Getting Tested for Celiac Disease

By Danielle Travali

About Celiac DiseaseFacts:

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that “damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food” (exact source: the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) )

People with celiac disease can’t digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats. Think of gluten as the stuff that makes bread gooey and “doughy.” Photo courtesy http://www.

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Why would someone want to know if he/she has celiac disease as opposed to a wheat allergy?

Know for yourself.

Loretta Jay, Director of Program Development at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), says, “Celiac disease is a lifelong disease. It’s an auto-immune disease.” Gluten intolerance is not.

“Pretty much, someone who has a gluten intolerance without celiac disease gets exposure to gluten and doesn’t feel well afterwards because it doesn’t agree with them,” Jay said.

But if a person with celiac doesn’t follow a strict gluten-free diet, he or she may experience complications such as malnutrition, neurological problems and even cancer of the bowels (Source: Mayo Clinic).

“In addition to the 3 million people who have celiac, there are a number of people who don’t tolerate gluten well. It’s good to know the difference. If they do have celiac, they need to adhere to a gluten-free lifestyle. But we don’t want people to go on a gluten-free diet if they don’t have to because it’s expensive and it’s difficult.”

Know for your family.

“It’s good to know if you have celiac disease for your extended family,” Jay says, explaining that if you have celiac, chances are your children or other relatives may develop the disease, too.

“If you know a family member who has celiac, the chances of you having celiac are 1 in 22,” she adds.

Ask your health care provider about giving you a gene test to rule out whether you have the gene for celiac to know for yourself or for your other family members who may have the disease, too.

TEST ONE: The first component of the test is a blood test ordered by your physician. It’s a laboratory panel with several components that need to be read. This panel is 90-95 percent accurate.

Many people who have celiac disease will test negative on the blood work. This is probably because they did not consume enough gluten before the test.

Jay says, “The person undergoing testing for celiac disease must be eating gluten. You cannot test if you’re on a gluten-free diet. You need to be eating 4-6 slices of bread every day for 4-6 weeks before your test,” Jay said.

TEST TWO: The gastroenterologist takes biopsies of the small intestine under general anesthesia. Some places do it in an office visit. A hospital visit is usually unnecessary. If the villi (small fingerlike structures in the intestine) are blunted, this is a sign of celiac disease.

The Testing Process