Celiac Damage Visible To The Naked Eye On Endoscopy?

[sarahcf]

I'm hoping some of you can give me some insight into my situation. I have had GI problems my entire life that have worsened in the past 18 months. My main symptoms are painful gas, bloating, constipation, nausea, and fatigue. I've seen my GP and and a GI doc several times over the past year and a half and neither of them have mentioned the possibility of celiac. I had an upper endoscopy a few months ago that they said was fine although they did not take any biopsies. My question is whether celiac damage to the intestines would be visible to the naked eye on endoscopy or whether a biopsy is needed to see the changes?

Do my symptoms sound like possible celiac? The one thing that throws me off of the diagnosis is the constipation. It sounds like most celiac sufferers have the opposite problem. I'm at my wit's end and I'm willing to consider anything and this is one of the only diagnoses left that I've not been tested for.

Thanks for your help.

[mommida]

Damage can not always be seen by the "naked" eye and at least 5 biopsies should be taken. (and tested for eosinophils too)

Your doctor was not very informed about diagnosing Celiac.

Constipation is also a symptom of Celiac.

[mushroom]

Diarrhea is a symptom of celiac; constipation is a symptom of celiac; alternating diarrhea and constipation is a symptom of celiac. Sometimes there is neither, and no gastric distress at all and the person is still celiac. There are something like 300 different symptoms attributable to celiac diseasee, and most doctors know only the diarrhea, and failure to thrive in children (and some of them don't even know the second one ) To do an endoscopy and not biopsy for celiac borders on __________________ (fill in the blank for yourself).

[faithforlife]

My endo showed visible scalloping to duodenum. Still waiting on my biopsy results. You may be celiac and something else like IBS. My GI says constipation is the OThER classic symptom of celiac.

[psawyer]

If the damage is severe enough, it may be detectable to the naked eye. In most cases it is not. Even when visible damage is present, the biopsy is indicated to confirm the cause. As noted, to do the endoscopy and not the biopsy reflects very poorly on the doctor.

[lovegrov]

My damage was so severe my doctor described my villi as flat as linoleum. But he couldn't tell that until he looked at a biopsy under the microscope.

richard

[sarahcf]

Thank you for your comments. I was pretty annoyed when I came out of sedation for the endoscopy and found out they did not biopsy since I had been led to believe that was one of the main reasons for getting the test done. It sounds like my best option is to have my GP do the blood test. Since the GI doc I saw was terrible I plan to stick with my GP for testing and then find a new GI doc if necessary.

[kareng]

Thank you for your comments. I was pretty annoyed when I came out of sedation for the endoscopy and found out they did not biopsy since I had been led to believe that was one of the main reasons for getting the test done. It sounds like my best option is to have my GP do the blood test. Since the GI doc I saw was terrible I plan to stick with my GP for testing and then find a new GI doc if necessary.

You should write a note to your insurance company explaining why you will need them to pay for a second endoscopy or why they shouldn't pay for the one that was done. Give them some quotes with links to info from some of the Celiac disease centers to back up the need for biopsies. The insurance may not pay for anymore tests based on that botched endo.

[beebs]

PS - IBS is a blanket diagnosis that they give to people who have certain symptoms when they don't know what is wrong. Its a kind of "I don't know what is going on, so I will call it IBS" diagnosis. I would never ever trust an IBS diagnosis. Also -alot of the time you can't see celiac damage with the naked eye, your Dr doesn't know anything about it I'm afraid. You need to find a new one. I cannot believe they didn't take any biopsies!

[faithforlife]

Yes my friend is tested negative for celiac so doc called it IBS which basically meant she's had to do so much reading and experimenting about diet to find what was bothering her. Recently a low carb diet brought tons of improvement to her GI symptoms and pains. It's similar to a paleo diet.