New coeliac test

[Copper]

I was looking at The Coeliac Society web site and found that there is a new test available. It costs about £20 and just needs a pin prick of blood. You get the results in 10 minutes.

A good idea for anybody struggling with the NHS. If you get a positive result you have something to show the GP.

More information can be found here

http://www.coeliactest.co.uk/

[matt]

but is it one that can give a false negative if you haven't been eating wheat for a long time? most blood test use the antibodies your body makes in response to food eaten that are causing problems. so if you've not eaten it then no antibodies.

[Copper]

Yes it relies on antibodies so yes you have to have the wheat and gluten in your diet. They also say that the only sure way to prove it is coliac disease is a biopsy - ouch. In which case you still have to keep eating the wheat and gluten until the result of said biopsy. Now if that took weeks to organise and I was very ill I would not be happy.

[Helen01]

I am afraid that is par for the course, when my son had his biopsy earlier in the year I had to carry on feeding him gluten for about 3 months after his blood test came back positive until his biopsy and it was absolutely awful knowing you are making him ill. The worst thing was the biopsy was negative and they said he is a 'latent' coeliac so I am going to have to put him through it all again next year! Unfortunately unless you get the official diagnosis you can't get stuff on prescription. :(

[Copper]

That sounds really awful. I am glad that I have not had to go through that myself.

[matt]

the blood test just proves intolerance. no freeprescriptions.

they only kick in for caeliacs. though i have heard this can be diagnosed using a camera either on a long wand...ouch or swallow like a tablet.

this is when you have to ask yourself whether the free stuff is worth it?

[Copper]

My point was that if you feel you are possibly coeliac and the GP is not playing ball, you could in desperation buy and do this test and then hassle the GP with your results.

You would then have to have the camera in every orifice and a biopsy to prove that you have coeliac disease.

As you say Matt that would gain you free prescriptions. My friend says they are trying to cut down on the prescriptions but he is determined to get what he is entitled to.

[matt]

the annoying thing is they are not even allowed to prescribe the wheat free stuff without cealiacs being diagnosed as otherwise i could get the stuff as i buy an annual prescription charge. and of course you'd be able to get it free for kids.

originally meant to be free prescription for all chronic conditions...

[matt]

plus how much does the test cost? as that's exactly the same as the york tests. may as well get tested for the whole spectrum not just wheat. and yes i do know that i'm sceptical about the york people. just call mea hypocrite.:lol2:

[Copper]

No Matt!!!!

See this page for the York Test info. The £19.99 test confirms that your problem is food related. To find out which food or foods you have to pay a lot more money. You also have to wait days for the results. The coeliac test is wheat specific and as you do the test yourself the results are more or less instant (10 minutes).

[rebecca c]

These are the problems that I had. In the end I could only take the wheat for a couple of weeks before the test so if I get a negative I can never be sure. I wish I'd known about this before I cut our wheat it would have been so much easier to do it then. My sister is coeliac which makes me 10x more likely to be.

But I am sure the gluten makes me ill so is it worth getting ill to worry about how and why?

[Copper]

If I ever get a suspicion that I have a problem with wheat and or gluten , I will just cut them out and be done with it.

[matt]

cutting wheat out is worse than cutting out dairy!

[Copper]

I know - I have to do a lot of careful shopping and baking when PA comes home. I just hope I don't develop an intolerance to wheat.