Anyone see a doctor 1+ year after going gluten free?

[JM12]

I went gluten free a little over a year ago. I didn't see a doctor before doing this or get the proper testing. I didn't have insurance at the time and I was financially not in a good spot. It was definitely the solution to my problems, whether Celiac or NCGS. I do have health insurance now, and I'm considering seeing a doctor about my gut health. I know the blood test won't show anything (I already tested that which showed good results), but I'm curious about what an endoscopy might show. I will NEVER try a gluten challenge again, so I think the boat for a celiac diagnosis has sailed, which is fine, but I feel like why not see.

My gastro problems are minor (in my opinion). My stomach is still generally sensitive to things like processed food, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, sometimes pork, etc. Nothing major or severe like some members here, but I've been dealing with reactive hypoglycemia which has been a big deal, and have never had my gut health looked at. I did see a GP recently, and we spent time talking about something unrelated I'm dealing with (kidney problem), and I brought up seeing a gastro or looking into my gut health, she basically said she thought it probably wasn't necessary since I've been doing well on a gluten-free diet. I'm honestly ok with that. Considering I'm still recovering and have never seen a gastro, it's been something on my mind. Wondering if anyone else didn't see a doctor for the first time until after going gluten-free, or had an endoscopy.

[Scott Adams]

It might be a tough sell to have your insurance company cover a biopsy if you've been gluten-free for a long time. In genera they want you to do a gluten challenge, and do this to make an official diagnosis, and provide follow up care (which rarely happens!). Since you're opposed to a gluten challenge, you could get stuck with the bill for a biopsy...not sure how your insurance works, but most only pay for things like this when you follow certain protocols.

You may want to consider food sensitivity testing, for example ALCAT offers this (disclosure that they have also been a sponsor of this site in the past), to see if you may have issues with other foods.