Biopsy

[christtheking]

I have a question: my brother just had a biopsy that showed no celiac's des. So...should he bother with York, EnteroLab, etc?

Thanks!

[celiac3270]

Well, depending on how many samples were taken, it might be slightly inaccurate, so if he hasn't had the blood test, don't rule it out...if so, it's very dubious that he has celiac.

[FreyaUSA]

Just because he didn't test positive with the biopsy doesn't mean he's not gluten intolerant/sensitive or even just in the beginning stages of celiac disease. I think that is one very good reason why Enterolabs testing is better than the biopsy, thier tests let you know if you are intolerant/sensitive. Otoh, does he have pretty typical symptoms? If so, he could go on a gluten-free diet and see if they go away, that would let him know conclusively if he's gluten reactive, with or without the pronounced damage from full blown celiac disease. My symptoms (migraines, headaches, dragginess, generic who-knows-why gastro complaints, etc.) all disappeared within two weeks on a gluten-free diet.

[kvogt]

The success of the biopsy varies with the amount of damage. The more severely damaged, the more likely the biopsy will detect celiac. Symptoms on the other hand do not necessarily vary with damage. Some people show extreme symptoms with little or no detectable damage under biopsy. I say approach from the symptom side - if he stops eating gluten and gets better, that should tell him something significant, even if the doctor can not.