Do I Absolutely Need A Endoscopy?

[Kelevandras]

Hey again,

I was diagnosed with Celiac's per my test results below. Does this alone prove beyond a doubt that I have Celiac's?

I would like to know if I should request an endoscopy (The "golden standard" according to Celiac's Disease for Dummies") when I go to AGH Pittsburghs Celiac Clinic on 12/13. Any advice would be appreciated I would rather avoid having a tube shoved down my throat but would want 100% certainty if the blood tests alone don't confirm.

[Skylark]

Endomysial antibodies (EMA) are strongly indicative of celiac disease. Even if you had a normal biopsy now, in a prospective study of people who were EMA+, most converted to celiac biopsies within five years. There are also articles in the literature encouraging doctors to diagnose people with strongly positive bloodwork like yours as celiac without the invasive endoscopy. EMA is not caused by any other health condition, and with the anti-TTG IgA and IgG up as well, it's not likely a false positive from the lab test.

You need to talk with your doctor and be sure there is nothing else he feels necessary to rule out by endoscopy. As far as celiac, if you are not celiac by biopsy today, you will likely be eventually if you keep eating gluten.

[cassP]

i think your blood tests are proof enough! if i were u- i wouldnt worry about an endoscopy- i would save that procedure (time & money) for later on when you need to have a regular check or if you have any worries you want to rule out.

[Kelevandras]

Thanks! I was just making sure. My Endocrinologist was the one who diagnosed me. Not that I didn't trust her, I just didn't want to have something worse the celiac's that they would have found with an endoscopy. Thats good though like I said I was not keen on the thought of having a tube shoved down my throat . I knew that sometimes the IGG and IGA could be high due to other conditions, but I didnt realize what the endomysial meant. It works out because I had started the Gluten Free diet before I read about the "gold standard"...

[SaraKat]

My blood results were worse than yours and I still opted for the endoscopy- I wanted to see how severe the damage was and to see if anything else was going on. The endoscopy was not bad at all and I am the type that used to faint from getting blood drawn. You don't feel anything- you just wake up in a recovery room. I was in at 6:30 and out driving home (by my husband) at 8:45. Good luck!