First Gi Appt Next Week

[ashlee.ream]

what should i expect?

[aeb]

I'm by no means an expert on this, I have a bit of a distrust for drs. I would think the apt will be very different if you have already been diagnosed than if you haven't. I think there a lots of posts on what tests to ask for. I would suggest writing down symptoms you have, when you started noticing them, and when during the day the symptoms occur. Good luck!

[mushroom]

It depends where you are in the process. Have you been referred by your PCP following positive blood work, or have you had no testing at all?

Oh, and by the way, welcome to the board.

[ashlee.ream]

i already had blood work done that said i do have celiac disease, and now i am going to a GI doctor.

[mushroom]

In that case, he will probably schedule you for an upper endoscopy and take biopsies from the small intestine for viewing through a microscope to check for damage in your gut. This has long been considered the 'gold standard' of diagnosis to confirm the blood results, although there are more and more doctors who are becoming accepting of positive blood work and a positive response to the diet. Neverthless, the scope is useful in rluling out that there is nothing else going on, no ulcers or eosiniophilic esophagitis, etc., and it is a good baseline to measure your progress in healing if it seems to be taking a long time. Some GI's like to do a follow-up endo in a year to check if you have healed and been diet compliant. The appointment may not last long - he will just verify your symptoms, review the results, and schedule the endo, most likely. You will need to ask him how many samples he intends to take (it should be 6-8 and most doctors do not take a sufficient number). The damage in the small intestine is not uniform and is easily missed if only one or two samples are taken. Sometimes the doctors can see the damage through the scope but most often it is not visible until under the microscope.

Best wishes on your appt. and let us know how it goes.

[ashlee.ream]

thank you and i will

[ashlee.ream]

i get the results on the 23rd at a follow up appt.