Blood Test, Biopsy

[leighannh2]

After several years of progressing symptoms, I decided to see my doctor. She ordered tests for Chron's disease and celiac disease,among other things, and the results should be in next week. So, my question is, if my blood test is positive, will I need to also have the biopsy done?

And another one, I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere, sorry for the repeat, but if it comes back negative but I want to try going gluten free, how much time should I give the diet to work?

I've found it very interesting to read about gall bladder disease and celiac disease. I started having problems about a year before I had surgery to remove my gall bladder, which was diseased and full of stones. However, looking back,even before that I had sporadic problems all through my twenties (gastritis, ulcer) So I'm wondering if all this is related some how.

Thanks everyone and I'll check back in with my results next week.

[leighannh2]

BTT

I guess I should clarify my question somewhat, if the blood test is positive for celiac disease, how necessary is the biopsy?

[cyberprof]

After several years of progressing symptoms, I decided to see my doctor. She ordered tests for Chron's disease and celiac disease,among other things, and the results should be in next week. So, my question is, if my blood test is positive, will I need to also have the biopsy done?

And another one, I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere, sorry for the repeat, but if it comes back negative but I want to try going gluten free, how much time should I give the diet to work?

I've found it very interesting to read about gall bladder disease and celiac disease. I started having problems about a year before I had surgery to remove my gall bladder, which was diseased and full of stones. However, looking back,even before that I had sporadic problems all through my twenties (gastritis, ulcer) So I'm wondering if all this is related some how.

Thanks everyone and I'll check back in with my results next week.

I'm not sure if you had positive blood results or not. But I'll try to answer your questions in a logical order.

If your blood test is postive, it is unlikely that you don't have celiac. The blood test measure anti-bodies that a person's body makes against - in this case - gluten. If your body is making gliadin anti-bodies, there are not many other things that could cause this.

If your blood test is negative, things are less clear. You could still have celiac because the test has a large incidence of "false negatives". Like me- my biopsy was positive, blood tests were negative.

The other thing is that you could have an early case of celiac that doesn't show up in blood tests or you could be gluten intolerant, which won't show up in tests.

Some docs will diagnose celiac with positive blood work and good response to the diet (that is, if a patient's symptoms go away after going gluten-free), most won't. The decision to have a biopsy or not is a personal one. Some people want the true diagnosis to help them stay on the diet. Others feel so good and they don't care what a doctor says. Kids are more likely to need a diagnosis (to get teachers and schools to help the celiac follow the diet): The only other reason to really need a diagnosis is if you are in the UK or Canada, where you get tax breaks or reduced cost gluten-free food if you have a true celiac diagnosis. Others need a celiac diagnosis because sometimes friends, families and employers don't believe them (sadly).

You should decide if you want to have the biopsy before you go gluten-free because once you go gluten-free the tests are no longer valid. (no gluten= no antibodies to measure)

As far as time, it takes at least a month to figure out where gluten lurks, where it is hidden, how to prevent cross-contamination, how to make your kitchen gluten-free, get new teflon pans, new toaster etc. So probably 2-3 months minimum trial.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

[leighannh2]

Thanks so much for responding. My results will be in sometime this week. My doctor didn't mention anything about the biopsy, she just said if my test is positive for celiac, I can choose to consult with a nutritionist. so I was confused as to whether or not to get it. Thank you for clearing that up. In that case, if my blood test is negative, I will likely just try going gluten free first and skip the biopsy for now.

The reasons I'm concerned about celiac disease are many - I've gotten progressively worse over the years, I've had gastritis, and ulcer, gall bladder full of stones removed a few years back, symptoms are cramping, D, gas, bloating, but I don't react immediately after eating wheat. The only immediate reaction I have is to oats. I often feel foggy-headed, lightheaded, and my eyes have started to seem to dart around, hard to explain. Tiredness comes and goes, could be my low level of vit D. Sometimes my thumb is tingly, but just one spot. But overall I'm pretty healthy. All my symptoms are pretty vague other than the D varies in intensity but never goes away for 3 years now.

I'm going to try to get a copy of the test from the doctor when it comes back, I'll post here when I get it.

[organicmama]

I would be concerned about the eyes darting around for sure. That is a potential indicator that you are having a seizure. May well not be that, but it's nothing to take lightly.

[leighannh2]

Thanks. I notice it when I'm trying to focus on something and when I move to focus on something else, my eyes seem to dart, less fluidly than I remember, kind of like I've had too much caffeine or something. So, I don't think it's a seizure, but I'll keep that in mind.

[organicmama]

Ahh, that sounds like an eye muscle issue with it in just those certain circumstances.

[Fairy Dancer]

In regards to the eyes: have you been checked by an optician for convergence insufficiency? I get a similar thing with my eyes and I have Convergence insufficiency with intermittent exotropia (I think its called that, but its where one of my eyes will move off to the side and then come back again whilst the other one will continue looking straight ahead...its hard to see unless a person is staring at me when it happens so most people don't notice it). Basically my problem is caused by weak eye muscles which causes problems with binocular vision and at the moment I wear glasses with prisms to help when doing close up work.

I will add that I have not been tested for or diagnosed with celiac disease but have just started a gluten free diet myself because I have been having a range of symptoms from unrelenting fatigue to digestive problems and as I have a relative with celiac disease (diagnosed) I wanted to find out if I had a problem with gluten myself. I decided not to go for testing first because the NHS is rather slow here and I didn't want to wait months for any tests and results. Basically I feel to bad to wait that long. If the gluten free diet does not work though I will probably go see my gp lol.

I will say that my weak eye muscle problem started at around the same time as my digestive disturbances and fatigue which was about 6 years ago now, so I do wonder if it is related.