Celiac Testing

[Sam81]

I was just wondering if any one knows if a colonoscopy can confirm/disprove celiac DH (dermatitis herpetiformis)??

[psawyer]

Yes, I do, and no, it cannot. The intestinal damage caused by celiac disease is in the small intestine, not the colon.

[kareng]

No. DH is a skin problem. A Dermatologist biopsies next to the "pimple" & it is sent to the pathologist for a microscopic look.

An endoscopy is used to diagnosis the small intestine damage from Celiac. Multiple Biopsies are taken of the small intestine & looked at microscopically. A colonoscopy is the large intestine so your confused doctor is looking in the wrong places.

[Sam81]

Ok, thank you. Mr Dr is convinced I do not have celiac - despite ticking all boxes bar 1. I'm in the UK and have heard of a test you can by over the counter - "Biocard Celiac Test - Gluten Sensitivity test kit". Has anyone bought and tried this? Does it work and does it hold any weight with Dr's??

It really isn't that I want to have Celiac but it's the age old NEED to have an answer to all my discomfort and a piece of paper to hand to people to say - "Look - I'm not imagining it!"

I'm 30 on Monday and feel more like 70. Ridiculous.

[pgrovetom]

I was just wondering if any one knows if a colonoscopy can confirm/disprove celiac DH (dermatitis herpetiformis)??

Yes a Colonoscopy can confirm Celiac if the doctor doing it does a biopsy of the intestines after reaching the end of the colon. When I had my Colonoscopy, the GI doc did a Celiac biopsy since he was already in there and could get the biopsy from my lower intestines... If the GI doc only examines the colon as per a normal colonoscopy, no it does no good. Since an endoscopy is easier than a colonoscopy, they usually do the biopsy from the topside. I had both.

In any case, biopsies are better at confirming than ruling out Celiac. The doctor takes a sample of the intestinal lining for later examination under a microscope. If they see the damage from Celiac, its a sure thing. If they don't, it either means you don't have Celiac or they took the biopsy from a healthy area or the Gluten had yet to damage the intestinal lining. In general, ruling things out is a risky game. If something like Celiac is "ruled out" and in error, it will be a long time before they eventually run into something that suggests "un-ruling it out".

This is a very common problem in medicine and is due to cost control. When studies are done in medicine, they actually follow a proper scientific and statistically proper approach by using careful controls, large populations and double blind technique in order not to come to a conclusion in error. Regular medicine abandons this very appropriate method in favor of saving money at the expense of proper diagnosis.

If you are planning to have a colonoscopy, ask your GI doc if they can take a Celiac biopsy from the lower intestine just above the colon. If you already had it and they didn't do that biopsy, it means nothing with regard to Celiac.

[psawyer]

It would be better to do an endoscopy of the duodenum (upper part of the small intestine) at the same time as the colonoscopy. There is no extra prep required. I had that done when I was diagnosed. The colonoscopy will not detect celiac, but should be done to screen for other conditions which may exist.

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes a Colonoscopy can confirm Celiac if the doctor doing it does a biopsy of the intestines after reaching the end of the colon. When I had my Colonoscopy, the GI doc did a Celiac biopsy since he was already in there and could get the biopsy from my lower intestines... If the GI doc only examines the colon as per a normal colonoscopy, no it does no good. Since an endoscopy is easier than a colonoscopy, they usually do the biopsy from the topside. I had both.

In any case, biopsies are better at confirming than ruling out Celiac. The doctor takes a sample of the intestinal lining for later examination under a microscope. If they see the damage from Celiac, its a sure thing. If they don't, it either means you don't have Celiac or they took the biopsy from a healthy area or the Gluten had yet to damage the intestinal lining. In general, ruling things out is a risky game. If something like Celiac is "ruled out" and in error, it will be a long time before they eventually run into something that suggests "un-ruling it out".

This is a very common problem in medicine and is due to cost control. When studies are done in medicine, they actually follow a proper scientific and statistically proper approach by using careful controls, large populations and double blind technique in order not to come to a conclusion in error. Regular medicine abandons this very appropriate method in favor of saving money at the expense of proper diagnosis.

If you are planning to have a colonoscopy, ask your GI doc if they can take a Celiac biopsy from the lower intestine just above the colon. If you already had it and they didn't do that biopsy, it means nothing with regard to Celiac.

I have never heard of a doctor doing a biopsy of the small intestine with a colonoscopy. Since you say you had both scopes done at the same time I suspect the biopsies were taken during the endo not the colonoscopy.