How important is getting a celiac diagnosis.. by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Health Queen!
Hi Mary,
Getting a celiac diagnosis is a very personal decision and I don't think that anyone can really make it for you.
Personally, I feel that it is totally unnecessary. There are no tests for Lactose Intolerance either, yet people just say that they are lactose intolerant, avoid milk and go about their lives.
There is also the possible downside of having a pre-existing condition for getting health insurance and potentially having it be more expensive or not being able to get it at all.
But some people very much feel the need to have their illness 'legitimate' so that people will believe them. There is also the possibility of being able to write off certain parts of your care and even certain foods on your taxes.
You may also qualify for clinical trials if you have the diagnosis. There are too many factors involved for their to be one 'right' decision.
In YOUR case, you need to decide if it is worth it to you to be causing damage to your intestines for two months and then to get a medical procedure that may or may not even tell you anything. And even though the risk is low, EVERY invasive medical procedure has its risks. And those risks are higher the older you get.!
Remember too, that Gluten Sensitivity is NOT an allergy, but an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE that attacks your intestines. Are you willing to subject yourself to intentionally creating an autoimmune process in your body for two months in order to have doctors be able to tell you that you have an autoimmune disorder?
Hope this helped and good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions. We'd LOVE to hear what you decide.
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
Update by: MC
I'm thankful to those who posted - and others - for their advice. I have gone gluten-free for over a month now, and I DO notice a difference in my health and well-being. So I think it's a sure sign that it is the right thing for me to do, and I won't go back to eating wheat.
It would be nice to have something "definitive" in terms of testing because others DON'T necessarily take the condition seriously, but the bottom line is that I know what's best for me. So thank you all for your experiences and thoughts!
You'll save the day one day by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!
Don't worry about not feeling 'legitimate'. There will come a day when you recommend a coworker or family member to go on a gluten free diet when they become ill with an 'incurable' illness and you'll be the hero of the day when they get well when doctors couldn't help them any more.
YOU know what it does for you and that's all that's important. Once you get into the 'groove' of it and it becomes a habit, then you don't even think about it around others. Even going out to pizza with a group of friends isn't a big deal because you know what you can and can't eat. I just simply don't even think about it or worry about what I'll eat any more.
In fact, I just got back from a trip to Jamaica and eating gluten free (by CHOICE mind you, I don't even need to eat gluten free) was a piece of cake. Breakfast of eggs on a plateload of fresh sauteed collard greens with a side of fried plantains was HEAVENLY. With a whole buffet of any food I wanted all day every day, I CHOSE the gluten free foods because they FELT and tasted good....
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