GP by being the first person he had positively diagnosed. Fortunately, I'm not the only Coeliac my surgery cares for.
Enjoy those pies! Can I also recommend that you indulge in Chinese takeaways and maybe a pizza as well? Chinese food uses a lot of soy sauce, which is wheat based - a no no for Coeliac's.
The need to continue eating gluten-containing foods is pretty well established. If your doctor doesn't understand that you may find there are other things he / she doesn't understand about coeliac disease. You may end up either educating your doctor - or changing.
Best of luck.
Hi I was advised to stick to a normal diet by my consultant prior to my diagnosis.
From all that I have read since he's been eaten gluten for so long and he's only been a week off it should be ample time for her to still have done the damage that will show I was gluten-free for year and I didn't do the test but for two weeks I ate gluten and from what I understand it's a possibility that that wasn't long enough but being that he's been gluten-free for I mean eating gluten for so long and he's only been gluten-free for two weeks there shouldn't be any issue from everything that I've read
I hope the test is soon, but do keep eating gluten till then, one does want an accurate test, better now than always wondering if it was correct or not, its so wonderful to have a diagnosis with no doubt.
Thanks everyone. Your advice is so helpful. X
Stop being GF. He should still be positive, till the test white sliced bread has the highest gluten content (NICE used to advise 6 slices/day) although anything made with strong/bread flour will have plenty of gluten. Pastry mix has a lower content.
Worried my blood will be negative & doc wont refer me to gastro 
should my 2 1/2 yr old have a full diagnosis?
Silent Coeliac Disease?
My Celiac Story. Recently diagnosed. 
