Test Confusion

[writerscramp]

I am new here, and have a few questions. I have only been gluten-free for a week and a half and I have such tremendous relief! I am awaiting my blood work results. My Pc had mentioned a possible biopsy pending the results. I have recently had a endoscopy for GERD. Wouldnt Celiacs have been discovered then? MY pc said no, and that we need to check the colon. I havent seen anyone here mention the colon, so I am confused. I am sure my Pc knows what she is talking about. I think I will go ahead with the colonoscopy, if she thinks i need one. I had one about 3 yrs ago, but this was before all of my celiacs symptoms really got fired up.

Oh, and another question. I just stocked up on gluten-free foods from the local health food store and i had a mild reaction from the gluten-free english muffins i bought. Could it be something as simple as using the same toaster I use for my "normal" bread? It is hard to believe that a few crumbs can cause that much drama in such a short time. (I felt like a ate a bowling ball and woke up gassy)

Ok, thats all the questions i can think of for now. Im sure I will find more.

[Lisa]

I am new here, and have a few questions. I have only been gluten-free for a week and a half and I have such tremendous relief! I am awaiting my blood work results. My Pc had mentioned a possible biopsy pending the results. I have recently had a endoscopy for GERD. Wouldnt Celiacs have been discovered then? MY pc said no, and that we need to check the colon. I havent seen anyone here mention the colon, so I am confused. I am sure my Pc knows what she is talking about. I think I will go ahead with the colonoscopy, if she thinks i need one. I had one about 3 yrs ago, but this was before all of my celiacs symptoms really got fired up.

Oh, and another question. I just stocked up on gluten-free foods from the local health food store and i had a mild reaction from the gluten-free english muffins i bought. Could it be something as simple as using the same toaster I use for my "normal" bread? It is hard to believe that a few crumbs can cause that much drama in such a short time. (I felt like a ate a bowling ball and woke up gassy)

Ok, thats all the questions i can think of for now. Im sure I will find more.

Welcome,

An endoscopy exams MAY see some damage to the villi or scalloping of the intestines which would indication Celiac. Through the same proceedure biopsies can be taken to further test for Celiac in the small intestines.

A colonoscopy of the large intestines may look for other issues, not Celiac.

Cross contamination is a very real thing. When you do go totally gluten free, it is suggested that you get a dedicated toaster, wooded spoons, new cutting board and examine your scratched pots and pans. Gluten can hide anywhere. One crumb will not give you diarrhea, one crumb will set off the immune reaction which will give you the bloating and diarrhea.

There is lots to learn.

[GlutenWrangler]

A colonoscopy won't help you to be diagnosed with celiac disease. However, an endoscopy with biopsies from mulitple locations would be very helpful, combined with your blood test results.

[writerscramp]

Alrighty, my blood work came back negative. I am going to remain glutenfree regardless. I will check back in with my pc and see where we go from here. Im a little disappointed, but the dietary response is impossible to ignore.

[aeshlea]

Your response to going gluten free is really all you need to feel better. But a lot of people feel they need more then that..or at least it validates them to get a test positive. One thing you could look into would be going through enterolab. Enterolab is semi-controversial on here as not everyone believes Dr. Fines tests should qualify as a way to test for gluten intolerance. I however believe that until I read otherwise, his tests are on the cutting edge for testing. Blood tests and endoscopy exams, like others have mentioned, may or may not show you what you are finding out on your own by going gluten free. If you feel you want to try another route, I would try enterolab.

[lizard00]

My blood test came back negative, too. At first I was disappointed because I thought I was on to something. And then I realized I still was on to something. I did my own test and discovered that gluten was giving me fierce headaches and fatigue. By the time I did bloodwork, I was gluten free for almost a month. Whether that skewed the results, I don't know. But I do know that I feel so much better. I also had the brain fog... which I didn't realize until recently. I am going tomorrow to a GI about another problem, and while I am going to get his opinion about the gluten problem,(and if they're related) I am going to resist every effort to do a gluten challenge. Once you feel better, you realize just how bad you felt. For me, it's just not worth having to feel bad for a few months to get him to say "Yes, you have this problem."

It's a personal choice though, and it took me a while to come to my decision. Do what you feel is the best for you.