10
May
Diagnosing And Treating Celiac Disease: The Often Missed Digestive Disorder
For those who suffer from the digestive disorder celiac disease, ingesting gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, causes damage to the small intestine.
People who have celiac disease must follow a strict gluten-free diet for their entire lives or they may face serious complications, including osteoporosis and lymphoma, an immune system cancer.
It takes an average of 10 years for patients with celiac disease to be diagnosed properly and some specialists say that those sufferers are lucky to be diagnosed that quickly. An estimated three million Americans, or one in every 133 people, has celiac disease, but National Institutes of Health studies have shown that 95 percent of them are unaware they have it.
"Many individuals have milder forms of celiac disease and have minimal to no symptoms, making it more difficult to diagnose," explains Dr. Joel Retsky, who was named a top Gastroenterologist in Chicago by TopTierMD.
Detection of celiac disease is difficult because the symptoms can vary widely from person to person. Because of the difficulty in diagnosing it, celiac disease was considered a rare disorder that affected only one in every 10,000 people, primarily children with digestive problems, just a decade ago.
The disease is now known to be much more common now, with symptoms being as nebulous as anemia, infertility and osteoporosis. Most celiac disease patients never experience the classic symptoms of the disease, which include bloating, chronic diarrhea and upset stomach.
This lack of a clear set of symptoms causes celiac disease to often be mistaken for other ailments, from irritable bowel syndrome to lupus.
Lack of education among physicians is another reason that celiac disease is not properly diagnosed, with many primary care physicians unaware of the new research showing how common celiac disease is and how it manifests in unusual ways.
"A heightened sense of awareness among physicians is of utmost importance in diagnosing patients with celiac disease, especially in those with minimal symptoms," Dr. Retsky said. "A blood test will identify most individuals at risk for Celiac disease but the gold standard for diagnosis is a biopsy of the small intestine performed through a scope known as an upper endoscopy, a 5 minute exam done under "twilight" sedation," Retsky continues.
Dr. Joel Retsky was selected in 2010 by TopTierMD as a Chicago Top Doctor - He was named a Best Gastroenterologist in Chicago specializing in colon cancer screening and the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. He practices in Highland Park, IL in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago.
