I didn't know all this

How do the drs. check for this, I have been have gastro problems for years, but last 2 the constipation has been horrendous, but I do take pain killers and anti-depression meds, so that might mask the celiac.
I din't know that constipation can in fact be a symptom, and laxatives, they just dont work the way they did, its to horrendous to even discuss.  I do have extremely dry skin and am fatigued, and these are all the foods I eat, not one dr. ever ever mentioned this to me.  And I ask exactly what my blood tests are for,  I have had many different imaging of the abdomen, would it show up on and ct scan or mri?
Do I need a biopsey to confirm??
beentrying 2 quit, I quess that all the foods you love??
You are constipated? right?  I feel like **** and then look for sugar fix, If this is that (lol)
then I'am doing a number on myself, and yes I fell achy too!!  
looking fowatrd to hearing from you guys..........Denise

[mrsturbo]

I am new to all this as well.  From my understanding a biopsy is needed for a medical diagnosis, but damaged parts of the bowel are patchy and biopsy might be taken from none affected part and ive a false negative.  There are blood tests, but negative results are inconclusive (so why bother in my opinion).  I don't believe ct scan or mri would show celiac since damage occurs to the microscopic villi in your small intestine.  My symptoms are alot like yours and my GI said "these symptoms don't sound anything like celiac".  I am still awaiting blood test results for me and am waiting for my 2 year olds biopsy.  Hope this helps.

[beentrying2quit]

While a biopsy is the best way to test for celiacs disease the easiest way is to quit eating wheat, barley, rye and also dairy products.  You should see results in a few days.  Celicas disease is often called "the big mistake" because docs NEVER test for it.  And yes...you wont be able to eat any of the foods you love....which is a good thing. Our bodies are not meant to eat big macks, twinkies and chicken fried steak.

I have had every test know to man run on me and not once did a doc say "you have celiacs disease."  Constipation is a symptom of this disease as well as needing a "sugar fix"  I went crazy the first week or so...could not get enough sugar.  

I wont lie to you....this wil be difficult at first.  You must read the ingrediants on all lables.  Basically you will be able to eat fruits, veggies, meat, chicken and fish.  Below is a link that you can look at and I hope this helps you.  I would recommend changing your diet first before asking a doctor to do a colonoscopy.


http://www.foodallergygourmet.com/Celiac/foods_containing_gluten.htm

[CalGal]

If you want to find out whether or not you've got gluten problems, consider doing a fecal antibody test via a lab like enterolab.com and team it with the genetic testing. It's the way we finally found out my husband had the problem. We had already been on a gluten-free diet for a year but he was still having problems (docs said no way he had gluten problems, we did the exclusion diet anyway and he felt better but not great). We did the antibody test, the genetic test and the cross-reactivity test for casein (milk protein). He was positive on all fronts. We excluded casein and his health rapidly improved.

In my mind the fecal antibody test is far superior to the blood test.

[GoingToMakeIt]

enterolab is such a great place for test. I met the owner, Dr. Fine, last year. He was a speaker. He had a lot of information.  His site has tons of info on it too.