I’ve been struggling with this lately: the dilemma of to test or not to test for celiac disease. Thomas and I talked it out last night, and it’s given me food for thought (hah!) but I haven’t made up my mind one way or the other.
Pros to testing:
- I’ll have an answer for what ails me
- It will be backed by scientific proof
- I know that wheat is actually damaging me, as opposed to just making me uncomfortable
- I’ll be better able to assert myself at restaurants etc (this is seriously an issue, it’s strange. I hate asking about gluten in food, because I don’t feel entitled to do so without a diagnosed allergy or ailment)
Cons to testing:
- I already have my answer — wheat doesn’t make me feel good. Why does that need external validation?
- If the test comes back negative, that could encourage me to eat wheat again (meanwhile, the blood test is not definitive)
- This could further exacerbate my tendency to need my decisions and choices validated; if it’s good enough for me, why isn’t that enough?
Basically, all the cons are about my head space not being what it should be to handle the results if they come back negative. Thomas has seen a positive change in me and I’ve noticed a huge difference in many areas of my life. But will a negative test eliminate all that positivity? I have a good thing going, and I know that I’d want to continue this lifestyle regardless of what the test results say. But if it does come back negative, I know it wouldn’t be good for my mind to hear.
I mentioned it at the intake interview with my new doctor last night, and he said he’d test for it during my physical. So there’s that, at least. But, as Thomas said: “You want a test? Go upstairs, eat a sandwich made with my bread, and tell me how you feel in an hour.”
He makes a damn good point, that man of mine. I guess I’ll chew and stew on this for awhile longer yet, and see what happens.
I think if you test for and receive a positive for Celiac, you may become more diligent with avoiding gluten since Celiac disease, with all that can arise from it can be quite more serious and damaging, especially in the long-run than just a gluten intolerance. I may be wrong and I honestly don’t mind being proven so, though! Why not try and understand as much as you can with regards to what’s going on with you’re body? Not to mention, if you have kids, Celiac is definitely something you’d want to educate them off just in case it’s passed on. Family health history is nothing to sneeze at, I say.
Overall, I’d like to know you’re doing everything you can to stay as healthy as possible
I can’t imagine being where you are, though. <3 I wish you the best!
Thanks so much Mika <3 It’s been good so far! I’m actually really happy and satisfied with how this is unravelling, diagnosis or not
Thank you for your comment and your support!
I’m not sure how things work over there, but in Finland, you need that verification (the process involves having a sample taken from your intestines and that is far from a pleasant experience but HEY at least we can truthfully say we’ve had a camera up our…) to be eligible for certain support groups, and you get financial support for the slightly more expensive gluten-free food. And that’s all there is to it, as far as benefits toward being properly diagnosed go. At the end of the day, as long as you know how you feel when you consume gluten, and you think it’s best for you to avoid gluten products…. who cares what your paperwork says? You know your body best.
I believe there’s also a “milder” intolerance to gluten products that doesn’t fill the criteria of coeliac, so even if your test results come back negative on it, it doesn’t mean you’re clear to eat them. Your body’s clearly saying you can’t handle gluten. Anything that makes you physically uncomfortable IS hurting you, even if it isn’t the same type of damage that coeliac does.
Just listen to your body. You’re the only one who knows how you feel. Trust those feelings.
To hear that in plain language, it seems so simple
Thank you! I know that it’s nothing that’s good for me, so this is a lifestyle that I need to maintain in order to be healthy and happy, no matter what any test says.
Hopefully I can even come to Finland someday; I’ve always wanted to see it! It sounds like they have a great coeliac health care plan though. I know we can get tax benefits here in Canada too to offset the food costs, but I’m not sure how that needs to happen — something to look into for 2013 perhaps!