Colonoscopy W/ Endoscopy/biopsy?

[superfob]

So I saw a gastroenterologist this past week about getting additional testing for Celiac. He said it was very unlikely I would have it as my TTG was negative, but is willing to do a biopsy. He also wants to do a colonoscopy on me since I was telling him about my symptoms of D and abnormal stools over the past several months. When I mentioned my other symptoms which were bothering me way more than the bowel movements (fatigue, poor memory, tingling and pain in body parts, back and leg weakness), he didn't seem too concerned and wanted to focus primarily on my gastro symptoms - hence the colonoscopy and screening for inflammatory bowel disease or other possible causes.

Do you think the colonoscopy is necessary? I've already scheduled the two procedures (he's gonna do them on the same day) - going to be about a month away, but am hoping for cancellations so I can be bumped up. But the thought of getting a colonoscopy definately does not sound fun to me - I'm only in my early twenties, plus the preparation sounds like its going to lead hypoglycemia/weakness for me as I need to be on a liquid diet the day before.

Also, how many samples should I request him take for the biopsy? I'm thinking 6-8, since he mentioned that he would need to take 4 during our appointment.

Thanks

[mushroom]

He is concentrating on what he knows - the gastrointestinal tract. It has been my experience that GI's don't know much about the other symptoms of celiac, the numbness and tingling,weakness, fatigue, memory problems, joint pain, etc., let alone that they are related to celiac disease. The colonoscopy will rule out things like Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, etc. so may not be a bad thing. If you have problems with hypoglycemia you should discuss this with him before you do the prep. There are different kinds of prep you can use, some may be better for you than others. I will admit it is not a fun day but most of us don't have to do it very often

[NancyL]

plus the preparation sounds like its going to lead hypoglycemia/weakness for me as I need to be on a liquid diet the day before.

I don't really know the do's and don't's of hypoglycemia but wanted to tell you that I just had a colonoscopy (my 3rd at 42) and my prep consists of 1 boiled egg and 1 piece of dry white toast for breakfast the day before, then 4 laxatives at noon (drink as much as you want including soda, eat jello and chicken broth) and then in the evening, you drink 64 ounces of Gatoraide (mixed with Miralax). Not sure if that will help you with hypoglycemia or not but I was thinking that you need sugar to counter-act hypoglycemia? The prep isn't great, but compared to my first prep (which involved lots of mineral oil, EWWWWW), it's a breeze. I also second that there are different preps that can be done (as I've had two completely different preps out of the 3 colonoscopy's).