Symptoms

[kimy]

I have a lot of questions about celiac disease. I am hoping that someone can help me. For years I have been dealing with stomach issues. I have constipation a lot with every other day stomach cramping. In 2008, I started having joint pain. Went to doctors and they ran all kinds of test and told me I had fibromyalgia. The medicine they put me on did not work at all. In 2010 I went to a gastro doctor and he did a biopsy before doing any blood work. They said I was negative for Celiac disease. In 2010 I then got pregnant and the joint pain went away, but the stomach issues did not. I also suffer from extreme fatigue. I have a doctor appt in a week, to run all kinds of tests, such as vitamin levels. I have in the past few years also had low vitamin D levels and anemia. Do you guys think I should ask for blood testing for Celiac? Are the symptoms I am having Celiac symptoms? I would appreciate any input. Thanks so much in advance.

[mommida]

I would ask to be tested for Celiac again. There are unfortunately a lot of uniformed doctors. it is possible that this doctor just did not have the proper training to take the neccessary amount of biopsies.

you need to be eating gluten for the tests.

[Roda]

Yes I would ask for the blood tests again. Unfortunately when you had your scope your doctor may not have taken enough samples. Celiac damage can be spotty. A minimum of 8-11 samples need to be taken. Even then you could get a false negative.

The blood tests to ask for are:

total IgA

IgA/IgG tTG(tissue transglutaminase)

IgA/IgG DGP(deamidated gliadin peptide)

IgA EMA(endomysial antibody)

After you finish all the testing you want, give the diet a good three month trial. You don't need a doctor's permission to try it. A lot of time your body will give you your answer. It is common with celiac to be deficient in vitamins/minerals and anemic.