Gluten intolerance?

[talkingnonsense]

I, by process of elimination, seem to have a problem with wheat. Dr is sending me for a rast(?) test for coeliac disease, but does anyone have any advice? I'm 40, so I'm thinking it's unlikely to be coeliac as I haven't had problems before, but I don't want to seem like just a fussy eater!

You can become coeliac later in life.

You can also be wheat/gluten intolerant without actually having coeliac disease. Coeliac is the extreme end of gluten intolerance where it's actually led to a disease process. Intolerance is just the body not coping very well with the foodstuff and giving off symptoms of not coping.

Allergy is something completely different again - my ds1 has RAST tests for his nut allergy because he is highly allergic to nuts.

You can buy a home test kit from Boots for coeliac. It's a proper one, not just some mickey mouse thing. Ask the pharmacist. It costs about £19.

i am 36 and just found out i am gluten intolerent and i have spent my life eating loads and loads of gluten, i have only had a major problem the last two years since i had twins, i think i might have had a problem before but it became much worse two years ago. being gluten free has made a big difference to how i feel and its worth the complication of being gluten free. it is a learning curve to adapt your life, i am only 4 weeks in. you need to have a good look at food labels, it is sometimes hidden in food, the coeliacs website has some great info. i think it will be really easy once i am used to it.

you must remember to not stop eating gluten before the test as you will get a false negative

Most people now are diagnosed with coeliac disease later in life now - my sils mum was diagnosed in her late 70s. I was diagnosed at 26, and 13 years later, its really not an issue eating gf and after 2 weeks gf initially, I felt better than I had in years

Really? Thank you all, I thought you had to be coeliac from birth. Sounds possible then. Should I really keep eating it till the test? I feel so much better without it- is there any point in actually having the test done except for confirmation? The only other allergy I have is hay fever and that has been a lot better the last couple of years.

You need to keep eating it until the test or the test will come back negative.

Thank you, I will hurry up about it then.

You should ideally be back on gluten for six weeks before having the test.

My dad wasn't diagnosed with coeliac until he was 50. He had problems with his back and needed spinal surgery in his 30's, he broke his ankle by twisting it and it wasn't until he had a tooth implanted and the bone graft wouldn't take that his dentist suggest that he looks into it further. He was diagnosed with osteoporosis and later was found to be coeliac which had caused the osteoporosis. He has been on a gluten free diet for a couple of years now and has been much much better. He is irish and apparently it is more common in irish people and also in type 1 diabetics (which I am and my grandfather on the paternal side was). I was tested for it when I was pregnant but it came back negative so I hopefuly won't get it. Dad says he feels much less bloated now and he gets his bread and pasta and things on prescription and most supermarkets have a good range in the free from section nowadays.

Is a rast test what you need to detect coeliac? As far as I can make out, it tests for allergies, but as hiddenhome said, coeliac is not an allergy, it's an auto-immune disease.

Usual method for testing for coeliac is a blood test followed by confirmation with an endoscopy as coeliac causes physical damage to the intestinal lining. You do need to keep eating gluten for the tests to work as your body will start to heal itself as soon as you cut out gluten.

I was diagnosed at the age of 39 and have been gluten-free since Jan 2010. It has made a big difference but I think what is making the most difference is eating according to a paleo diet - cutting out grains altogether, not just the gluten-containing ones.

Hope you get the answers you need.

i was not diagnosed with coelaic disease until i was 26. The only tests that will confirm it are an antibody blood tests - the results of this then need to be confirmed with an endoscopy and you then need regular follow up. You need to have been eating a fully gluten containing diet for 6 weeks prior to the endoscopy to get an accurate result. It is definitely worth getting an official diagnosis as then you are ij the system for follow up checks for things like osteoporosis which is linked with coeliac disease and will also mean you can get gluten free foods on prescription - this is very much worth it given the cost of gluten free food in the shops.

My dh was diagnosed aged 40. He has an Irish background. Our ds has since developed t1 diabetes which has a genetic link to coeliac.

Thanks conkers I will definitely get a test then- I'm not sure I will enjoy eating gluten again though! I do have some Irish ancestry, but there is no history of diabetes or coeliac as far as I know.

Well my blood test came back clear, so now I don't know what to do! Any ideas what else causes (tmi) wind, constipation, amd slimy poo?.