Celiac test during routine GERD endoscopy

[bethwhite06]

Hello all. 

I went in today for my normal 3 year endoscopy to monitor my GERD and esophageal hernia. During the procedure they apparently did several biopsies, found a polyp which they removed, and then said they did some "additional testing" for celiac disease, food intolerance, and stomach acid sampling. No one discussed celiac testing with me prior to this procedure and they wouldn't give me information after. They said they would discuss it at the follow up in 2 weeks. Is it normal to get tested for Celiac during a routine endoscopy? Did they see something? I'm freaking out and not looking forward to the two week wait. Anyone else find out they have celiac this way? 

[trents]

Historically, it hasn't been routine but because the diagnosed incidence of celiac disease continues to rise and be much higher than was believed even 15-20 years ago when I was diagnosed it may be something that is becoming routine, especially if there are other symptoms that are often found in conjunction with celiac disease, like GERD and other food intolerances. I hope it does become routine to check for celiac disease when endoscopies are done. There is really no reason not to. In some European countries, like Italy, they routinely screen children for celiac disease via antibody testing.

[GFinDC]

Hi Beth,

Usually they use a microscope to check for damage to the villi lining of the small intestine.  But if the damage is severe enough they can see it with the naked eye through the endoscope.  So my guess is they saw obvious damage and decided to do biopsy samples to check under a microscope.  Then again the last time i guessed lotto numbers i didn't win.  So there's that.

 

[Scott Adams]

@bethwhite06 Welcome to the forum!

I would not freak out and wait for the results. If you do have celiac disease it's much, much better that you know than to not know. Most people with celiac disease don't have obvious symptoms, but their health risks are the same whether they have symptoms or not. 

They may also want to do a blood test to confirm a diagnosis, so you probably should keep eating gluten until your doctor tells you otherwise.