Jump to content

  • You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

Not Sure If Celiac Or Crohn's - Please Help!

Rusty Shackleford

Recommended Posts

Rusty Shackleford Newbie
Rusty Shackleford
Posted

I am not sure if I have Celiac or Crohn's. I am a 15 year old male, and I weigh 82 lbs and about 5 feet tall. I have noticed symptoms of delayed growth and chronic diarrhea. I was tested for Celiac with a blood panel, but the results returned negative. I am now scheduled to have some type of biopsy to see if I have Crohn's. At this point, I'm hoping I have Celiac. I read about Crohn's, and it made me very nervous and scared. Please help me!!!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Hi Rusty and welcome to the board.

It is not uncommon to test negative on the celiac bloodwork; there is known to be an error rate in the testing. Did you have the complete panel of tests? Can you tell us what tests were done and what your scores and the ranges were? The most important not to leave out are the total IgA, and also the DGP.

If your doctor is now considering Crohn's as a diagnosis and is doing biopsies, that would be from a colonoscopy checking out the colon, which will not tell you anything about celiac which affects only the small intestine.. For celiac you need to make sure your doctor also does an endoscopy to check the upper intestinal tract, and takes at least 6 biopsy samples to send to the pathologist, because it is possible to be negative on blood work and positive on biopsy.

It is also possible you have non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI) which can cause a lot of the same malabsorption issues as celiac because your food doesn't hang around long enough for you to absorb it. Although celiac does seem more likely if you carry the 'failure to thrive' diagnosis. NCGI can give you practically the same problems as celiac; you just can't pass the test which is geared to measure damage to the lining of the small intestine and which apparently doesn't happen in NCGI.

Anyway, if you would, let us have a look at your test results.

At any rate, you definitely need the upper endoscopy to rule out celiac; a colonoscopy will not do that, although it could potentially rule in Crohn's. For your sake I hope that one is negative too. :)

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Just to add to Shroomie's info - the endoscopy ( upper end) can be done at the same time as the colonoscopy ( lower end). I would think he might like to do that just to make sure you don't have anything like an ulcer & he could biopsy for Celiac, too!

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Hi Rusty,

It should also be less expensive to get the endoscopy and colonoscopy done at the same time. Doing both at once saves another trip to the hospital. For the endoscopy they need to take multiple biopsy samples, 5 to 8 is good. Celiac is treated with the gluten-free diet. There are treatments for Crohn's and some people with Crohn's follow the gluten-free diet. But often some drugs are needed for flares. Flares are usually intermittent though, and can go into remission with drugs or other treatments. People can live a long healthy life with Crohn's with proper treatment.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. trents
      - trents replied to ThomasA55's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      11

      Iron loss and potential celiac.

      "Risk free genetically"? Very low risk, actually. But, we are still learning about the genetics of celiac disease. Speaking of milk, some studies show that CMP (Cow's Milk Protein) can damage the small bowel villi like celiac disease does. Also, some meds (NSAIDS, Olmesartan - a blood pressure med) and some infections can also blunt SB villi.
    2. trents
      - trents replied to MicG's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Test interpretations

      @Aretaeus Cappadocia! The post you were looking for about omeprazol acting as an anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressant was made (yesterday, I believe) by knitty kitty. Current guidelines for the gluten challenge prior to an endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel is the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat flour...
    3. suek54
      - suek54 replied to BelleDeJour's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      11

      Dermatitis Herpetiformis - follow up dermatology appointment coming up

      Hi Belle, I saw eight different medics before the last one said she knew exactly what it was, so I understand where you are coming from there. And that's all it takes, just one medic who goes the extra mile to help you. I can only encourage you to keep querying the possibility of dermatitis herpetiformis and asking for the biopsy. If the biopsy is...
    4. Ginarwebb
      - Ginarwebb replied to MicG's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Test interpretations

