Celiac diagnosis concerns

Question
Hi Tanya,

My Girlfriend and I are pretty sure she has celiac disease, as we've had very good results cutting out gluten from her diet.
We're trying to get it diagnosed, but unsure exactly what the blood work for celiac disease necessitates.
She's under the impression that she needs to eat gluten (or a 'normal') diet for the next week or so before seeing her doctor to ask for a blood test.  Of course that means a week of being sick.  When exactly does she need to start eating gluten to avoid a false negative test, and what other concerns should we address with her Doctor?

Thank You

Answer
Hi Kyle,

Most likely, your test will be rather a biopsy than blood work. Since your girlfriend's bio-med technician will examine the surface of the intestine and  reveals (or not) atrophy of its surface cells, inflammation and damage of the surface epithelium.

From this standpoint, it seems to be reasonable to suggest to cancel excluding gluten before the test to reveal these signs of damage. It's hard to tell for how long should she be eating gluten-containing food. She might want to remember how long it took her before to start experiencing symptoms after eating certain foods.

I wish your girlfriend to get well soon!

= TZ

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