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What Is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease is a chronic, but treatable disease that involves the small intestine and can lead to a variety of symptoms. Approximately one out of 100 people in the United States have celiac disease.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye among other grains. If a gluten-containing food is eaten by a patient with celiac disease, it triggers an abnormal response and subsequent damage to the small intestine. This damage then leads to various symptoms and decreased absorption of nutrients.
Despite increased awareness, there are patients who remain undiagnosed. The reason is that the symptoms of celiac disease overlaps with other gastrointestinal illnesses. Symptoms include diarrhea, weight loss, gaseousness and bloating. Some patients do not have any of these symptoms. Instead, there may be some indicators on their blood work that could point towards celiac disease. For example, some patients who have iron deficiency anemia or abnormal liver enzymes may have celiac disease.
Testing for celiac disease involves your gastroenterologist piecing together your symptoms, blood tests and an upper endoscopy. Typically, testing begins with blood work that can be done at any local laboratory. Your doctor may also recommend an upper endoscopy (esophagogastroduodenoscopy or EGD) to obtain samples or biopsies of your small intestine to examine it further under a microscope. This procedure can be done at an outpatient endoscopy center. You are given sedation by an anesthesiologist and do not feel any pain or discomfort during or after the test. There is no preparation for the procedure other than having nothing to eat or drink after midnight and stop certain blood thinners after discussion with your doctors.
The treatment of celiac disease includes strict adherence to a gluten free diet. Fortunately, the changes that occur in the small intestine and the symptoms caused by celiac disease are reversible with a gluten free diet. While a gluten free diet is easier now that awareness has improved in the general population, there are times when food and other products can be contaminated with gluten.
Often times, your gastroenterologist will recommend that you also consult with a nutritionist to have a better understanding about how to adhere to a gluten free diet and to discuss alternatives to gluten. It is important that the gluten free diet be followed as untreated celiac disease has the potential to lead to complications.
