Quote:
Originally Posted by Idealist
I do suffer from constant abdominal pain on the left side, and sometimes from extreme IBS symptoms. I've been tested for Celiac disease, but that was four years ago, when my symptoms first started. Maybe I should ask to be tested again, although I don't notice any ill-effects from consuming wheat.
Idealist
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Yes, retesting might be a good idea. The weight loss could mean you've progressed to later stage disease...which is what it takes to get a dx, unfortunately, because the antibodies are usually not positive until the villi are very damaged. A growing number of doctors, and a whole bunch of patients... are pushing for earlier recognition and treatment of gluten sensitivity, before full blown celiac disease develops. And..there are many people with symptoms related to gluten sensitivity who will never test positive for celiac disease because they have a different type of gluten sensitivity that targets non-gut organs and tissues (may have GI symptoms, too, just not the villi damage on biopsy)...just starting to be recognized.
Gluten Sensitivity vs. Celiac Disease
Symptoms can be delayed and vague/chronic, so there is not always a clear association to eating wheat products. Even some with full blown celiac disease don't have noticible reactions soon after eating gluten, but will suffer from related complications none the less.
Also, if you don't test positive for gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, but suffer from IBS symptoms...check out these pages for some other ideas... assuming you want to try to find some explanations for your abdominal pain and weight loss. I agree with seeking out a second opinion from a gastroenterologist.
IBS, IBD, Crohn's
Not Celiac?
Food Allergy & Leaky Gut Syndrome
Many people have found the best test for gluten sensitivity to be a dietary trial, but if you ever decide to do that...stop in and see us at the GS/CD forum...because there are a few tricks to a gluten free diet. There are other top offending foods, too, that should be considered.
Meanwhile:
Clearing you of Celiac Disease today does NOT clear you for life.
Among 11 relatives, at the time of the first screening, 6 already had a positive serology and histology for CD,
while 5 became positive only after a period of 2 to 5 y of negative testing.
CD can manifest itself after years of negative serological testing
Also: Follow-Up to the Catassi Study -- Scandinavia
Colin, et al, published a follow-up study to the Catassi (Coeliac Disease in the Year 2000:Exploring the Iceberg - University of Ancona, Italy) in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 28(7):595-8, 1993, which demonstrated that
approximately one third of the patients from the Catassi Study who had raised antibodies but no villous atrophy, did have villous atrophy when tested two years later. These results raise the number of diagnosed celiacs from the Catassi, et al study to over 1 in 200.
Gosh...have they looked for tapeworm, h. pylori, or other parasites or infectious agents????
Good luck~
Cara