Four years ago I was “fired” by my gastroenterologist. My son had not one but TWO copies of the gene HLA-DQ2 and two copies of HLA-DQ8. He flunked the IgA tissue transmutase test by a factor of ten, had ALL and I do mean all of the classic symptoms (he looked just like the kid in the textbook right down to the bloating and canker sores) and all symptoms improved dramatically or disappeared within weeks of converting to a gluten-free diet. So when they wanted me to put him back on gluten for a endoscope and biopsy, I refused. I saw no point. What were we looking for? Really. Why poison the kid and knock him out? It reminded me of when they wanted to MRI my knee after I had a torn ACL. I had a knee that came apart and bent backwards. Was there really any doubt?

The gastroenterologist did not like my attitude and so that was the end of that.

However, it turns out that the EU does agree with me. And now so does the Mayo Clinic. In this recent video from the celiac expert at the Mayo Clinic, they discuss how if a child is like mine, where his IgA scores are off the charts, AND he has genes, AND he presents in a classical manner, AND everything improves dramatically after only a few weeks on a gluten-free diet then knocking him out and scoping him is probably redundant.

Now what I did is not right for everyone. I actually wanted to be conscious for my knee surgery and had wisdom teeth pulled and drilled out of my jaw under the influence only of Novocain. I just don’t like anesthesia and if I can avoid it I prefer to do so. Since my child literally presented with every single symptom from pain to IBS, to bloating, to failure to thrive, to neurological delays to the maximum amount of possible genes, I saw no point in endoscoping him. It seemed too much like testing Charles Manson to see if he might be mentally ill. Wow, ya think?

So anyway, if your child is like mine and is exhibiting every single symptom and failing every other test, and your doctor STILL wants to scope him and you do not, here is the video. Let them know that the EU and The Mayo Clinic think that the scope is NOT the gold standard, and get the gene test instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4QjlEuCT2w

Just don’t tell them I sent you.