Celiac Support

History — Hysterectomy in 2006 after which I developed severe diarrhea and it continued to some degree for 9 months or so. Frequency gradually abated and have just had loose bowels since. Fast forward to June 2010 when a one-time stool test (never had one before) showed abnormal fecal fat (steatorrhea) and serum vitamin A was 19 (range = 19 - 83). All standard serum tests were normal although potassium is at the bottom of the range.

I have NO other gastro symptoms (no pain, bloating, gas) although I've had hair loss and dry and aging skin since hyst. (Even though I'm on HRT these issues may be due more to hormonal issues than malabsorption.)

Due to the position of the pancreas and intestines and the anatomical effects of hysterectomy (settling of intestines), I thought this would more likely be an intestinal problem than a pancreas problem.

I've had the following tests:
- Celiac testing — Two blood tests (3 years apart) and endoscopy - negative
- Stool test for parasites (run by PCP) — negative
- Stool test for good and bad bacteria (run by integrative doctor) — normal results
- Ultrasound of pancreas, liver, bile ducts, kidneys, aorta. Images were very clear and all looked good.

GI doc now wants to schedule:
- EUS with another doctor to rule out pancreas problems — not sure I want to do this since U/S was clear and EUS doesn't always show pancreatitis early in disease.
- Small bowel follow through — what will this show? When I asked about adhesions or "blind loop" type abnormalities, he said I'd have much worse symptoms if I had these. So what would be the point of this test??

Are there any additional lab tests that would be useful before proceeding to all these imaging tests — non-invasive and invasive? And what imaging tests would be useful if all lab tests are normal or inconclusive?

I know I can do a gluten free diet to see if that helps. I did one in 2007 and don't think it made much difference but don't recall specifically. I've read that you have to go GF for 90 days and since I don't have many of the celiac symptoms, that's a lot of inconvenience (more so when eating out and traveling - not so much at home).

Thanks to anyone who can provide some input!!