To diagnose celiac disease, we sometimes ask sick people to make themselves sick again.
If someone stopped eating gluten before completing testing, they may be told to resume eating it for weeks.
Even if gluten causes vomiting.
Even if it causes diarrhea, exhaustion, pain or neurological symptoms.
No gluten may mean no measurable autoimmune reaction.
No measurable reaction may mean no diagnosis.
No diagnosis may mean no accommodations, medical follow-up or insurance coverage.
That is not a reasonable diagnostic system.
Researchers are working on tests that may eventually diagnose celiac disease without a prolonged gluten challenge.
They cannot arrive soon enough.
Nobody should have to repeatedly injure themselves to prove they have a disease.
Keep Reading: The Problem With Celiac Diagnosis
Our current testing system works best while someone is still eating gluten. Once gluten is removed, obtaining an accurate diagnosis can become much more difficult.
- Celiac Disease Diagnosis Is Backwards
- Gluten Challenge Challenges
- New Blood Test May Eliminate the Need for a Gluten Challenge
- Why “Just Go Gluten-Free” Is Bad Medical Advice
Previous in this series: Why we cannot easily determine whether the gluten-free diet is working.
Next in this series: Why our labeling laws undermine the only celiac treatment we have.
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