Celiac Or Travel Disease?

[afis]

Hello!

I just had my first appointment with a GI doctor today. My symptoms seem to be leading me towards Celiac, but my doctor thinks its a disease from traveling to Haiti in July (possibly Cholera). Weird thing is...lots of my symptoms started before Haiti.

Here they are:

Heartburn after eating anything that started a year and a half ago.

Lightheaded after eating that started during this summer.

Alternating constipation and diarrhea. Usually the latter nowadays.

Dull stomach pain and loud stomach grumbling.

Inability to gain weight.

Growing up, I had chronic constipation and was never hungry so things have changed a little.

I had lots of blood tests this morning and I'm anxious for the results. The GI doctor said that it was wrong of my family doctor to say I should get an endoscopy before putting me on meds so now I'm taking antibiotics, Zegerid, and probiotics.

Any input would be wonderful!

[ravenwoodglass]

I am afraid I have to disagree with the GI doctor, strongly. Celiac symptoms can be 'treated' with meds but the disease will continue to progress. IMHO it is better to be diagnosed rather than living with meds for years and years like I did. I had a tackle box full and as more and more of my body came under autoimmune attack for celiac the scripts just kept coming. I haven't needed any of those meds now in years and years.

Your symptoms do suggest celiac and when your doctor does get around to doing a scope make sure you insist he take 8 to 10 samples from different areas of the small intestine not just one or two.

Hopefully he ordered a full celiac panel with all the blood work but be aware that both blood tests and biopsies can have false negatives. After all the testing is done do a good strict trial of the diet even if the tests are negative.

The blood work should show if you caught an infectious disease and if that is the case then hopefully the meds will take care of it. However that same disease could be a trigger for celiac so if problems continue even when the infection is gone do give the diet a try.