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Is there an alternative test?
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 2:40 pm
by Guest Posts
I have suffered with IBS for years and don’t eat gluten, and avoid dairy and red meats. My GP asked me to have a blood test for Coeliacs but there is no way I can eat gluten everyday, let alone 2/3 times a day. Is there an alternative test?
Linda
Re: Is there an alternative test?
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 11:36 pm
by Dr Jamal Hayat
Hi Linda,
If you are having symptoms despite completely excluding gluten from your diet - then your symptoms are unlikely to be related to gluten. However it can be challenging to completely exclude gluten which is why we recommend that every patient with coeliac disease is assessed by a dietician ideally with an interest in coeliac disease.
Unfortunately the likelihood of the blood test being positive for coeliac disease is much reduced if you do have coeliac disease but are excluding gluten, and the same with having an endoscopy - which is the gold standard for diagnosing coeliac disease.
My own practice is to ask a patient to manage as much as they can for between tow-six weeks at least. If this is not possible then it may still be worth having the blood test +/- endoscopy if the suspicion is high. There is a genetic test which we sometimes do which does not tell you that you have coeliac disease but can tell if you do not (HLA DQ typing).. You wont be able to get this in primary care and will need to discuss this with a gastroenterologist.
Kind Regards,
Jamal Hayat