Help Needed With Preliminary Findings Of Endoscopy!

[Sarahsmile416]

Had my endoscopy today, my GI doctor got 6-8 samples to biopsy so hopefully when the results come back it will be pretty thorough.

She told me she would let me know on Wednesday what she found, but she did tell me there was significant, diffuse inflammation on my intestine (she did not specify about large or small though), found no evidence of an ulcer (which was something else she was looking for) and she told me she saw evidence of acid reflux (which seems obvious to me because I get it all the time with my other symptoms).

So , I guess my question is, absent the more complete information from the biopsy, do these preliminary observations sound like Celiac? She did not really specify anything else she suspected it could be, so I was not even sure if there may be another diagnosis I may not even be thinking of.

Thanks in advance!

[mushroom]

You will have to wait for the pathologist to examine the slides to determine if celiac disease is present. If the disease is severe it can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, but it normally needs microscopic viewing of the samples to find it. Inflammation is usually one of the first things to show up in celiac, but it can have many causes other than celiac. She would only be able to visualize a small portion of the small intestine with the endoscopy; to view the large intestine you have to enter from the lower end

[Sarahsmile416]

You will have to wait for the pathologist to examine the slides to determine if celiac disease is present. If the disease is severe it can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, but it normally needs microscopic viewing of the samples to find it. Inflammation is usually one of the first things to show up in celiac, but it can have many causes other than celiac. She would only be able to visualize a small portion of the small intestine with the endoscopy; to view the large intestine you have to enter from the lower end

Thanks for the quick response, mushroom (hee! Love the handle!). I figured that celiac probably wasn't the only thing it might be. What are some other causes of inflammation? She named one rather benign sounding cause but then said she doubted it was that because my inflammation was more diffuse.

She definitely did not say, "Hey, idiot, this is celiac, what have you been doing eating gluten all this time!", ha, but she did say twice rather pointedly I thought that she would not be at all surprised if it was celiac, which told me that that was likely her first guess. I just found it odd that she did not give me any other possible causes of inflammation, so I was and still am, curious.

[mushroom]

She was probably looking to rule out a duodenal ulcer from h. pylori, and considering differential diagnoses such as gastritis, gastroparesis, etc. I am no doctor, so do not know all the possibilities, but most testing is designed to rule out certain conditions (or in, if you find that condition )

[kareng]

Sounds like it could be Celiac but, like Shroomie said, you need to wait for the pathology report ( ask for a copy of it and the procedure report no matter what the doc says).

Gastric reflux shows up as irritation in the esophagus, near where it connects to the stomach. Just to clarify that issue. Reflux can have nothing to do with Celiac. It can just be its own issue. Might clear up on a gluten-free diet when everything else down the pipeline works properly, might not.

If you aren't familiar with the anatomy of the GI tract, you might google a " map" so you know what the doc is talking about when she gives you results.

[Sarahsmile416]

Sounds like it could be Celiac but, like Shroomie said, you need to wait for the pathology report ( ask for a copy of it and the procedure report no matter what the doc says).

Gastric reflux shows up as irritation in the esophagus, near where it connects to the stomach. Just to clarify that issue. Reflux can have nothing to do with Celiac. It can just be its own issue. Might clear up on a gluten-free diet when everything else down the pipeline works properly, might not.

If you aren't familiar with the anatomy of the GI tract, you might google a " map" so you know what the doc is talking about when she gives you results.

I definitely do not plan to do anything until the reports come back...a bit like putting the cart before the horse and in the end, whatever it may be, I just want the peace of mind that will come from knowing for sure!

The reason why I suspect the reflux is tied into the possible celiac is that I never had that until the other symptoms came along. But who knows...the whole thing is starting to look like the whole chicken/egg question.