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Question: Has anyone just lived GF after only a bloodwork diagnosis? Do you fully trust just the bloodwork?
Quick Answer: Many people live GF after only a bloodwork diagnosis. It is best to get both the bloodwork and endoscopy with biopsy before you go gluten-free. None of the current tests for celiac disease are 100% accurate. If you are not eating gluten, your tests will be negative.
Long Answer: It is best to get tested before going gluten free. This way, your doctor will take your diagnosis seriously. Also, you will be tested for various deficiencies as a baseline to determine future healing.
The blood tests are not pass/fail, but rather provide a level of antibodies that your immune system is producing. If the level is at a high enough point where a doctor would probably find intestinal damage on endoscopy with biopsy, then you are given a positive result. If the level is not high enough, then your result would be negative. Just because you are negative today, doesn’t mean you will not be positive in the future. This is exactly what happened to a physician assistant I met at a gastroenterology conference. She tested negative. Three months later her results were sky high.
Learn more about Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity Testing and Diagnosis here.
