Blood Test Positive, gluten-free For 2 Weeeks Before Endoscopy

[MagicMonster]

Hello everyone,

 

I've been lurking the forums for some time now, probably like 3-4 weeks while I was struggling with my symptoms. Anyways, I went gluten-free two days before I had my blood drawn and had a positive blood test (with out question apparently), but I still have not received my results in the mail. The doctor just told me I was positive and that I would be going for an endoscopy. Fast foward 3 weeks total (1 week for GI doctor, 1 week endoscopy), or 3.2 weeks gluten-free, and I just had my endoscopy. Its been 2 hours since the procedure as of 3pm. Now, after all of the reading, I had asked the GI doctor if I needed to be on the gluten diet before the endoscopy, he said no as long as we did it withing 2 months of you going gluten-free.

 

Now in your opinion, do you think the endoscopy will come back positive? Should I have listened to him, or just started eating gluten once the endoscopy was scheduled? It was within a week once I met him. Regardless, I'm 100% its celiac and im going gluten free either way. I can't even eat a BITE of gluten without any symptoms.

 

To add, this is what the "during the procedure we found part" said,

Normal esophagus.

Erythema and friabilitty in the stomach compatible with erosive gastritis (biopsy)

Normal mucosa in the whole examined duodenum (biopsy)

 

Thank you for all the information regarding the blood tests, I just wish I physically had the papers to let you all know.

 

Thanks,

 

Magic.

[nvsmom]

Welcome to the board.  

 

It is pretty unusual to not see damage during the endoscopy.  Some have redness or irritation but most have to wait for the biopsy results - you are one of the majority here so try not to worry.  

 

Chances are that your intestines have not healed in two weeks of being gluten-free.  Most people take weeks or months for their autoantibody levels to fall back to normal, and during that time their intestines are still being attacked.  You should be okay.

 

Keep in mind that up to 20% of celiacs get a negative result on the endoscopic biopsy - the damage is missed somehow.  If you had (overwhelmingly) positive blood tests, then you still have celiac disease even if you end up being one of the minority who has a negative biopsy.  If this happens, and you still have doubts, just retest for celiac disease every six months after going gluten-free.  I'm sure you'll see autoantibody levels slowly begin to fall back to the negative range.

 

Happy healing.