Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Test Results?


sunny13

Recommended Posts

sunny13 Newbie

I have been on medication (Robinul Forte) for Irritable Bowel Syndrome for the last 2 months. In the meantime I was tested for both a thyroid condition and Celiac's Disease. I don't have the test results in hand but I know that 2 out of the 3 things tested for concerning Celiac's reflect weak positive results. The 3rd was negative. Basically, my doctor said that he does not know whether I have Celiac's. He said that my options are to either continuing taking the medication for Irritable Bowel or try the Gluten-Free Diet. It seems that my symptoms have been somewhat better while on the medication, however, I do not want to take medication for the rest of my life. Any information would be greatly appreciated? Could the fact that 2 of these things tested for reflect gluten sensitivity rather than actual Celiac's disease? Do most of the people with the disease test positive for all 3 of the antibodies? I understand that the Gluten free diet is difficult to maintain, but if my stomach problems are something I can control naturally -- I am all for it!

Thank You -- this site is very helpful!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Guest jhmom

My doctor tried to diagnose me with IBS too but I would not accept it. He never offered me meds (for IBS) and I lived with terrible pain on a daily basis. He finally did bloodwork to check me for Celiac but ruled it out when the bloodwork came back negative. I also had an endoscopy done which showed patchy inflammation and he continued to dismiss Celiac. I knew what I was going through was not normal and was not IBS, I knew something more serious was going on.

I really cannot offer any advise on the blood work except to say it is my understanding if you have a positive result you most likely have Celiac or gluten sensitivity. If you are not comfortable with the results you could check out www.enterolab.com they perform a stool panel test, which is more sensative than blood.

A gluten free diet is not bad, yes at first it can be a little overwhelming but it does get better especially after you see the change in yourself and the way you feel.

I hope this helps and that you get answers soon! :)

seeking-wholeness Explorer

sunny,

You certainly could have celiac disease. Blood tests can come back false-negative for a number of reasons. Also, celiac disease-related antibodies are concenrated INSIDE the small intestine and usually only "spill" over into the bloodstream LATE in the course of the disease! Another interesting observation is that blood antibody levels DO NOT correlate with the extent of intestinal damage. Some patients have low antibody levels but a lot of intestinal damage, while others have high antibody levels and little damage (but presumably the celiac disease is affecting other body systems, just not primarily the intestines).

If your doctor refuses to schedule a biopsy, you will need to decide whether to try the gluten-free diet immediately or pursue further testing first. Open Original Shared Link testing would probably still be accurate even after you go gluten-free (for a couple of months, at least), but conventional testing would NOT be!

The gluten-free diet is "difficult" only in that YOU must accept COMPLETE responsibility for ensuring that your food is safe to eat. It is extremely risky to trust other people's judgment, especially if they are not gluten-free themselves, and even their best intentions can easily be derailed by contaminated cookware or countertops! However, it is usually NOT difficult to stick with the diet once you start to see improvement, simply because you will feel so much better. It can take time before improvement becomes noticeable, and you WILL have a lot of accidents for the first year or so, but you will be healing--and that makes it worth it!

It is great that you prefer natural healing to drug "therapy"--too many people (in my opinion) don't! I hope you get some answers soon, so you can begin to heal. Good luck!

sunny13 Newbie

Thank you for your advice. I actually have the test results in my hand right now. The 2 tests showing weak positive results are the Antigliadin IgA and the Antigliadin IgG. It the tTG that reflects negative results.

After reading the responses that I have received from this message board and conducting my own research, I plan to stop taking the Irritable Bowel Medication this week and begin a gluten-free diet this weekend. I may also take advantage of the more specific test (enterolab). Like many other people on these message boards I tend to be prone to mouth sores as well. Also I notice that sometimes I develop a minor allergic reactions to certain types of beer. Could this be due to Gluten Sensitivuty/celiac disease?

Now I am on a quest to find out what food and drink are gluten-free. Any suggestions of where I can find detailed lists on the internet would be greatly appreciated! Again thanks for the quick responses :)

Guest jhmom

Good for you! I am happy to hear you are taking charge of your health!! :D

I do not drink beer or other drinks but it seems that I have read something about beer having gluten in it. If you do a search on "beer" on this board it will pull up all posts related to it.

