Should I stop eating gluten after endoscopy before I get results?

[randophantom]

Hello,

I just tested positive for celiac in two different blood panels and have a vitamin A deficiency and was referred for an endoscopy. Does anyone know if false positives are common and do people usually go gluten free as soon as the endoscopy is done? I have a one month wait between the endoscopy and seeing the GI and don't want to be damaging my body more if I have it.

Thanks.

[trents]

False positives are not common but do happen. Yes, if the endoscopy confirms the blood antibody test, you should go gluten-free immediately. It is common for Celiacs to have vitamin and mineral deficiencies, although most of the time the deficiencies are found in the B-complex spectrum. Are you experiencing symptoms appropriate to celiac disease or is the vitamin A deficiency what led to the blood antibody tests for celiac disease?

Edited September 30, 2020 by trents

[randophantom]

5 minutes ago, trents said:

False positives are not common but do happen. Yes. If the endoscopy confirms the blood antibody test, you should go gluten-free immediately. It is common for Celiacs to have vitamin and mineral deficiencies, although most of the time the deficiencies are found in the B-complex spectrum. Are you experiencing symptoms appropriate to celiac disease or is the vitamin A deficiency what led to the blood antibody tests for celiac disease?

I have been have celiac related symptoms and my sister and aunt have celiac so that's why I was tested. They tested for deficiencies after the celiac panel was positive and that's when they found the vitamin a deficiency and high iron levels. 

[trents]

High iron levels? Usually, with Celiac Disease people get anemic if anything. When you speak of high iron levels are you referring to ferritin or hemoglobin?

[randophantom]

The labs just call it iron and show that I have low UIBC and high iron saturation. The primary care I saw was thinking that it was either related to celiac or hemochromatosis. 

[docaz]

2 hours ago, randophantom said:

I have been have celiac related symptoms and my sister and aunt have celiac so that's why I was tested. They tested for deficiencies after the celiac panel was positive and that's when they found the vitamin a deficiency and high iron levels. 

(I am in a different field but I would not let my patients dangle for a month before discussing a biopsy result and you might be able to speak to your doctor over the phone but still keeping your follow up appointment for a more detailed discussion.) In any case, If the celiac panel was (really) positive, it is very likely that you will have to go on a gluten-free diet regardless if the endoscopy is positive or negative and therefore it might be a good time to transition to a gluten-free diet. Vitamin deficiency can for sure be related to celiac disease but for that to happen, the intestine has to be severely inflamed and therefore it might not be related to that and must be investigated separately. High iron levels are most likely a separate condition.