<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Dr. Green is my doctor, so I can tell you that he is both careful and
kind. He won't dismiss you; he's just not that kind of person.
Green has a fair number of people referred to him because they have
undiagnosed gut problems of one kind or another, which means he has
experience with elusive cases. Because celiac damage can lead to
other kinds of food sensitivities, he knows something about those,
too. And he's had celiac patients who do not respond to the diet.
Whether someone else, less thoroughly immersed in celiac but
experienced with the difficult-to-diagnose might be better, I can't
say. Celiac is always high on Green's suspect list, as Crohn's would
be for someone who researches that.....you get my drift.
I am not sure that there is a definitive test for wheat sensitivity
beyond an elimination diet.
The best blood test now being used to screen for celiac may be
different (and much more sensitive) than the one used when you were
told you don't have celiac. Also, you could have developed celiac in
the time since you tested negative for it. If he does think it's
worth testing again for celiac, he will certainly use the endomysial
antibody test (EMA). In his book, he says "unfortunately" there are
people who test negative on the EMA and then, a couple of years
later, test positive. If you are celiac and have gut damage (the
degree of which does not correlate with symptoms, so there's no
telling) the EMA would pick it up.
Whether Green would insist upon a gluten challenge, I can't say.
Certainly he has dealt with dozens of people who resist doing that.
He is very sensitive to the miseries gluten can cause.
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Dr. Green is a remarkable physician and brilliant diagnostitian. He is a
highly
respected gastroenterologist, beyond his expertise in celiac disease. If you
have a problem that is still resulting in stomach issues, and you are still
not
feeling well it could be any number of things that are within his realm.
He is a great problem solver and has a broad base of knowledge and
experience that could help
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I have celiac disease and am a patient of Dr. Green's. My husband, like
you, has had stomach problems for years that are worsening. They have not
been diaqgnosed specifically by any doctor. No, he doesn't have celiac
disease, he was tested for that. It seems like he has IBS. I brought him to
Dr. Green, who is , after all, a gastroenterologist. He was somewhat helpful,
tried to think out of the box. My husband is still trying to figure it out,
exploring homeopathic, chinese herbs, standard medications, therapy, diet, to
see what works.
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I am in precisely your situation and did see Dr. Green. He is smart and
expensive and nice and self-promoting. All of those things.
I saw him as a patient when I was precisely in your situation...and while he
is kind, and while he will not directly saw so, his interest and cash flow
derive from celiac. Period.
Yes, he will want to do his own tests, etc. etc.. Not only is this
intellectually understandable, it is the profit center for every hospital and
doctor.
His having read a biopsy means something...but not too much, since if you
were gluten free at the time...or even if whoever took the sample from the
"wrong" spot...it might not have been valid.
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