Is there a test to know if your ' Villi ' have healed?

[Zprime]

Other than an Endoscopy, Is there a way / test to know if your Villi are healing / healed?

My Celiac Screen came back negative recently after 6 months of gluten-free, and my TTGA Levels are all normal as normal can be.

However I was Marsh Stage 3 b in March ( Scary stuff... ), I'd love to figure out if I'm healing.

I'd love to get a follow up Endoscopy but the doctors in Canada won't do it until a year has passed... This seems like an incredibly long amount of time to be ' not absorbing nutrients '. 

[RMJ]

Congratulations on getting your antibody levels down!  It is very likely that your villi are at least better than they were,  Unfortunately the only way to tell for sure if villi have healed is to look at them (i.e. endoscopy).  

[cyclinglady]

I think your GIs in Canada are wise.  They know that for most celiacs it takes up to a year to expect intestinal healing and to resolve systemic issues.  That is because damage varies and the learning curve for the gluten-free diet is steep.

The antibodies testing for celiac disease was designed for diagnosing celiac disease and not for dietary compliance.  However, it is the only non-invasive testing available.  In my case, my antibodies remained elevated even when my repeat endoscopy revealed a healed small intestine and I was initially a Marsh Stage IIIB like you.  

Keep in mind that an endoscopy is still a medical procedure that has some risks.  I waited over five years before my repeat endoscopy and I did it only because I was not getting well after a gluten exposure a year earlier.  

My advice?  Just move forward and remain gluten free.  I bet you are not even low on nutrients (but who knows as I am not a doctor and I do not know you).   I am basing that on my iron-deficiency anemia which is a common symptom of celiac disease.    My ferritin (iron stores) were a 2 at diagnosis and within months it increased  to 25 and within a year, it was a 55.  My hemoglobin rose fast taking me out of anemia (I was so anemic my doctor’s kept insisting on blood transfusions).  Just make sure you are consuming a well-balanced gluten-free diet.  If you only are consuming potato chips and soda, then ask your GP to run a nutritional panel.  But do not expect to remain healthy on junk food!  That applies to anyone.  

Edited August 29, 2019 by cyclinglady

[kareng]

Here’s why you aren’t “ not absorbing nutrients”.  You small intestine is 16 feet long ( approx).  All of it is not damaged in the first place.  If it had been, you would have been a mess.  Put  good nutritious food in there and all the good  parts can “ eat” it .  As you start healing, more spots will be able to “absorb “ the nutrients.