As far as other gluten-free food and drink, here is a good link of "some" of the gluten free foods and drinks:

www.glutenfreeinfo.com

I hope this helps :)

gf4life Enthusiast

Hi Sunny13,

I have something to say about the blood tests. First off they are not 100% accurate, I don't think there are too many tests out there that are. <_< But as for the tTG test being negative, first off the test has to be performed by a specialized lab, and it has to be done using human tTG and most regular labs use pig tTG. Unless you use human tTG the test is not accurate. I personally tested negative on all the blood tests. My kids tested positive on the IGG only and have now had the tests repeated by their new doctor and he only uses Promethius Labs for testing for Celiac Disease and they only use human tTG and always check for IGA deficiency (which can alter your test results if you are deficient in IGA). I know my test were done by an incompetent lab (at least as far as celiac disease goes), but at least I can be assured that my kids tests are accurate. :rolleyes:

God bless,

Mariann

By the way, I was diagnosed through Enterolab using their Complete Stool and Gene Panel. I tested positive on the Gliadin and tTG stool tests, and positive for HLA DQ2 (the main gene responsible for celiac disease, the other being HLA DQ8).

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Colleen H replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      15

      Ibuprofen

    2. - Colleen H posted a topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      0

      Methylprednisone treatment for inflammation?

    3. - cristiana replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      15

      Ibuprofen

    4. - Jmartes71 posted a topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      0

      My only proof

    5. - Scott Adams replied to wellthatsfun's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      1

      still struggling with cravings


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,874
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    oscarbolduc
    Newest Member
    oscarbolduc
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Colleen H
      Yes thyroid was tested.. negative  Iron ...I'm. Not sure ... Would that fall under red blood count?  If so I was ok  Thank you for the detailed response..☺️
    • Colleen H
      Hi all !! Did anyone ever get prescribed methylprednisone steroids for inflammation of stomach and intestines?  Did it work ??  Thank you !! 
    • cristiana
      Hi Colleen Are you supplementing B12/having injections? I have learned recently that sometimes when you start addressing a B12 deficiency, it can temporarily make your symptoms worse.  But it is important not to stop the treatment.  Regarding your problems with anxiety, again that is another symptom of a B12 deficiency.   I didn't know what anxiety was until it hit me like a train several months before gastrointestinal issues began, so I can certainly relate.   Two books which helped me hugely were At Last A Life by Paul David (there is a website you can look up) and The Depression Cure: The Six-Step Programme to Beat Depression Without Drugs by Dr Steve Llardi.  Although his book is aimed at people who have depression, following the principals he sets out was so helpful in lessening my anxiety.  Llardi suggests we need to focus on getting enough: - physical exercise - omega-3 fatty acids - natural sunlight exposure - restorative sleep - social connectedness - meaningful, engaging activity   ... and we should feel a lot better. That is not to stay you must stop taking medication for depression or anxiety if you have been prescribed it, but adopting the changes Dr Llardi sets out in the book should really help. Can I just ask two more questions:  1) you say that you are B12 deficient, did they test your iron levels too?  If not, you really ought to be checked for deficiency and, 2) did they check your thyroid function, as an overactive thyroid can be cause rapid heartbeat and a lot of coeliacs have thyroid issues? Cristiana        
    • Jmartes71
      Hello still dancing around my celiac disease and not getting medically backed up considering Ive been glutenfree since 1994.All my ailments are the core issue of my ghost disease aka celiac disease. Im angery because the "celiac specialist " basically lightly dismissed me.Im extremely angery and fighting for a new primary care physician which is hard to do in Northern Cali.So currently without and looking.Im angery that its lightly taken when its extremely serious to the one who has it.My only evidence is a brochure back in the days when I got news letters when I lived at my parents.It was published in 1998.I was diagnosed before any foods eliminated from my diet. Angery doctors don't take seriously when Im clearly speaking.I did write to the medicine of congress and have case number.
    • Scott Adams
      I totally get this. It's absolutely a grieving process, and it's okay to feel gutted about the loss of those simple joys, especially at 18. Your feelings are completely valid—it's not about being ungrateful for your amazing boyfriend, it's about mourning the life you thought you'd have. That "tortured by the smell" feeling is so real. It does get easier, I promise, but it's okay to sit in the sadness and just vent about how much it stings right now. Thanks for sharing that. Celiac.com has published a book on our site by Jean Duane PhD called Gluten-Centric Culture, which covers many of the social aspects of having celiac disease: This chapter in particular covers issues around eating with family and others - Gluten-Centric Culture: Chapter 5 - Grabbing A Bite Together:    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.