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Interesting Doctor Appt

AmandaD

By AmandaD
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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AmandaD Community Regular
AmandaD
Posted

Hi guys - I want your opinion. :D

I'm 35 and when in for my good old regular physical (I see a gastro yearly who just checks to make sure I'm following my diet and usually runs vitamin d, diabetes and thyroid checks). My general practitioner said "Now with Celiac you can eat rice, yes? Milk?" And then she mentioned that she wondered if I should be followed up with a COLONOSCOPY because celiac can cause colon cancer.

I think I was sort of stupefied. I let her know that I see my gastroenterologist yearly and the last time I saw her she said I didn't need to come in until October of 2012 to say HI.

So I called my gastro doc today and she said she didn't feel I needed a colonoscopy or anything like that - that I was doing good and that I need to see her again in October of 2012.

Am I crazy or is my general practitioner not understanding celiac? Help.

(P.S. When I was first diagnosed in 2005 they did a sigmoidoscopy, TTG test and bloodwork, then an endoscopy. The sigmoidoscopy showed nothing serious - a noncancerous little polyp that was no big deal; the bloodwork showed celiac and the endoscopy showed Marsh II changes consistent with Celiac)

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pricklypear1971 Community Regular
pricklypear1971
Posted

Your doctor seems about as knowledgeable as your average doctor.

Hey, maybe that's why it's so hard to get a celiac dx, a lot don't know what they're talking about????

Don't feel bad, I had a "thyroid" doctor tell me Armour was a bovine derivative.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Well, not to be a worrywart, but if you are prone to developing polyps, and we do know that noncancerous can become precancerous and then can become tumors, I think it would be prudent to get a colonoscopy done because they can reach farther than a sigmoidoscopy and potentially prevent any problems down the line. I would discuss it with my GI.

AmandaD Community Regular
AmandaD
Posted
  • Author

To be clear it wasn't a true polyp, it was a small inflammatory growth from infection. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Hi guys - I want your opinion. :D

I'm 35 and when in for my good old regular physical (I see a gastro yearly who just checks to make sure I'm following my diet and usually runs vitamin d, diabetes and thyroid checks). My general practitioner said "Now with Celiac you can eat rice, yes? Milk?" And then she mentioned that she wondered if I should be followed up with a COLONOSCOPY because celiac can cause colon cancer.

I think I was sort of stupefied. I let her know that I see my gastroenterologist yearly and the last time I saw her she said I didn't need to come in until October of 2012 to say HI.

So I called my gastro doc today and she said she didn't feel I needed a colonoscopy or anything like that - that I was doing good and that I need to see her again in October of 2012.

Am I crazy or is my general practitioner not understanding celiac? Help.

(P.S. When I was first diagnosed in 2005 they did a sigmoidoscopy, TTG test and bloodwork, then an endoscopy. The sigmoidoscopy showed nothing serious - a noncancerous little polyp that was no big deal; the bloodwork showed celiac and the endoscopy showed Marsh II changes consistent with Celiac)

I think if you have undiagnosed Celiac for a very long time and don't know you have it, your intestinal tract can become inflamed all the way down.

Inflammation in the body is a big factor in some cancers so maybe, just maybe, if you never find out you have celiac disease or are diagnosed and continue to eat gluten, you may end up with a problem. If you follow a strict gluten-free diet and heal well, have no strong family history of colon cancer and there is no blood in your stool, then don't worry about it. Doctors are too pushy for colonoscopies these days because they make good money from doing them. Have your doctor do an occult stool test to see if there is any blood and if not, there should be no reason to do one.

I am 52 and have healed really well. I have never had a colonoscopy and don't plan on having one unless I fail one of the lesser tests, as mentioned above. My family are blessed in that we have little to no cancer, going back many generations, on both sides. We have a boatload of autoimmune issues but no cancer. You are young....I would follow your GI docs advice.

StephanieL Enthusiast
StephanieL
Posted

I thought Celiac did increase your risk of colon cancer?

AmandaD Community Regular
AmandaD
Posted
  • Author

No. The most recent research says it does not.

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StephanieL Enthusiast
StephanieL
Posted

No. The most recent research says it does not.

Thanks! Good to know!

AmandaD Community Regular
AmandaD
Posted
  • Author

Here ya go: https://www.celiac.com/articles/22452/1/Celiac-Disease-Carries-No-Higher-Risk-of-Colorectal-Cancer/Page1.html

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