      Good point - I was on omeprazole daily until about 6 months ago .. and just recently started taking them again hopefully only temporarily .. but I'll make sure to keep that in mind
    5. Aretaeus Cappadocia
      - Aretaeus Cappadocia replied to MicG's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Test interpretations

      You're welcome! After posting earlier today, I saw another post here (can't find it again, of course) suggesting that omeprazole also acts as an anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressant. You said you were treated for h. pylori - if you are currently taking a PPI you might want to ask your Dr if it could interfere with getting a clear biopsy result (an anti-inflammatory...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      134,115
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      10,442
    Ginarwebb
    Newest Member
    Ginarwebb
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.7k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Iron loss and potential celiac.

      By trents · Posted

      "Risk free genetically"? Very low risk, actually. But, we are still learning about the genetics of celiac disease. Speaking of milk, some studies show that CMP (Cow's Milk Protein) can damage the small bowel villi like celiac disease does. Also, some meds (NSAIDS, Olmesartan - a blood pressure med) and some infections can also blunt SB villi.
    • trents
      Test interpretations

      By trents · Posted

      @Aretaeus Cappadocia! The post you were looking for about omeprazol acting as an anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressant was made (yesterday, I believe) by knitty kitty. Current guidelines for the gluten challenge prior to an endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel is the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat flour bread) for at least two weeks prior to the day of the procedure. @Ginarwebb, your tTG-IGA >250 would seem to be a pretty high test result, though to be sure of that statement, I would need to see what the lab used for a "normal" range. Do you have that number also? Different labs use different scales. There isn't an industry standard yet. The tTG-IGA is the centerpiece of celiac blood antibody testing. Your ENDOMYSIAL ANTIBODY SCR (IGA) W/REFL TO TITER (aka, "EMA") is positive as well. This is an older test, and a relative expensive one, compared to the tTG-IGA which has largely replaced. But the EMA is still ordered by some docs and is highly reliable. That both of them agree in your case and this is strong evidence that you have celiac disease. Concerning the ENDOMYSIAL ANTIBODY TITER (aka, "total IGA") being high, there are two things of importance. First, it tells us you are not "IGA deficient" such that your tTG-IGA test result is reliable. Second, a high total IGA test score can suggest other health concerns, some of which are serious. It can also mean nothing. Talk to your doctor about this. I would also suggest you research the implications of a high total IGA. In addition to IGA celiac diagnostic tests there are also IGG tests which are handy when total IGA is sub normal.  Here is an article outlining the various tests that can be run for diagnosing celiac disease:  
    • suek54
      Dermatitis Herpetiformis - follow up dermatology appointment coming up

      By suek54 · Posted

      Hi Belle,  I saw eight different medics before the last one said  she knew exactly what it was, so I understand where you are coming from there. And that's all it takes, just one medic who goes the extra mile to help you. I can only encourage you to keep querying the possibility of dermatitis herpetiformis  and asking for the biopsy. If the biopsy is positive it opens the necessary doors for you going forward. If its negative you could have an allergy to wheat (as opposed to the autoimmune reaction, which is dermatitis herpetiformis). This could even explain why you feel better so quickly after cutting out gluten. Hang on in there.  Sue      
    • Ginarwebb
      Test interpretations

      By Ginarwebb · Posted

      Good point - I was on omeprazole daily until about 6 months ago .. and just recently started taking them again hopefully only temporarily .. but I'll make sure to keep that in mind
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      Test interpretations

      By Aretaeus Cappadocia · Posted

      You're welcome! After posting earlier today, I saw another post here (can't find it again, of course) suggesting that omeprazole also acts as an anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressant. You said you were treated for h. pylori - if you are currently taking a PPI you might want to ask your Dr if it could interfere with getting a clear biopsy result (an anti-inflammatory might calm the celiac inflammation and mask the damage enough to fool the biopsy). They may (or may not) recommend ramping down then taking a holiday until after the biopsy.
×
×
  • Create New...