Brother

[jaimek]

Okay, so my older brother has had the same exact symptoms as I have for years now (pain in his legs, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, etc.). My whole family got a blood test when I was diagnosed with Celiac, and they all came back negative. Since my brother is so thin and can't gain weight, and has all the same syptoms as I did, he decided to have an endoscopy too. He didn't go to the same doctor as me (my doctor specializes in Celiac) and his endoscopy came back negative, but they did find that he had acid reflux. Well, now his symptoms are getting worse (stomach pains/constipation/D) and the doctor is now saying he might have IBS. Is it possible that he has Celiac even though both tests came back negative? Is it also possible that the doctor didn't run all of the appropriate tests for the blood test or biopsy? Please help. I feel awful that he is so sick, but he won't get tested again since they both already came up negative.

[wolfie]

The biopsy can not rule out Celiac, it can only rule it in. The damage can be patchy and if the dr didn't do enough biopsies or get the damaged area, it won't show positive. Has he tried the gluten-free diet? I hope he finds some answers soon!

[Ursa Major]

He may be IgA deficient (I think that is right, somebody correct me otherwise), meaning that it's possible his body won't make the antibodies, even if damage is being done, in which case celiac disease wouldn't show up in the blood test. And a negative biopsy doesn't mean he doesn't have celiac disease. It could easily be a false negative.

Can you convince him to be tested by Enterolab? It is always accurate, because the stool tests are so much more sensitive and reliable. He sure sounds like he has celiac disease. IBS is one of those garbage diagnoses, when the doctor is clueless and won't admit it. Because an irritable bowel is a SYMPTOM not a cause of his problems. There is a reason his bowel isn't working right!