<p>sorry but how do i start a new thread…i’m new here</p>
<p>Cooley: to start a new thread, go to the forum where you want to start a new thread, such as the Parent Cafe. Then look for the button that says NEW THREAD (just below the Featured Discussions, on the left).</p>
<p>limabeans - good luck tomorrow. The biopsy taken during the endoscopy will prove or rule out celiac disease. Has he had other GI studies done?</p>
<p>IBS - is not just one disease. It is sort of a catch all with many different symptoms and causes.</p>
<p>Good luck tomorrow lima beans. I agree with other posters that have said the endoscopy will be the proof of Celiac or not. What happens with Celiac (gluten intolerance, as opposed to a wheat/gluten allergy) is that the villi in the small intestine are destroyed by gluten. This causes malabsorption of nutrients (like iron). The blood tests, though very accurate in most cases are not always right. During the endoscopy they will take a biopsy that will show the small intestine tissue and they can clearly see if there is damaged villi.</p>
<p>If it turns out to be Celiac, and you have any questions, please PM me, I was diagnosed in 2002, with negative blood tests, and only confirmed by endoscopy/biopsy. It is not the end of the world if it is Celiac as it is easy treatable with diet. There are many worse diagnoses.</p>
<p>Wishing you and your son the best.</p>
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<p>DD had a colonoscopy that appeared negative for Crohn’s and then about five months later a small bowel series (ordered by a different and better GI doctor) revealed Crohn’s. The reason (we later uncovered) was that the doctor did a half-baked job. It’s essential to go far enough up and it’s essential to take biopsies EVEN IF THINGS LOOK NORMAL because sometimes it appears first at the microscopic level before it appears visible to the naked eye. Unfortunately after a second incomplete colonoscopy a couple of years later (by the same doctor, which is how I uncovered his laziness – he said he would biopsy which was what her college-based doctor wanted and then didn’t), I learned that some doctors do not stay on the cutting edge of medicine. It was a harrowing experience for a number of reasons that are irrelevant here – the point is, make absolutely sure that any colonoscopy being done for diagnostic reasons is going to yield biopsies. Ask, “Will you biopsy even if everything looks normal?” If the doctor seems to be the least bit ambivalent, find someone else.</p>
<p>Had some of the same symptoms and my rheumatologist kept trying to tell me it was Celiac- even when the tests said otherwise, he kept insisting. Eliminating foods of any type wasn’t a problem because by that time, I didn’t want to eat! Mine turned out to be a severe allergy to one of the RA meds he had me on, and now I have to be careful of other meds because of the carrriers in them (some sort of cross conneection). Good luck with your son- I hope all goes well.</p>
<p>one daughter had issues that I thought were made better by cutting out wheat- but when she went away to camp a few years ago- I let her go back on it-
:(</p>
<p>I dont know if your son does have Crohns obviously- but one of my favorite people in the whole world does ( and the 2nd best guitarist to come out of Seattle)
might help your son with image issues.
