Possible coeliac - please advise!

[monkeybumsmum]

Hello I posted this in Allergies a little while ago, but thought maybe there's a better chance of people seeing it here...

I've had two blood tests now to test for coeliac disease after losing 4 babies during pregnancy. (Also have one ds, 3.) I'd heard that coeliac disease could be a cause of pg's going wrong, so just thought I'd rule it out.
Anyway, both tests have come back borderline, so I've been asked by my GP to go gluten-free for a month, and then go back for another blood test to see if the result is different. Thing is that I'm not sure whether this is the right thing to do, and if it is, how do I go about cutting out all gluten? We eat a lot of pasta and bread, and live abroad where it's not so easy to get the wonderful gluten-free stuff that I know they do in the UK.

Does anyone have any advice, either on whether the GP has give the right directions, or what on earth to do re my diet?! We've had one hell of an awful year this year, and I can't really get my head round it all...

You can eat rice and potatoes and oatcakes... Sorry I'm not coeliac, but I have an aunt who is, and for a long time I didn't eat things with gluten. Can you ask to see a dietician?

I used to reduce sauces by cooking them for longer instead of adding flour. It's important to remember that there are still lots of things that you CAN eat. Is there a Coeliac Society or anything? I am sorry you've had such a wretched time with your pregnancies.

My aunt wasn't diagnosed with Coeliac Disease until she was nearly 40. Getting your diet right could help a lot.

As far as I know the only way to diagnose coeliac is a gut biopsy via gastroscopy. If you feel you have symptoms and have positive TTG/IGA tests then you should ask for a biopsy. Cutting out gluten for a month may help but then if you wanted to prove Coeliac you would have to eat 3 months of gluten again before testing and make yourself ill. Perhaps the doctor thinks it is more an intolerance than full Coeliac? Do you know which blood tests they were? Do you have symptoms of IBS or low blood iron levels?

I am very sorry for your losses. I too had repeated losses; both early and late and have several immune disorders as do some of my close family members. Thankfully I managed to also have 5 living children so there is hope.

The easiest way to eat gluten free is to eat naturally gluten free foods, unprocessed stuff like fruit, veg, etc. Plain oven chips etc are OK aswell. Some think you should avoid oats at first as many can be contaminated by the way they are made.

Good luck!

I was going to say the same as jellybeans. I was diagnosed earlier this year and stopped eating gluten at the end of Jan. Just 5 weeks later I was accidentally glutened (something was contaminated rather than me eating toast) and had terrible stomach cramps, diarrhoea and foggy brain for a week afterwards, despite the fact that up to that point I had rarely had diarrhoea. So if you cut it out, and find out that it is indeed the problem, you will probably feel dreadful if you have to eat it in order to have a positive biopsy. Are you perhaps not eating much gluten now? Would eating a bit more now be more likely to give a positive blood result? I'm not sure. Is there a benefit where you are to having a positive diagnosis? What I mean is, in the UK we can get a certain amount of gluten-free products on prescription which works out much cheaper as gluten-free stuff in the shops is five times the price of normal food. If there is no such asvantage for you, it might be worth going gluten-free without a diagnosis. However, there is also bone density to consider - a scan might be available to you if you are diagnosed. Hmm - no easy decision. Do any other members of your family have it as it is genetic?