Going For Endoscopy

[TheLindtBunny2011]

Heya everyone,

To clear up my acne I went on a diet that is Gluten/Soya/Dairy/Corn/Fruit/Nightshade free and anti-inflammatory.

It really helped for my skin.

Now if I have any gluten by accident I feel horrible! I get very bad stomach pains, bloating, diarrhea and my emotions are all over the place...

I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and someone suggested I get tested for Celiac.

So far i went for:

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA and IgG

but came back fine. Doc said it's because I've been gluten-free.

If I have the endoscopy done do I have to eat gluten before?

I really don't want to because it seriously messes me up and my skin looks horrible with scars that stay for 6 months.

What is the benefit of the procedure? Can genetic tests give me the same info?

What is cheaper between the genetic tests and the endoscopy? (My medical plan doesn't cover either)

Any info will be greatly appreciated!

[mushroom]

Welcome to the forum, Lindtbunny.

I guess I would have one question for you: You have just put in a lot of time and effort making yourself healthy and clearing up your skin, and proving along the way that you should not eat gluten. Why would you want to pay for expensive testing (and perhaps even gluten yourself up again), to prove to yourself that you really should not eat gluten?

I mean, I know doctors get hung up on diagnoses, and sometimes the patients do too, but when you think about it, what will you do if the testing is not positive? Will you go back to eating gluten? If the answer is no, then what really is the point of the testing? As you have found out, if you are gluten intolerant and have been gluten free for some time, your symptoms from eating gluten are usually much worse. If you have been gluten free, the recommended amount of time of gluten consumption to secure a valid test result is two months, at the equivalent of 3-4 slices of bread per day. Are you really willing to hurt yourself this much so you can have a formal diagnosis placed in your file, confirming something you already know?

So yes, your doctor is right, your results would be definitely negative if you were faithfully following a gluten free diet. And in order to have the biopsy you would have to eat gluten as above. The genetic test, obviously, does not require the consumption of gluten, but it also does not diagnose celiac disease. It only tells you if you have the predisposition to develop it.

There are many people on this forum who quit eating gluten before they were ever tested, and very few of them have done the full two-months eating gluten to be tested. I am one of them. Now, in fairness, there are posters on here who have tortured themselves with the challenge. And sadly some of them have ended up with negative test results because they are not celiac (strictly defined as having a certain level of gliadin antibodies in the blood and/or damaged villi in the small intestine upon biopsy), but who are nevertheless what has come to be referred to as non-celiac gluten intolerant. Some doctors do not recognize this diagnosis but the more enlightened are beginning to accept it.

So the decision is entirely yours. My vote would be to consider yourself diagnosed . You already have Hashimoto's which is an autoimmune disease closely linked with gluten intolerance and if I were you I would not voluntarily put any more gluten into my body.and do it further harm.

[TheLindtBunny2011]

Hi Mushroom,

It's a really good point you're making!

The two reasons I would go for the endoscopy is:

1.) In case I have bowel cancer or something nasty as I read some people with celiac disease get.

2.) My mom and sister think I'm just being a hypochondriac. (above statement would probably make this true)

I'm pretty sure I have celiac disease from what I have read but I'd like to know if I should throw out my pots and pans and probably the kitchen sink because I am celiac disease or if I should just simply avoid the majority of gluten foods just to clear my skin.

I wouldn't want to inconvenience my friends and family more than I need to.

Can it just be IBS or something? Or does the Hashimoto's make it pretty definitely celiac disease.

[mushroom]

An endoscopy does not diagnose bowel cancer or ulcerative colitis - you have to start from the other end for that It could identify if you had Crohn's disease, but you would not have to be eating gluten for that finding, if that was what he was trying to rule out. The reason I asked the question is because of this statement you made:

Now if I have any gluten by accident I feel horrible! I get very bad stomach pains, bloating, diarrhea and my emotions are all over the place.

These are all classic symptoms of a problem with gluten, especially the part about your emotions. So far as i know these emotional symptoms do not occur with the other diseases I have mentioned.

IBS is not a diagnosis; it is a description of symptoms for which no cause has been determined. I think by your own statement you have indicated the cause of your symptoms - gluten. The link between gluten and Hashimoto's/other thyroid problems is very strong - thyroid testing is one of the first tests recommended after establishing any gluten intolerance, along with testing of nutrient levels like Vit.D, B12, folate, magnesium, zinc and ferritin, because these are all things that your body may have been unable to absorb because of the gluten. My thyroid levels were off and I take medication for it. I also take D and B12 injections, and supplement with folate, magnesium and zinc. My ferritin was fine.

Based on your reported reaction to gluten, just eating gluten "lite" would not work, it would need to be as strict as celiac. Doctors have implanted in peoples' minds that celiac is the thing to worry about, and if it isn't celiac you don't have to worry, but that's not true, gluten intolerants have to be just as strict as celiacs and you cannot test for non-celiac gluten intolerance at this time. That's why the doctors do not believe in it so much, because they can't get a lab result which says you have it, it is a diagnosis by elimination.

[TheLindtBunny2011]

An endoscopy does not diagnose bowel cancer or ulcerative colitis - you have to start from the other end for that It could identify if you had Crohn's disease, but you would not have to be eating gluten for that finding, if that was what he was trying to rule out.

Wow! That is really cool to know! No point putting myself through the endoscope then.

It's really hard to figure it all out, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

I have the self discipline of an anorexic and I don't cheat at all, but I'm still getting lots of stomach ache and diarrhea.