<a href=“http://crohn-colitis.hu/eng/famous-people-with-ibd.php[/url]”>http://crohn-colitis.hu/eng/famous-people-with-ibd.php</a></p>
<p>Wow. Who knew that Alfred the Great might have had Crohn’s Disease? Seriously, though, back in the early years after my diagnosis, I did appreciate knowing that Rolf Benirschke (a then well-known football player) had Crohn’s.</p>
<p>Update: looks like a hernia in his intestines and gastro reflux. we find out the results of the biopsies next week.</p>
<p>My son reminded me he had low-iron test results before. That was when they took all sorts of blood tests to explain fainting episodes he was experiencing when he was in hs. It was pre-midterms and he’s a worrier. Twice he fainted while sitting on the stools in the chem lab. Maybe these low iron test results only get picked up when he’s especially anxious.</p>
<p>Doctor is recommending further testing in his small intestines with some kind of a camera. Should we do it?</p>
<p>A hernia is fixable, right? My husband had one surgically repaired and it never bothered him again. That’s much better than Celiac or Crohn’s for sure.</p>
<p>Or it’s diverticulosis, not a reparable hernia, but often described as ‘like a hernia or outpouching’.</p>
<p>You might want to wait for the biopsy results before further testing; on the other hand, if his bowel is already prepped, it might be a good time to get it done.</p>
<p>The doctors found a hiatus hernia as well as esophagitis (gastric reflux?). Hernias (two brothers and one nephew) as well as gastric reflux (mother/sister) issues run in my family. Not quite sure what a hiatus hernia is compared to other types of hernias. My brothers and nephew had the other kind, where the small intestine pokes through the abdominal muscle.</p>
<p>In any case, we’re starting nexium and will discuss this w/ the doctor next week.</p>
<p>PS: I think the initial sonogram found minor diverticulosis pockets, but nothing acute.</p>
<p>Have they ruled out Crohn’s Disease, or is that possibility one of the reasons they still want to take a look at the small intestine? (My Crohn’s has always been confined to the large intestine, but the majority of cases of Crohn’s involve the small intestine – hence the term “ileitis” that’s sometimes used – so I’ve had several “small bowel series” done over the years to make sure it hasn’t spread to the small intestine. The tests I’ve had involve drinking what feels like a gallon of an extremely chalky-tasting barium solution, followed by X-rays of some kind. Not fun at all, since I could barely get the stuff down and keep it there, but it was necessary.)</p>
<p>There is an over the counter product called Boost. Comes in flavors. I used it for a few days just to see if I was lactose or Gluten sensitive. Sure worked fast for me. The intestinal track is so inflamed from gluten or lactose that is caused pain, blocks, variations in bowls, gas and other uncomfortables. Try the BOOST drink with real food that you know is free like apples and oranges, eggs or potatoes and see what happens.</p>
<p>Just wanted to comment about “psychosomatic” illness. Just because someone’s symptoms are diagnosed as psychosomatic does not mean that it’s “all in their head.” People truly do suffer illnesses which are psychosomatic. It may be overdiagnosed, but it does not always mean the practitioner is simply being lazy or that it is to cover an inability to diagnose the “real” disease. </p>
<p>A psychosomatic diagnosis is often misinterpreted by the patient or family as meaning that the patient is not really sick-that it’s “all in your head.” No, it means that the symptoms of illness are real but the causes are mental/emotional rather than physical. The human mind has tremendous power over the body, both in terms of healing as well as illness. A good doctor can recognize symptoms as psychosomatic, but won’t just leave it at that. Illness with emotional etiology needs treatment just as illness from physical causes needs treatment.</p>
<p>My husband used to get physically sick for several days before his father would pick him up on weekends. He would vomit, had bowel problems, etc. He wasn’t faking it; his symptoms were very real. However, it was the emotional upset and the dynamics taking place which caused his symptoms. In other words, it was psychosomatic. Eventually, he told his Dad he didn’t want to see him anymore. His digestive issues all disappeared. </p>
<p>As an adult, he and his Dad reconciled. But he still experiences digestive problems when he is under stress or is in emotional turmoil. I think alot of us can go through periods of illness where the cause is emotional rather than a disease or micro organism.</p>
<p>Interesting article:</p>
<p>[Mark</a> Hyman, MD: Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You | HuffPost Life)</p>
<p>And just in case you didn’t read the above article all the way through the comments to the end, here’s a great link:</p>
<p>[THE</a> CELIAC HUSBAND: GLUTEN FREE BREAD](<a href=“http://theceliachusband.blogspot.com/2009/01/gluten-free-bread.html]THE”>http://theceliachusband.blogspot.com/2009/01/gluten-free-bread.html)</p>
<p>Also, one more thing =). My elderly mom swallowed a camera - it was the size of a big pill. It took pic’s all the way through the digestive tract and they had to catch the thing at the end of its trip !!! Yep. But it yielded lots of info, including about her hiatal hernia. <a href=“What Is Google Health? - Google Health”>What Is Google Health? - Google Health;
<p>There was an old lady who swallowed a camera - I don’t know why she swallowed that spy - but now she’s spry…</p>
<p>Sorry - couldn’t resist. I hope she’s spry!</p>
<p>Bumping for an update, and yes she’s spry =0. </p>
<p>OP - how’s your son doing?</p>