<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I asked a question of the list about the doctor's insistence on biopsies 
with a colonoscopy in view of the fact that he hadn't even seen my colon 
yet.  I underwent colonscopy because of 6 months of almost steady 
diarrhea with some stomach pain.  Proton inhibitor pills had not helped, 
pepto bismol had not, and other home remedies.  My tTG was almost zero 
so gluten contamination did not seem to be the issue.   I was eating 
melons, lettuce and spinach last summer when they had recalls on these 
products because of e-coli and other bacteria but the doctor refused to 
do any cultures.
Thank you to everyone who responded; I received 38 replies.  What an 
amazing group of people you are :)   The vast majority said I should 
just do the scope and let the doctor biopsy.  Because my blood pressure 
is very salt sensitive I asked to not use the MooviPrep which has 2500mg 
of sodium, or the Gatoraid prep with Miralax.  I ended up using Miralax 
with clear fruit juice and I had very little discomfort.  As it turned 
out my colon looked normal except for one teeny tiny polyp which proved 
to be benign.  iFLORA has even stopped colitis attacks for my daughter 
so after the scope I took half a bottle of iFLORA probiotic to put good 
bacteria down in my digestive tract.

Right after the scope, I gave up nightshades (tomato, pepper, potato, 
eggplant) because I noticed my stiffness and joint pain were much worse 
when I ate these foods and there is alot of rheumatoid arthritis in my 
mother and father's families.  I remember eating spareribs and chili and 
other things with tomato gave me loose bowels so I thought maybe that 
was a contributing factor.  I am not 3 weeks down the line and the 
diarrhea has not returned.  So either the probiotic or perhaps the diet 
changes have helped.

Summary of replies to my question:

1) At least half my replies said that biopsies are routine in every 
colonoscopy, particularly of any tissue that looks inflamed or abnormal 
in anyway, or for anyone who has reported symptoms like you are reporting.

2) One person suggested "Have you been checked for small intestinal 
bacterial overgrowth via a hydrogen breath test? That would be one 
option. Eliminating dairy is also very good. You might have another 
allergy. . . As for testing, you could choose to do a tablet endoscopy. 
. .But before doing that, I would probably try getting tested for 
SIBO/SBBO."

3) "My guess would be they are looking for microscopic colitis. . 
.Totally understand the cold sterilization thing, with they would find a 
better way."

4)  "I don't have an opinion on the biopsies, but one "fix" that works 
well for me is konjac glucomannan. You can get this as a powder ... it's 
a bit pricy, but a pound lasts a LONG time since you only take maybe 1/4 
tsp. with meals. Anyway, it regulates the gut biota and kind of just 
sets everything right. It also encourages the butyrate-producing 
bacteria, which are just kind of magic. Butyrate kills cancer cells, and 
also is an anti-inflammatory. It is extermely healing for a number of 
gut conditions.
You can sprinkle a little bit on your food and mix it in, or take a PGX 
tablet (yes, they are marketed for weight loss, but that's not actually 
what they do). You might get a little more gas at first, as the bacteria 
get regulated. But it's an easy fix, if it works, and the stuff has been 
used in recipes for 1,000 years or so in Asia (and is approved as a food 
additive here too)."

5) A few wrote to make sure I knew that the test for celiac is upper 
endoscopy and that gluten contamination would probably show up in my 
small intestine rather than colon.

6) I was encouraged to try to minimize stress, eat a bland diet, take 
probiotics and pray all of which do help me at various times.

7) Several reminded me that a colonoscopy is considered standard for a 
baseline once you are past 50.  (I am 55).

8) Someone suggested a second opinion from another gastroenterologist.

9) One person siad she was taking doubel doses of Prilosec and it turned 
out  her problems were due to LOW stomach acid, not high, and that pain 
can be the same. It can cause loose stools, gas, bloating etc - a lot 
like celiac disease.  She went to a naturopath and was treated for 
SIBO-small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.  Because of a previous bad 
experience with colonscopy pain due to scar tissue from other surgery, 
she encourage me to try other things before the scope.

10) Another suggestion was I could be malabsorbing fat and need to take 
fat digesting enzymes.

11) One person said her husband also took metformin and no longer had 
digestive problems from it once he took it after10:30 in the morning and 
at bedtime instead of earlier in the day.  I tried it with and without 
food at various times and was never able to tolerate more than one 500mg 
dose a day without diarrhea and pain.   Metformin also depletes B12 and 
my face and arms had gone numb or tingled.  I had to take a whole bottle 
of B12 before that symptom went away.  I conclude Metforming is not for 
me and finally threw the pills out, gave up soda, ice cream, candy and 
other sugars and my blood sugar is pretty much normal as long as I stay 
off these foods.

12) One person had a similar episode and discovered she could no longer 
tolerate corn, soy, chicken or potatoes anymore.

13) One other suggestion was that I might be malabsorbing fat which can 
cause loose stools, etc. I keep my gluten-free diet quite low in fat or 
take fat-digesting enzymes if I eat out.

Thank you to everyone who reached out me and I hope this summary is a 
help to others.


Paula in PA


*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC