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My son is a biopsy diagnosed celiac and has been on the diet for almost 8
years now.  But he's been having problems swallowing all summer so I finally got
him to a doctor who ordered an endoscopy.
 It was a disaster.
       They couldn't even get a pediatric scope down him although my son is
now 23 and six feet tall.  The G I doctor told him that he believed the
swelling to be due to alleriges and that he doubted that my son had ever had celiac
since "Mother Nature seldom wastes the energy to do something two ways when she
can do it in one."
     My son jumped right on that since this diet is not that easy.  He'd
prefer to think he doesn't have celiac just allergies.
    The gastro ordered an antiendomesial antibody test and a tissue
transglutaminase test to check the celiac diagnosis.  But I understand that if someone
is following the diet (and my son is and has been) that there will be no
antibodies to measure and the tests will not be accurate.
   Is there some other test that can be done?  And where?
   I feel pretty sure that my kid does have celiac disease AND allergies just
because of all the changes in him, both physical and behavioral, after he
went GF. (And of course because of the original biopsy.)  But he's not going to
believe me or his original gastro now.  Is the genetic test the answer?  Where
does he get that?
                         Thanks!
       Christine in Colorado

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *