Pro's & Con's Of Gluten Challenge - Endoscopy - Biopsy

[MurrayM]

Hi there,

(A short history) 5 years ago I had plantar fasciitis and searched the Internet for ways to get more calcium into my system. I kept stumbling into Celiac websites regarding malabsorption issues, read the symptoms of Celiac Disease one day and said, "Hey! That's Me!!! I took gluten out of my diet and felt great. When I told my Doctor about it around 6 months later we did blood tests which came back negative...I didn't know they would come back negative because I was off gluten. I stayed on a gluten free diet since then anyways, because of how much my life had improved.

A couple months ago I was refered to our local General Surgeon for a colonoscopy (regarding a seperate issue) and I told him about my old symptoms and how they went away when I took gluten out of my diet. Unlike my regular Doctor, he's almost 100% sure I am Celiac but suggests I should consider going on a gluten challenge, then have an endoscopy/biopsy to see "for sure".

I don't want to put my body through all that abuse without feeling confident it's the right thing to do. So, what do you think? What did you learn from yours? Was it worth it? What are the pro's and con's?

(Part of my considering this is we have a 5 year old daughter and I would do anything for her...especially if I could warn her "for sure" of her susceptibility for Celiac Disease).

Murray

[Nancym]

Unfortunately there's no guarantee's that after 6 or so weeks of eating gluten your intestines will be damaged. So what will you end up with for the pain and discomfort? Nothing really, except your doctor will be convinced you made the whole thing up and might even convince you of that. Really, the only thing a diagnosis will do is have the word "celiac sprue" written on your medical chart. Other than that, nothing really changes.

If I had kids they wouldn't eat gluten. I don't believe it is healthy for anyone.

[Jestgar]

(Part of my considering this is we have a 5 year old daughter and I would do anything for her...especially if I could warn her "for sure" of her susceptibility for Celiac Disease).

If you had full-blown, near-death Celiac, or absolutely unequivocally NO Celiac you still wouldn't know how to warn your daughter. Half of her genetic makeup is from someone else, and you have no way of knowing what that mix has produced.

Is it worth the torture of a gluten challenge to prove to the physician that you feel better when you don't eat gluten? Consider, instead, teaching your daughter that she has a great deal of control over her own health and can make decisions about what she should and should not eat based on her own reactions, not someone else's opinion.