Doctor wants me to eat carbs for a week!

[sunshineclarity]

I have been doing low carb for a month. I'm down 13 pounds and I feel clear headed and have more energy. I love it!

I have been feeling sick over the summer which is partly WHY I made the switch. I had a bone marrow biopsy and my marrow showed NO iron and more tests revealed that my body is not absorbing iron or other vitamins. I have had infusions of iron and it's still not holding.

My doctor wants to do some tests for Celiac to see if that is the reason my body isn't absorbing vitamins and Iron or if there is another reason. To do so, he says I have to go back to eating carbs and gluten next week before the test.

I'm so scared and nervous to do this! Is there such a thing of low carb, high gluten food?

[sunshineclarity]

Or for that week do you think I should eat low carb tortillas, bread, pasta etc to still be eating low carb but getting gluten?

[Bluqq]

Sorry but your doctor is a quack. It's a blood test for the antibody. Get a new doctor
And yes, my son has celiacs so I know of what I speak!

[Leo41]

Did your doctor give you a carb level to maintain for this test? If not, you could certainly get the gluten from low-carb products, but if the doctor mentioned carbs, it may be necessary for the test.

Some years ago, I had a Glucose Tolerance Test, and my doctor, who knew I eat low carb, told me to eat a minimum of 300g carbs a day for the three days preceding the test--or the results would not be accurate. I did that with absolutely no ill effects at all and was back on plan right after the test was completed.

So be sure the doctor doesn't want a specific carb level--and if it's necessary, don't be afraid of doing it. You don't want to go through a test and have the results be invalid because you didn't prepare properly.

[GME]

I have always heard that you can get a false negative if you don't eat gluten before a test for Celiacs, but I don't know the hows or whys.

I have had blood antibody testing and I was medium for gluten and sky-high for eggs and dairy. I regularly ate eggs and dairy before that and hadn't had any intentional wheat for years. Is that why wheat was low even though I react pretty strongly to it? Who knows?

On the other hand I tested positive for lima beans. I haven't eaten a lima bean since the last time my mother made me eat them in 1982.

[cfine]

If you do actually have celiac, but have not been eating quite a bit of gluten before the testing, then it will probably be negative. My DD didn't eat gluten for a year or two before she had testing for celiac done and the test came back negative. Gluten makes her very sick. Fast forward a year or so later, and my husband tested positive. He ate a ton of gluten prior to his test. I truly believe that my DD would have tested positive had she eaten a lot of gluten prior to the test. She said it wasn't worth getting the diagnosis because she knows that it makes her sick so she has no plans to eat gluten anyway.

[cheeky1178]

Yes even if you're not eating gluten you will have some level of antibodies in your system and yes the celiacs test is looking for said antibodies, however you may not have enough antibodies to get an accurate test result.

I think for the bigger picture of your health you should return to eating carbs, but that doesn't mean you can't make wise choices about what carbs you eat and I would definitely ask your doctor if there is some minimum you should be aiming for. I wouldn't eat sugar or any carbs that don't have gluten in them. Also I'd pick really boring options that I wouldn't really enjoy and can therefore give up easily. 100% whole wheat bread is not going to throw me off my WOE...pizza on the other hand would be a problem.

Low Carb tortillas is probably a good idea...my La Banderitas are made with Wheat fiber and barley malt which are high gluten items. Wasa crackers if you get wheat or rye based ones. Deli meats, pepperonis, hot dogs and sausages also have some gluten in them. Worcestershire and soy sauces as well as some dressings will have gluten in them.

Good Luck!

[Peace]

I have celiac and was diagnosed in 2000. Seriously, I lived on bagels for years in NYC, and then I stopped eating them for 6 months, but my test came out clearly positive. My doctor told me it might be negative if I did not have enough in gluten in my body. However, it was OBVIOUS I was destroying my small intestines. Sorry to be so detailed.

Anyhow, best thing that ever happened was my diagnose.

[shunsweets]

It also may depend on the test you are having. The blood test will show the antibodies even on a lc diet although the levels will certainly be lower so may not show up on the test. If you are having an endoscopy and biopsy of the small intestine then it is better to have been on a regular high carb diet so the Dr can see the inflammation in the intestine and biopsy an effected area. At least this is what my Dr explained to me. I have celiacs as does my daughter and I suspect one of my grandchildren although my daughter doesn't want her tested as that family all love their high carb diets. My other daughter and I have done much better on our grain free diets.

[Aomiel]

What is more important...testing positive on a celiac test or continuing with what you're doing because you're doing well and feeling good and testing negative?

You may very well have celiac *but* why not just continue with your low carb since it's the perfect diet for celiac. If you still test positive, at that point you know you need to be more careful to make sure that all the low carb things you eat are gluten free. Amazing how many spices contain gluten.

[snowangel9]

Originally Posted by Aomiel

What is more important...testing positive on a celiac test or continuing with what you're doing because you're doing well and feeling good and testing negative?

