Looking For Advice

[kpyoung24]

hey everyone! here's my dilemma... about 4 years ago i saw a gi doc after years of gi problems and months of trips to the hospital for SEVERE vomiting and d, i was very low in potassium, they got my levels up with an iv and sent me home. the gi did an egd and colonoscopy... i was diagnosed with IBS and duodenitis(which is another word for damaged villi according to my daughters gi), anyway my new doc tested me for celiac given my daughters positive tTG test, he ran a gliadin and ema test, nurse called today and said it was all negative, what now??????

[dbmamaz]

From what i've read around here, the standard response is - try the diet anyways. You dont need a doctor's orders to quit gluten! Go off for 6 weeks, then try going back on and see how you feel. Many of us here did it without testing, and were amazed at how much better we felt. You really dont have much to lose, except a few weeks of eating bread and stuff.

[Darn210]

I would try the diet. You have to do all the research, shopping and cooking for your daughter, anyway. I don't want to make light of that . . . that will entail a lot of work in the beginning. However, for you to go gluten-free at the same time won't be that much additional effort.

[kpyoung24]

I would try the diet. You have to do all the research, shopping and cooking for your daughter, anyway. I don't want to make light of that . . . that will entail a lot of work in the beginning. However, for you to go gluten-free at the same time won't be that much additional effort.

thanks for the advice everyone! is there such a thing as negative blood work and positive biopsy?? i ask because my daughter's gi said that there is no difference between "duodenitis", which i have been diagnosed with, and damaged/blunted villi. any info is appreciated!!!

[aikiducky]

A negative bloodwork/positive biopsy combination is actually quite common in adults. Your doctor might be willing to diagnose you without a repeat endoscopy?

Pauliina

[lightening16]

Hello

I am not expert but from what I have read on here, there are lots of people that have had similar things happen. The blood test are not perfect. Some sites they are are 92% effective but if you look on the enterolab site they discuss it furthur and it looks like depending on the person then the results can be as 30% accuracy.

I had negative blood test but a positive response to the diet. Did a gluten challenge for 2 weeks and know that I have a problem with gluten. I am supposed to go see a GI but that will take half a year. I am not waiting to go gluten free.

They say that the biopsy is the "gold standard"... not the blood test.

Good luck

[cruelshoes]

If it were me, I would try the diet anyway. It can happen for people to have negative bloodwork and positive biopsy results. Here is a link that may be of interest to you:

Open Original Shared Link

Both the anti-tTG and the EMA titers correlate with the severity of villous atrophy [26-29]. As a result in the presence of partial villous atrophy either antibody may be negative

This means that sometimes if your villi are still in the early stages of damage, your bloodwork may be negative - for now. Negative bloodwork does not mean you don't have celiac disease. Did they take samples during your endoscopy? If so, I would try to get ahold of the pathology report to see what the findings were.

[kpyoung24]

thank you everyone for your very helpful replies!! everyone here is so supportive!! i looked into that link and the research that is sighted there is really interesting, thx for the tip! im going to call my old gi tomorrow and request a copy of my records, hopefully that will help. my current doctor is mailing a copy of my lab results to me as well. hopefully i can put all the pieces together. i just know that I've got ALL the symptoms, including all the yucky gi stuff, the infertility issues, an unexplained rash on both elbows, and the diagnosis of hypothyroidism about 4 years ago. i just want answers so i can start feeling better. with any luck I'll get some, even if i don't i think I'll try the diet anyway. thx again everyone!! im sure you haven't seen the last of me...lol!