Northern lights I am from Australia and my sister has just had a endoscopy and a colonoscopy and both required GA. I was surprised as I have had other test done that required me to have a tube inserted into my stomach. It was fast and did not affect me too much at all.

I think the differencece is how far they go, I think if they just check the duodenum and the very beginning of the jejunum, it taks only a few minutes and one does not need any sedation.

I will have another endoscopy in three weeks' time and this will be like that again. The doctor has an office in a builiding without anesthesia etc anyways.

I have also seen a colonoscopy, and the patient was wide awake and talking to the doctor. He went a bit up (actually some meters, because I saw how much of the tube was left, ther was not much left....) and one could see the intestines on the tv. (all was fine, and they took samples just to be sure. Snipped away some polyps. Patient had some olyps removed some time ago)....

nora

....still in the early stages of exploring CD and gluten sensitivity I am NO expert....however this is one paper I read last night....and remember that this is a 2001 paper so it was published just after you had your 2000 testing done.

From the journal 'Australian Prescriber' Vol 24, No 2, 2001 in an article by Assoc Prof Warwick Selby, Senior Gastroenterologist RPA and U of Sydney he writes:

" The two most commonly used investigations, test for antigliadin antibody (AGA) and endomysial antibody (EMA). These are IgA antibodies. Testing for IgG antibodies is of little value since the sensitivity and specificity are only approximately 50%. More specific tests for antibody to tTG (tissue Transglutaminase) have also been developed and are likely to replace other tests when they become more widely available.

.........80-90% of people with IgA AGA will have coeliac disease; the other 10- 20% have a false positive and a normal small bowel biopsy. Some will have other gastrointestinal disorders, such as Crohn's disease.

Endomysial and tTG antibodies have the greatest sensitivity and specificity for coeliac disease. IgA EMA is found in 95-100% of patients........

There is a need for a Biospy. Antibody testing alone is still not recommended for the diagnosis of CD even though the combination of IgA AGA and EMA/tTG antibody will detect most patients.......

Moreover, if a patient starts a gluten-free diet without having a biopsy the diagnosis may subsequently be very difficult to confirm if there is any doubt. Finally, biopsy confirms the diagnosis for each patient and aids in ensuring the compliance that is required to avoid the nutritional consequences and the risk of malignancy".

I realise that this article is now six years old and there may be some diagnostic changes but I think it belies what your doctor said in 2000 regarding IgG.

Can you ask for the IgA AGA and EMA/tTG antibody tests to be done/repeated?