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Blood tests vs biopsy

Dp0155

By Dp0155
in Doctors

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Dp0155 Rookie
Dp0155
Posted

Hi guys, 

I last week received diagnosis of celiac via blood tests and what the dr described as “pretty much 100% certain you are celiac as we don’t usually see numbers like that”. I suffered from severe symptoms nausea , vomiting , stomach pains , bloating. I dropped 6kg in weight rapidly and my state was awful to say the least especially as an advid athlete. 

I was advised by the dr to go gluten free immediately and the difference has been astounding. I can train again with increased strength , I can get outta bed some days I just couldn’t , no more nausea ect. I’m also on vitb12 and iron pills as I was also malabsorpbing. 
 

I was advised follow up appointments would be made and I now have an appointment with my dr to discuss a biopsy. I mean as I understand it’s the gold standard for testing in adults but my dr seems to be convinced I’m celiac, so it did take me by shock when she said once the biopsy date comes through I would need to eat gluten again for 6 weeks. Like what am I meant to do be happy with feeling horrendous again for 6 weeks and get weak ! Seems so counter productive to me. I’m just wondering if anyone else has had Similar issues and if I should contest a biopsy or not ? 
 

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

While I think an endoscopy to obtain biopsies can be very valuable (benchmark), getting one now during this pandemic seems risky.  Your blood tests were high and you responded to the diet.  You would have to do a gluten challenge of 2 to 4 weeks (for endoscopy, longer for blood tests) which can be pure misery once you have been gluten free.  If you need a solid diagnosis, consider waiting until this crisis is over.  In the meantime, in six months, repeat the blood tests to see if they are trending downward.  Consider a genetic test too.  Many doctors will give you a formal diagnosis based on all these results.  

  • 1 month later...
Larzipan Rookie
Larzipan
Posted

Hi there, I'm not a medical professional but I had a very similar experience. I got a very high result on my blood test and my gastro doctor thought it was pretty definite that I had Celiacs Disease. They wanted me to do a colonoscopy and an endoscopy to 100% confirm it, which I could not afford so I turned it down. I've been eating gluten free since November and all of my symptoms have gone away. I feel very confident that I have Celiacs even though I didn't get a biopsy. I no longer have nausea, chronic diarrhea, migraines, anxiety/depression, and terrible joint pain after quitting gluten. I personally don't think it's necessary to get a biopsy if you can feel your body healing itself while being gluten free. I don't think it's worth the pain of eating gluten again for weeks to get further proof that an ingredient really hurts your insides, but that's just me haha.  

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