Need Help After Endoscopy

[pinkpandapants]

I just had an upper endoscopy yesterday, and they said so far that everything LOOKED normal. They took biopsies of course, and I still have two weeks or so to wait for those results. My question is, could it be Celiac if my stomach, intestines, etc. LOOK normal? Because I know that Celiac causes the villi of the intestines to flatten... doesn't it? Or can it not and still be Celiac? Just wondering! Thanks!

[GottaSki]

Welcome pinkpandapants!

Yes, your small intestine can look normal during endoscopy - there can even be negative biopsies in those with Celiac Disease. It is great that your stomach looked good, but not part of Celiac diagnosis - only the small intestine.

Did symptoms lead to the possibility of Celiac Disease? If so, a three month trial of strict gluten free may be the way to confirm whether you need to be gluten free.

Did you have positive antibody tests (tTG IgA or tTG IgG)? Positive means you have Celiac Disease and need to remove all gluten from your diet. Unfortunately, these tests can have false negatives, which brings you back to the option of trialing gluten removal to check for symptom improvement.

Good Luck to you!

[pinkpandapants]

Yes, I have a TON of symptoms that have made me suspect Celiac - pretty bad digestion issues (including GERD), thyroid disease, eczema and depression/anxiety issues. I had ONE blood test done (TTG IgA) and that came back negative, but then I was referred to a gastroenterologist and she wanted me to get the endoscopy. I haven't tried going gluten-free yet, because I didn't want to mess up any of the test results... but I suppose since the testing is out of the way now, I can give that a try. The only problem is, it's going to be hard!!

[GottaSki]

gluten-free can be difficult at first, but it does become easy somewhere along the line.

Hang in there!

[Takala]

Did they do a full celiac blood test panel, or just the one test ?

Biopsies also miss a lot because the damage is patchy.