Mistaken Diagnosis ?

[Sharon Marie]

I was diagnosed with celiac disease, My villi were nearly gone. Is it possable for this to have been caused by something else besides wheat ?? This is all still so new and overwhelming to me.

[JNBunnie1]

I was diagnosed with celiac disease, My villi were nearly gone. Is it possable for this to have been caused by something else besides wheat ?? This is all still so new and overwhelming to me.

I've never heard of anything else that does it, perhaps someone else will chime in. The standard among medical professionals is that if there is villous blunting of the small intestine, then you have Celiac. There is no other possible diagnosis that I am aware of.

[Guest j_mommy]

I agree, you have celiac disease.

It is hard at first but you get the hang of it.

[Ursa Major]

Even though the most common cause of blunted villi is celiac disease, there are other causes.

Here is a quote from one website:

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Although villous atrophy is not exclusive of celiac disease, it is considered a crucial finding. Other causes of blunted villi include tropical sprue, malnutrition, intolerance to cow's milk, soy protein intolerance, and infectious gastroenteritis. However, most of these conditions can be readily excluded on the basis of clinical history and laboratory data.

Here is another quote:

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Blunted villi can be seen in conditions of bacterial overgrowth as well as partially treated gluten sensitive enteropathy.

I've also found some sites that say that a Cryptosporidium infection will cause blunted villi.

[aikiducky]

As far as I know, though, if the villi are nearly gone like the original poster said, it's more likely celiac. The other things I think cause damage but not as thorough damage.

To the original poster: one part of the process of learning to deal with a big life change is denial. It's normal to keep hoping that it might be something else, but hopefully you'll start feeling better on the gluten free diet and after a while you get used to it. hang in there!

Pauliina

[JNBunnie1]

Fortunately, all those other things are much easier to eliminate from the list of possibles than Celiac.

[Sharon Marie]

I feel so foolish! I just now found all your reply s ! I am still struggleing with denial.... the reason being that I wasn't feeling THAT BAD.

Thanks for all your responses!

In the future I will know how to find responses!

I have nearly become addicted to all the forums. I am trying to learn and understand, otherwise how can I possably expect my family and friends to understand.......

Thanks again!

Sharon Marie