Could I Have Been A Celiac Previously?

[Dandelion]

My bloodtest came back negative, but my doctor felt that because of my symptoms and relief from not eating gluten that we should go ahead with the endoscopy and biopsy. To give you a little background, I was diagnosed with IBS two years ago, but never got any better no matter what I tried for it. This January I decided to try a gluten free diet to see if that would help and it worked wonders. Anyway, the biopsy results also came back negative. (Maybe because I was gluten free for over 3 months when I had it done?) The doctor diagnosed me as gluten intolerant due to dietary results. So my question is - even though my tests came back negative, could I have had celiacs before and just no longer had any damage or antibodies when the testing was done? Or is that not possible and the test would have shown that I had it? Can your villi heal that quickly? All I know is that gluten and I are not friends.

Sorry if this is stupid or has been answered before.

[pedro]

Hi

This is exactly what happen to me. This pass March I was so tired of all of the digestive problems. I made the decision to find out. That's when I came across this site, and find out about EnteroLabs. Finally I know now what is wrong with me. I have to go to the GI doc next week, I wonder what his going say when he sees the results.

You could have Celiac even if the blood test were negative. Have you had any genetic testing done??

I don't have the Celiac genes, but I have antibodies, damage and symptoms that Celiac's have.

Everyone that I have spoken told me that for an adults it takes several months to a year in order for the intestine to recover. I believe is all dependent on the amount of damage you have. Some people recover faster than others.

I like what you said about "All I know is that gluten and I are not friends".

Feel free to ask any questions we are here to help and to learn.

Many thanks and best regards to you.

Pedro

[ENF]

Hi

Everyone that I have spoken told me that for an adults it takes several months to a year in order for the intestine to recover. I believe is all dependent on the amount of damage you have. Some people recover faster than others.

It takes several months to a year for children's intestines to recover. The older you are, the longer it takes. I'm middlle-aged, and the Celiac Disease Center told me not to come back for another endoscopy and biopsy for two years, which is the minimum time it usually takes for an adult to show improvements using this test.

[Guest j_mommy]

If you were on a gluten-free diet for three months prior to the biopsy it is possible that your villi healed or they didn't take enough samples! It can effect one area and not the next!!!! For what i've been told you should be eating Gluten for atleast 1 month prior to getting teh biopsy.

all of this depends on when celiac presented itself. I've had these symptoms for 24 years, but they believe that my "triggering" event for Celiac was pregnancy two years ago. once you go gluten-free, your body starts to heal itself. It is possible that you villi grew back and healed before you biopsy...they may not have been what a normal/nonceliac would have been but they wouldn't have looked like a celiacs that's been eating gluten! I hope this isn't too confusing!

[Ursa Major]

Actually, it takes at least three to six months of eating gluten to even have a remote chance of getting a positive biopsy after you've been gluten-free for a while. One month is never enough.

Good for your doctor to diagnose you as gluten intolerant based on the good results you have on the diet. Who cares if it is celiac disease or gluten intolerance anyway, the treatment is the same, which is a gluten-free diet.

[VydorScope]

Okay, first off... the biopsy is NEVER EVER negative. It can NEVER EVER rule out celiac disease. That is just the nature of the test. The blood tests could easily show negative after 3 months gluten-free, and as Ursla said it take as while to build up the damage to a level that biopsy or blood test would detect. IN short, the method you used for your testing is not the most accurate. HOW EVER there is the simple diet test, which you did, and it is VERY accurate, and considered diagnostic.

The only dif between celiac disease and Gluten Intolerance is the biopsy results. Meaning IF you have done enough damage to your body AND the doctor was lucky enough to sample said damage, THEN you have celiac disease, else you "only" have gluten intolerance.

So yes, IMO, you DID have celiac disease, and still do. Treat it as such and you will have a much healthier brighter future.

[Dandelion]

Thank you all so much for your advice. It's comforting to know that you are out there. I will definitely stay gluten free since gluten and I can't seem to play nicely with each other.

[chrissy]

you are fortunate to have a doctor that recongnized gluten intolerance even with negative blood work and negative biopsies. i think it is possible that you could actually have celiac disease, but there is probably no way you will ever know for sure since you are gluten free. oh well, the treatment is the same, either way.