Can I still have celiac disease of the biopsies came back normal?

[Lilbarista]

A couple weeks ago I had the upper and lower scopes done. My gastroenterologist called me this morning telling me that everything looked fine. She told me that my blood work wasn't great because I have low ferritin and high b12. Is it possible to have celiacs even if the biopsies  came back normal?

[StephanieL]

Did they run ay Celiac disease serology on you?  That would have been the typical first place to start.

As for the biopsy- Celiac isn't something that attacks the entire lining of the intestines, it's patchy at best so it is possible to miss it esp. if the Dr. didn't take enough biopsies to begin with. I would start with asking for a copy of the patho report and seeing how many samples were taken. 

[Lilbarista]

28 minutes ago, StephanieL said:

Did they run ay Celiac disease serology on you?  That would have been the typical first place to start.

As for the biopsy- Celiac isn't something that attacks the entire lining of the intestines, it's patchy at best so it is possible to miss it esp. if the Dr. didn't take enough biopsies to begin with. I would start with asking for a copy of the patho report and seeing how many samples were taken. 

I'm sure she did that first. I go in on the 7th to talk to her about my pain and what can be done. I'll ask for a copy of everything. 

[Celiac Nutritionist]

They need to have taken at least 4-6 samples for accuracy.    Many GI don't know this yet and only take one or two.

Question both your Gastroenterologist and the pathologist to ensure that they are both familiar with Celiac disease.

 

To respond to your question about if its still possible... maybe yes.   If enough samples were not taken, it will not give you accurate results.

Also, they may not have shown "enough" damage yet to be "classified" as Celiac.

-When you get your reports back (always always take a copy home for your own file!)  check to see if they say anything like "mild Villus atrophy" or "non specific duodenities"

Hope that helps!

Kendra