Get tested for Celiac Disease

[stray77]

I've been diagnosed with IBS and CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) by three different specialists.  Personally I don't understand how you can diagnose a physical problem without a test for it but hey I'm not a doctor.  After doing research myself I came up Celiac Disease, so my on my next trip to the doctor I asked to be tested.  He didn't even know what it was but I insisted that I be tested so the doctor got on his pc and read a couple of the articles I referred him to.  A simple blood test (Transglutiminase) is 95% accurate and I tested positive.  If you test positive, the next step most doctors will want you to take is a small bowel xray (barium swallow) followed by a small bowel biopsy.  The small bowel biospy is considered the 'gold standard' test for CD.  There is however a much better option available because, #1 its non invasive and #2 the small bowel biopsy can produce a false negative result up to 55% of the time but never a false positive.  This much better option comes in the form of a magic pill, a 'PillCAM' to be specific.  Its a tiny light, camera and transmitter all packed into a capsule which you simply swallow with water.  A receiver attached to your belt records 50,000 high quality color images of your entire small bowel (not just a few small pieces from a few sites) over the next 8 hours during which you can go about your day.  This is the new 'gold standard' even if your doctor doesn't know it yet.  If this test is available to you, I HIGHLY RECOMMED IT.  If you were rich and being treated at the Mayo Clinic this is level of care you would receive.


This discussion is related to Diagnosis.

[CalGal]

Congratuations on figuring out what what going on and pushing your doc to look further! That's wonderful to hear.Going gluten-free is going to make a big difference in your health.

There is an even better test - and less costly than the pillcam - in the form of a fecal antibody test. IMO it's more accurate than the blood test and will even 'pop positive' after long periods of being gluten free when someone does have gluten intolerance but has been (somehow) off of gluten for awhile. It will also 'reveal' the problem when it's missed during the gold standard of tests - the duodenal biopsy.

It's a shame more docs don't use it. And if they'd team it with the genetic test, perhaps fewer people would end up with years of unnecessary misery.