Celiac Specialist In Los Angeles Area?

[phil1]

Hi guys,

I'm pretty sure I have celiac, but all the doctors I've seen say stupid things like "sounds like stress." I need to find a doctor that specializes in celiac disease or at least food alergies. Please Help. Does anyone know of a celiac specialist in the Los Angeles area? I looked at the link to recommended doctors on here, but all the doctors were either pediatricians or not in my area. I'll go anywhere in a 1.5 hour radius. Thanks!!

[sandsurfgirl]

I have a great doc in Orange County- Garden Grove. Depending on what part of LA you're in, it could be a long drive, but maybe worth it. He is a young guy, very knowledgeable, helpful and he listens. I like him a lot and I have a huge prejudice against GI docs because most of them are morons when it comes to celiac.

Dr. Wanjun Bae, MD

Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine

12828 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92840

(714) 823-4960

Why aren't your doctors just running the tests? Insist on a blood test. If it comes up positive there's your answer. If it doesn't, then you can get the endoscopy and see if they find damage. But you'll have to stay on gluten the whole time or invalidate the tests. Endoscopy can be tricky if they don't get the right samples or they don't read it right.

You can also do Enterolab. They don't call you celiac per se, but they will test if you are reacting to gluten. It's not cheap though and he hasn't had his work peer reviewed yet. Google them for their site and you can read about it.

Another option is just to go gluten free and see if you improve. It's a huge commitment though and if you do improve you will have to consider yourself diagnosed and stay on the diet or your symptoms will come back. That may be hard to do without a firm diagnosis. The other thing is that you may go through withdrawals and it might not be an overnight cure. I felt better right away but it took 6 months for all my symptoms to improve.

I had positive blood tests and refused endoscopy. I wasn't going to get a surgical procedure just to tell me what I already knew.