My First Post, Biopsy Next Week

[Robiond19]

Hi, Myname is Rob This i s my first post. I have experienced about three years of upper abdominal pain, near the rib on the right side. I have had many tests, blood work, endoscope, CT Scan and ultrasound of the whole abdomen. All that was found was some gastritis that my Doc prescribed Nexium for. After two months the Nexium caused severe diarrhea, it took five weeks of testing to figure out it was the Nexium, but at that time the thought of Celiac came up with my Gastroenterologist. Since tthe Diarrhea stopped we left the problem there BUT! the pain never stopped. I have EXTREME bloating and very foul gas (sorry to say). After eating I blow up and sometimes my stomach sounds as if it is churning. My new Gasrtro finally decided to scope me again and do a small bowel biopsy, the previous Dr. that scoped me neglected to do that. I am frustrated and feeling as if I am crazy. I almost cried last week when the CT scan showed nothing. How can I have all this pain and bloating and nothing?

I should have prefaced that I rarely went to doctors until last year. I am 52 y.o. male and very fit. I am a distance runner, cyclist and hoping to do the Chicago Triathlon this year so I really want to get past this. When I get bloated I look like I am preagnant about 6 months, especially since I am so thin anyway. I weigh 160 and am 6'0". Sometimes it looks like a big beer belly.

I do eat lots of carbs, that I am sure are loaded with gluten, because of my training. Lately my energy level seems off. I still can do my workouts but it leaves me really tired the rest of the day.

Anyway I don't have diarrhea anymore, I lost twelve pounds last summer from it, but my Bowel movements have not been normal for a long time. Sounds gross to talk about it but the feces are never formed anymore just very loose and watery and sometimes explosive.

So that's it in a nutshell. there has been much more but I'll stop here.

My question is : Will the biopsy be a definitive test for Celiac? Should I have the blood work also?

I really don't want to be sick but I really need an answer.

Thanks for any ideas, support and information.

Rob

[dlp252]

Hello, and welcome to the boards!

Well if they find damage to the villi in the samples they take, it is definitive. Many doctors only take a couple of samples and it's so easy to miss the damage...the more samples they take the better, but the damage can still be missed. I think personally, I'd want the blood tests too, since you haven't cut out gluten yet, this is your best shot at getting the most accurate testing possible, might as well get them both done. If both tests show nothing, you can always give the diet a try for a few months as it might be possible that you may have a sensitivity to gluten with no damage and could see improvement.

[Guhlia]

I agree with dlp, however, the gold standard of diagnosis is both biopsy and bloodwork positive. Luckily, after you get the biopsies and bloodwork out of the way, you can go gluten free immediately to see if the dietary change makes a difference. You don't need to wait on your results to try it. Many people test negative on both biopsy and bloodwork and still benefit greatly from the gluten free diet. It sounds as though these symptoms are troublesome enough that you may want to try the diet even if you test negative for Celiac. There's still the possibility for a gluten intolerance.

Welcome to the forum!

[mtdawber]

Welcome to the site! You should never be worried about sharing on the boards - everyone shares....thankfully we can because what we discuss is the not so fun part of our body functions....

I am fairly new as well. I would get all the tests you can as soon as you can. I am in Canada and have to wait to see the gastro until April !!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[Robiond19]

Hello, and welcome to the boards!

Well if they find damage to the villi in the samples they take, it is definitive. Many doctors only take a couple of samples and it's so easy to miss the damage...the more samples they take the better, but the damage can still be missed. I think personally, I'd want the blood tests too, since you haven't cut out gluten yet, this is your best shot at getting the most accurate testing possible, might as well get them both done. If both tests show nothing, you can always give the diet a try for a few months as it might be possible that you may have a sensitivity to gluten with no damage and could see improvement.

[Robiond19]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will ask the doc for the blood work as well although I feel uncomfortable asking for tests. I don't know why.

Also, is there pain associated with Celiac? I have had pain on the right side of my abdomen for a long long time. It is what started this whole thing to begin with. I though it was an ulcer or something like that. My Gastro says it is dyspepsia, whatever that is, but it occurs with the bloating and gas.

Thank you all again,

Rob

[jaten]

Thanks everyone for your input. I will ask the doc for the blood work as well although I feel uncomfortable asking for tests. I don't know why.

Also, is there pain associated with Celiac? I have had pain on the right side of my abdomen for a long long time. It is what started this whole thing to begin with. I though it was an ulcer or something like that. My Gastro says it is dyspepsia, whatever that is, but it occurs with the bloating and gas.

Thank you all again,

Rob

There can most certainly be pain associated with Celiac, but there doesn't have to be.

Your symptoms suggest the possibility of Celiac, but could also suggest other conditions. I know that you are tired of being sick and probably tired of drs and tests (especially when all the tests come back negative while the symptoms rage on).

The pain in your upper, right abdoment...is it a sharp or dull pain?

CT scans are good for locating gall stones. Gall bladder function can be poor or non-existent even in the absence of stones. Has your dr. mentioned/performed: 1) a gall blader functioning test (functioning at even a small percentage is still acceptable; there's a relatively low cut off for what's acceptable) and/or 2) a stomach-emptying scan.

You can Google for more information on the above.

Celiac? Something else? Celiac and something else? Hang in there and be persistent.

[PeggyV]

Rob,

II sympathize with you. I still don

[Robiond19]

There can most certainly be pain associated with Celiac, but there doesn't have to be.

Your symptoms suggest the possibility of Celiac, but could also suggest other conditions. I know that you are tired of being sick and probably tired of drs and tests (especially when all the tests come back negative while the symptoms rage on).

The pain in your upper, right abdoment...is it a sharp or dull pain?

CT scans are good for locating gall stones. Gall bladder function can be poor or non-existent even in the absence of stones. Has your dr. mentioned/performed: 1) a gall blader functioning test (functioning at even a small percentage is still acceptable; there's a relatively low cut off for what's acceptable) and/or 2) a stomach-emptying scan.

You can Google for more information on the above.

Celiac? Something else? Celiac and something else? Hang in there and be persistent.