Don't you give up, at least not until you've exhausted all the possibilities, especially the treatable ones.
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Would visualisation of the bowel during colonoscopy detect problems/abnormalities as far as CD goes IF they existed?
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No, the damage diagnostic of celiac disease cannot be seen during routine endoscopy. It is an endoscopy, and not a colonoscopy, that they must do because the damage is actually in the small intestine. They need to take biopsy specimens, a minimum of 6-8, preferably more~ some recommend 15, slice and mount them correctly, and they need to be viewed by a pathologist who knows how to recognize the subtler changes.... many just don't.
And... because gluten sensitivity can cause neurolgoical disease without intestinal damage, a negative biopsy would not entirely eliminate the possibility of gluten sensitivity causing PN. The antigliadin antibodies are probably the best test for that, but there are others they look for that I believe are mentioned in some of the abstracts.
Enterolab also offers a stool test, which looks for antibodies in the stool. These are not mainstream tests, but I've known many many (double on purpose!) who have had positive results after removing gluten based on the results of the stool test. Still, I'd recommend the blood testing first.
You've had your B12 level tested? If not, that is a must do. And actually, it's not just B12 deficiency~
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"But the two things which are relevant to CD are nutrition and immunity. People with CD have nutritional deficits because of malabsorption; common causes of neuropathy are B12 deficiency, B1 deficiency, B6 deficiency, and Vitamin E deficiency. Neuropathies are also commonly caused by the immune system through autoimmune mechanisims."..."Latov commented that 20-25% of people with CD might have neuropathy."
Celiac Disease and Peripheral Neuropathy, Norman Latov, MD, PHD 2002
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Cara