You may very well have celiac *but* why not just continue with your low carb since it's the perfect diet for celiac. If you still test positive, at that point you know you need to be more careful to make sure that all the low carb things you eat are gluten free. Amazing how many spices contain gluten.

^^I agree. Anyone who is celiac or gluten sensitive, I think knows it. Or maybe they don't feel good, but don't know why. My daughter is gluten sensitive. We did an elimination diet and it was pretty obvious when she reintroduced bread. We thought about having her tested, but why? We/she knew what it was. So, we went grain free.

[sunshineclarity]

I think I am pretty certain I have Celiac or a gluten intolerance. I ate some pita chips today and feel sick to my stomach and bloated.

I think I will do it just because I want to make sure it's Celiac causing me not to absorb iron and my vitamins and not something else. I would hate for it to be something worse and because I didn't get testing, it never gets better. I also don't want to do anymore iron infusions!

[Whitlin']

Hi there, sunshineclarity.

I only have a thought for you about learning that your body has not been assimilating vitamins.

Check out the sublingual type of vitamins (held under the tongue until dissolved) and those that are sprayed onto the soft tissues of the mouth. This way you might be able to assimilate at least some vitamins through the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system, and replenish some deficiencies. All best wishes to you.

[Psmileyf]

What is the treatment if you test positive for celiacs versus if you don't. If the treatment is the same, is it important to do the test?

I'm just asking the question. I don't know the answer. But, I find it to be an important question to ask and am often surprised that they treat the same for some things...

[Russell1974]

Glad to read your post Aomiel.

I read the first post because of the title, and wondered " What the heck ? ". So I went to look up celiac disease, and causes, and it said that it is a reaction to gluten, and the lack of villi in the small intestine, and the ability to absorb nutrients.

So I am thinking, you need to NOT eat gluten, and eat very nutrient dense foods, since you absorb less of them. To me that sounds exactly like low carb. You get more iron in meats, especially red meat, and leafy greens and vegetables, are loaded with Vitamins A, B's & C. More than 100 % RDA usually.

Also seems to me that you would absorb the same percentage of vitamins/nutrients from any diet, so a high carb diet wouldn't cause you to absorb more nutrients, and is usually less nutrient dense than low carb.

They basically want you to eat gluten, to determine if you have a gluten problem. I would tell my doctor to go jump off the roof, and let me know if he has a problem with rapid deceleration after a long fall.

If you do find out you have celiac disease, what then is the treatment? Wouldn't it be to stop consuming gluten, and eat excess nutrients, because you absorb less of them per serving of food? In other words.. low carb.

It would seem to me, that eating low carb would be the best fit, and your doctor should then monitor your nutrients, and maybe supplement where necessary, so that you maintain optimal health.

However I have to ask the question.. Why test for a gluten sensitivity, if you never plan to eat gluten again? Especially if low carb will treat the problem if it does exist... I would discuss this with my doctor before going off plan.

I find that doctors get so hyped about administering tests, that they lose sight of the goal. If the goal is to avoid problems caused by eating gluten, then you have already fixed the problem.

I am diabetic, and with low carb, I am off my meds. This would be like my doctor telling me to eat a bunch of carbs, to test whether I had a reaction to glucose. I don't need to test that, because I no longer have high blood sugar. In fact, I worry about low blood sugars now.

Maybe you just have to know.. and in that case, eat the carbs, do the test, and get the results. Then find out what the treatment is after, if you do have Celiac's. You may find that your doctor just puts you back on a moderate carb diet.

I wish you well, and if you do have this problem, hope you get it under control quickly. I have multiple health issues, and they complicate losing weight, and staying on plan, because of pills, hospital stays etc. You just have to deal with them though.

[Russell1974]

Celiac Disease Treatment


" the only treatment is a gluten-free diet. "


Now we just need to find a gluten free diet...lol. I can think of one.

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by sunshineclarity

I think I am pretty certain I have Celiac or a gluten intolerance. I ate some pita chips today and feel sick to my stomach and bloated.

I think I will do it just because I want to make sure it's Celiac causing me not to absorb iron and my vitamins and not something else. I would hate for it to be something worse and because I didn't get testing, it never gets better. I also don't want to do anymore iron infusions!

I think that sounds like a sound decision. It would bother me as well, if I knew it could be something other than a gluten intolerance, or celiac. I would prefer to have a diagnostic test done to tell me my instincts are right and make sure something else isn't going on.

Best of luck to you as you get this done, sounds like it may be a difficult time for you

[sunshineclarity]

Originally Posted by Whitlin'

Hi there, sunshineclarity.

I only have a thought for you about learning that your body has not been assimilating vitamins.

Check out the sublingual type of vitamins (held under the tongue until dissolved) and those that are sprayed onto the soft tissues of the mouth. This way you might be able to assimilate at least some vitamins through the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system, and replenish some deficiencies. All best wishes to you.

Thanks for letting me know about these...this is a very good idea! Thank you!

[sunshineclarity]

Originally Posted by Psmileyf

What is the treatment if you test positive for celiacs versus if you don't. If the treatment is the same, is it important to do the test?

