Celiac Disease: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Potential Overlap with IBS

Question
hi there. i have spoken to you before about digestional issues i have been having & you said IBS most likely is the culprit. i just found out my dad was said to have celiac's as a child. he would get diarrhea after he ate bread all the time. the doctor didn't mention celiac's as a possibililty. i know celiac's is an auto-immune disease, if i had celiac's do you think it would've shown up in my full in depth blood work up? (i had a CBC, platelet count, liver function, renal function, glucose..they looked at all my bodily functions). do you think abnormalties would've shown up if i had that auto immune disease (celiac's) because i heard it causes alot of vitamin deficiencies & stuff? the doctor said my blood work was perfect.

Answer
Hi Britt,
Celiac Disease or SPRUE can not be diagnosed by the blood work you had done. If you have these symptoms after eating grains, then you may very well have Celiac disease. The specific blood tests needed to determine this are: Endomysial Antibodies and Gliaden Antibodies. These are disease specific tests and can rule in or out Celiac disese.