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How long does it take to damage villi if you have celiacs disease?

Posted , 4 users are following.

beth67
beth67

i think i may have celiacs disease. im 17 years old and ive been very nauseous with really bad stomach cramps and diarrhea with weight loss for the past 4 months. not only this celiacs disease runs in my family. i decided to try a gluten free diet after trying various other things and after a few days i started to feel better. i spoke to my doctor about this and they did a blood test for celiacs which came back negative. i now think this was because i was on the gluten free diet for a few weeks before. another doctor has also sent me for an endoscopy to make sure. however this wont be for at least another month and i just wondered how long i would have to be back on gluten for it to cause enough damage to appear on a biopsy. i dont want to cause myself more suffering than necessary but i do want a definite diagnosis. i just wondered if anyone else has had this problem or if anyone could give me advice on this? would two weeks prior to the endoscopy be enough or longer? and how much gluten consumption would be adequate? thanks.

1 like, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • rex_carr
    rex_carr

    Posted

    Generally you should eat 'significant' amounts of gluten for 6 weeks prior.

    'Significant' would be around four slices of bread ( or equivalent ) per day.

  • AL8008
    AL8008

    Posted

    We were told a cracker a day for 2 weeks leading up to the endoscopy. I kept him off though and he still showed the damage. So I think it just depends on how extensive the damage.
  • exdancer
    exdancer

    Posted

    You must have had your endoscopy by now, I hope they took plenty of samples for biopsy and didn't waste time by just having a look round (as happened to me the first time).

    I also hope you kept eating 'significant' amounts of gluten ALL THE TIME leading up to the test otherwise you risk a negative result. I don't know how long it takes to damage the villi but I understand in some people they can recover quite quickly on a gluten free diet.

    You really need to be referred to a dietician initially.

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