I'm just asking the question. I don't know the answer. But, I find it to be an important question to ask and am often surprised that they treat the same for some things...

I don't know the answer yet either! They said if I don't test positive for Celiac, I can go back to my diet and then they will start doing scopes to see why my body isn't absorbing iron or vitamins.

[sunshineclarity]

Thanks everyone! After 2 days of eating carbs - I feel terrible, bloated, throwing up in the middle of the night. I called my doc and got my bloodwork moved up to this Tuesday. I did some reading and it said gluten stays in your body for quite awhile. I've only been low carb for a month so I figure it's got to be in my body. If I test negative, he will do a scope anyway and maybe he will see some damage to my intestines. Agh. I'm over doctors!

[dawnyama]

There is no treatment for celiacs other than to "avoid gluten". No special medicine to take to make your body accept it. You just CANNOT HAVE IT. And you have to remove it from your beauty products as well as your diet. What you wear on your skin is absorbed into your body as if you have eaten it. I know that when I watch Chaz Dean on QVC (he had a today special value yesterday and was on all day long!) he has a formula of cleansing conditioner that is wheat free, gluten free, nut free, soy free. He was saying that his customers on QVC were requesting that kind of formula, so he had to make at least one!! So people are becoming more aware of the need for such products. I have researched a bit on celiac's because I am convinced my daughter has it. She has type 1 diabetes and that is an autoimmune disease, just like celiac. Her stomach bothers her a lot. Docs chalk it up to "acid reflux". I don't buy that. But her tests come out negative for the celiac antibodies. Then again, I know that the blood test is not the best for finding out if you have celiac. Something for me to think of in the future for her. She is only 13 and I don't want her to have any more testing than what is absolutely necessary. She already has enough to deal with her diabetes Even her pediatrician agrees

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by sunshineclarity

Thanks everyone! After 2 days of eating carbs - I feel terrible, bloated, throwing up in the middle of the night. I called my doc and got my bloodwork moved up to this Tuesday. I did some reading and it said gluten stays in your body for quite awhile. I've only been low carb for a month so I figure it's got to be in my body. If I test negative, he will do a scope anyway and maybe he will see some damage to my intestines. Agh. I'm over doctors!

I am glad you got it moved up Let us know how it goes. And what the results are. I am curious to know

[sunshineclarity]

Originally Posted by dawnyama

I am glad you got it moved up Let us know how it goes. And what the results are. I am curious to know

I'll definitely update here, Dawn! I hope you can figure out what is going on with your daughter too!

[Sunny7]

interesting,... my DIL is going through this.....will be anxious for your update.....

[nurseypoo5]

I would follow the Drs advise, but don't go hog wild, whole wheats, keeping it moderate. The whole world doesn't carb crazy eat like most us due because I believe many of us have an addiction. It's only a week, just keep it maintanence levels or a but higher get your tests and due induction for a couple of weeks. Hugs!

[webcrystal]

Sooo... just catching up .. did you ever get your results back? Just curious.

Also my advice (for anyone reading this in the future). While generally many people don't really need a "definitive" diagnosis to know that they have Celiacs/intolerance in the case such as this where you are getting transfusions and they aren't certain of the underlying cause then it would behoove you (or anyone else) to ensure you get the correct diagnosis and take the test. That way they can either find for Celiacs or move onto other evaluations. Also (for some people) knowing they actually have Celiacs vs. just suspecting helps them adhere to the diet better (since it raises cancer risk, etc.).

But from what happened when you started eating gluten again and based on your low iron values, etc. sounds like you have a good chance of having Celiacs (rather than an intolerance).

[Mr_Geiri]

Seems kinda pointless if you are on a gluten-free diet. Rather something you should test if low-carb ever stops working for you and you start to eat more gluten.

[GME]

I think it is important to have the test because you aren't absorbing vitamins.

If it was just to see if you are sensitive I would say the test is pointless, just don't eat gluten.

If you are not celiac they need to keep looking for the cause of the malabsorbtion.

[webcrystal]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geiri

Seems kinda pointless if you are on a gluten-free diet. Rather something you should test if low-carb ever stops working for you and you start to eat more gluten.

If the OP wasn't experiencing severe iron deficiency yes probably not really necessary... but because she required transfusions they need to rule it out or find the cause. If it wasn't so severe she probably could have eliminated gluten and followed her labs to make a decision.

For me I don't need a "diagnosis" - because if I eat any gluten I get reactions (arthritis, bloating, reflux, skippy beats, etc.). Works for me not to eat it any more just too painful.

[Mr_Geiri]

Originally Posted by webcrystal

If the OP wasn't experiencing severe iron deficiency yes probably not really necessary... but because she required transfusions they need to rule it out or find the cause. If it wasn't so severe she probably could have eliminated gluten and followed her labs to make a decision.

For me I don't need a "diagnosis" - because if I eat any gluten I get reactions (arthritis, bloating, reflux, skippy beats, etc.). Works for me not to eat it any more just too painful.

I have a bad habit of commenting on things I don't know enough about.