“Can I be misdiagnosed?”
In sept. 2015 i ended up with c diff, now with that and cdiff damaging my intestinal track. i have had many blood test for celiac and came out neg. but had a scope down to see inside and my villa are damaged. they want to try a gf diet for a yr. now going down and looking is it possible to be misdiganosed because of having already damaged to my intestinal walls? ..
Female | 48 years old
5 Answers
Not sure that I follow that history competely but I have noted many patients advised to do gluten free diet (GFD) without evidence of celiac disease. Some patients go gluten free also without evidence for celiac disease. It is not advisable to follow a GFD without a formal diagnosis of celiac disease, and yes it is possible to be misdiagnosed with celiac disease since there are many conditions that can make the villi look blunted (though C diff is not one of them). Important to make sure you are
seeing physicians who are up to date and have extensive knowledge of the proper work-up for celiac disease. Second opinions are encouraged.
seeing physicians who are up to date and have extensive knowledge of the proper work-up for celiac disease. Second opinions are encouraged.
It does not sound like you were misdiagnosed because C.Diff is found in the colon and celiac disease is found more in the small bowel.
There can be several reasons for damage to the intestinal villi. Your GI doctor should discuss these with you. Eliminating wheat in general can lead to decrease in the amount of inflammation in the body. However, other treatment options need to be considered also.
C difficile will not cause changes to the small bowel villi... it is likely that you have celiac disease if the small bowel biopsies are abnormal.
C Difficile is not known to damage the villi in the upper small intestine. The biopsies taken during upper endoscopy can show damage in your villi, which can arise from a few different reasons. Gluten sensitivity is one of those conditions. If all other conditions have been ruled out, then you may benefit from at least 6 months of gluten free diet before repeating endoscopy and biopsies.
