Very Unexpected Biopsy Today!

[Annette723]

I have a pituitary tumor and high cortisol but I haven't gained weight, which is very unusual. I have suffered from mostly morning nausea for over a year. I only recently bothered complaining about it to my endocrinologist. He took me off all my meds and checked my gallbladder and liver, then referred me to a gastroenterologist.

I had my appointment last Wednesday and he didn't give me a diagnosis, but prescribed Nexium and told me to cut out caffeine and soda and chocolate, and gave me a sheet on acid reflux. He did bloodwork that day but I didn't pay any attention to what they were testing. And he scheduled me for an endoscopy today.

Before the procedure the nurse told me they would be checking my esophagus, stomach, and duodendum (spelling?)

When I woke up the doctor told me I had a hiatal hernia but everything looked perfect. To stay on the nexium. And he told me he did a biopsy of my small intestine to check for Celiac disease.

Needless to say I've been reading up on Celiac all afternoon. Does it sound like I could have it? Is it possible he got some positive bloodwork back after my appointment and decided to do the biopsy? Or could he have seen something he didn't like when he did the endoscopy?

The only other relevant fact I can provide is that he felt something "unusual" on my lower abdomen, though he said it could just be that he could feel things better since I am thin.

I appreciate any opinions!

[KaitiUSA]

Sounds like a possibility of celiac.

When the nurse told you what they were checking thats what they do with an endoscopy. It sounds like they did what was scheduled. The doctor may have seen something while checking and decided to take some samples to see if they test positive for celiac.

Did you have blood tests for celiac? Or is this the first time it was mentioned to you?

[Annette723]

Sounds like a possibility of celiac.

When the nurse told you what they were checking thats what they do with an endoscopy. It sounds like they did what was scheduled. The doctor may have seen something while checking and decided to take some samples to see if they test positive for celiac.

Did you have blood tests for celiac? Or is this the first time it was mentioned to you?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not sure if they did blood tests for celiac or not. I looked at the blood test order briefly and saw the usual things, cbc, etc. Then there were 3 things I had never heard of before. And yes, today was the first time I've ever heard of Celiac.

[Portageegal]

Most good doctors will do a biopsy when they do an endoscopy. Mine wasn't

looking for celiac, but found it. I'm glad he did the biopsy or I would never have

known and would have done more harm to myself by continuing to eat gluten.

[mstrain]

Annette:

I had a similar experience - went in for endoscopy to check for acid reflux the doctor suspected I had due to chest pain. While scoping me he noticed that my duodenum was red and inflamed. He biopsied it and it turned out to be a Marsh 1 lesion (still not really sure what that means ) and semi-diagnosed me with Celiac. It was then when he ordered the blood test. I'm thinking your doctor wasn't planning on biopsing your intestine but saw signs that he needed to.

[Annette723]

Annette:

I had a similar experience - went in for endoscopy to check for acid reflux the doctor suspected I had due to chest pain.  While scoping me he noticed that my duodenum was red and inflamed.  He biopsied it and it turned out to be a Marsh 1 lesion (still not really sure what that means ) and semi-diagnosed me with Celiac.  It was then when he ordered the blood test.  I'm thinking your doctor wasn't planning on biopsing your intestine but saw signs that he needed to.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, thats what I think. It will be hard I'm sure if I have it, but I've been looking for answers for a long time. My mom feels differently (and maybe I should trust her since I can't remember a thing he said!) She felt like he was conveying to her that he had not been successful at all at finding a cause for my nausea, but that we would move on to the gastric emptying test. She is guessing he did the biopsy just because when he saw I had no ulcers or acid reflux damage he decided to dig a little deeper while he was in there just to rule it out.

I guess only time will tell! Thanks to everyone who responded, this is a very supportive forum!

[SueC]

A GI doc can sometimes tell by looking at the folds in your small bowel if it is celiac. My doc was pretty sure I had it without the biopsy results. Maybe he thought it looked suspicious and took some samples.