Yes, if she hopes to have a biopsy by year end she should keep eating gluten until then. I've seen various recommendations for how much gluten, but usually I see the recommendation for 1-2 slices of whole wheat bread per day.
You do run the risk of having a GI who will insist there is no need for a gluten free diet unless there is biopsy evidence of CD. That is what happened to my oldest daughter, and at age 16 she decided to listen to her doctor (after all, all those years of medical school, the doctor must be right
).
But, your daughter doesn't want to go through all the trouble and expense of having a biopsy, and then not know if a negative result is accurate because she had been gluten free for the month or two prior to biopsy.
Quote:
Are you scheduled for a biopsy? Are you eating gluten?
Any changes in your diet can affect the accuracy of your biopsy results. It is necessary for you to be eating gluten every day for at least 4-8 weeks before the procedure. If you are scheduled for a biopsy and are not eating gluten, talk to your doctor about what is necessary to obtain accurate results. If you have a biopsy and have eaten gluten only a short time before the test, you and your physician will not know if a negative test result is accurate or due to your diet.
University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center
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If she'd been gluten free for many months and already experienced improvement... I might question whether it is worth going backwards for the chance of getting an official biopsy proven diagnosis. But, this early into it, combined with her desire to "know"... the best thing is probably to just gag down some gluten every day in the form of a couple pieces of whole wheat bread.
A biopsy can rule out or identify other conditions as well.
We opted for a biopsy for one daughter, but skipped it on the other. I believe a solid case can be built in either direction. The daughter who had the biopsy was "negative" for celiac disease, but they did find lymphocytic gastritis (never mentioned to me but I found it on the biopsy report). Lymphocytic gastritis is suggestive of (but not diagnostic of) mainly two things: H. pylori and gluten sensitivity. H. pylori was ruled out in pathyology. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for our GI to recommend a gluten free diet.
After the biopsy... if she gets a positive result... there is no controversy. There is no question about the need for a gluten free diet.
If she gets a negative result... there is still some controversy... but a growing number of doctors do acknowledge gluten sensitivity and support a gluten free diet for any form of gluten sensitivity, even in the absense of celiac disease. In fact, two top celiac researchers have now acknowledged you can be gluten sensitivite without having celiac disease, and benefit from a gluten free diet.
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com...sceliacdiseaseAnd thousands and thousands of gluten sensitive people, without celiac disease, will tell you of their improvement on a gluten free diet. No matter what the biopsy result is, she should resume a gluten free diet asap after the biopsy. Here is my story:
http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/thestoryGood luck!