For those of you who aren't aware, the golden standard of celiac disease diagnosis requires two tests: a blood test that detects antibodies and an endoscopy to detect evidence of damage in the small intestine. The two tests are required because often the blood test comes back negative when the endoscopy detects something. On the other hand, the blood test can come back positive when the endoscopy detects nothing.
All this to say, back in January, my blood test came back positive. I was told to eat regularly (not gluten free) until my endoscopy. By March, I was feeling pretty terrible with bloating, itchy skin and exhaustion. Becoming impatient, I called to follow up about my appointment and was told that in non-serious cases, it could be up to a year. A year!
I didn't think I could last that long, so I consulted with my doctor and started eating gluten-free. She assured me that, provided I eat gluten for 6 weeks prior to my endoscopy, accurate results could still be obtained. Within a month of eating gluten-free, I got my endoscopy appointment...only 3 weeks away. I told the receptionist that my doctor had recommended that I eat gluten for 6 weeks prior to the test, but she assured me that the pathology would be seen after 3 weeks of a "gluten challenge". This is where you basically eat as much gluten as you can without dying.
So I ate everything I was going to miss. Almond croissants from the French bakery across the street from my work, breaded wings with hot sauce after hockey, donuts from my favourite place in Ottawa called SuzyQ... (I ate those 3 times! For all my friends who like to gluten it up, my favourites are the Salted Caramel and the London Fog and Suzy Q is located on Wellington St. where the Hintonburger used to be.)
Well, I was tired. I was bloated. I was anything but regular. And the rash that had been on my thighs spread up my arms. A diagnosis seemed certain. And then it happened. My results came back negative.
There are two potential reasons for it:
1. I didn't challenge myself enough/for long enough.
2. I don't actually have celiac.
I'm not sure which is true. Either way, eating gluten doesn't do anything for me. In the words of my doctor, "You're going to be on this diet for life regardless."
Now I'm back to my gluten-free lifestyle so, despite my extended absence from this little blog, I'll be reviewing up a storm again shortly!
Later this week I'm being tested for dairy allergies just to make sure that there isn't another cause for my digestive unrest. I also have an appointment with the doctor who performed the endoscopy on July 10th. I'll keep y'all posted.
