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Getting Tested For Celiac

hawkpacific

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hawkpacific Newbie
hawkpacific
Posted

Hello all,

 

Per the advice of another member on this forum, I am going to make an appointment with a family practice MD/nutritionist tommorow for a celiac disease test.

 

I am currently eating all the gluten/wheat stuff.

 

I need any information/tips/ and advice on what to ask/which test to get. No one in my family I know of has a diagnosed celiac disease. i am a  29 year old male.

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

The following is the list of celiac tests:

 

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA
Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG
Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA
Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA
Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG
Total Serum IgA

 

That first two (AGA) are older tests and not so reliable, thus are falling into disuse.  The tests you really want are the last four. :)

hawkpacific Newbie
hawkpacific
Posted
  • Author

Should I go a primary doctor or a specialist

 

The following is the list of celiac tests:

 

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA
Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG
Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA
Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA
Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG
Total Serum IgA

 

That first two (AGA) are older tests and not so reliable, thus are falling into disuse.  The tests you really want are the last four. :)

Should I go to a primary care doctor or a specialist?

 

Do I need all four of the last tests?

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Your primary care can order the tests.  Make sure that your doctor uses a lab which performs all the tests; if they are not listed on the lab sheet (i.e., just read celiac panel) have him write in what tests he wants (you want :) ) performed.  Yes, you should have the last four tests.  Some lab protocols will run the EMA only if the tTG is positive though.  The total serum IgA is important because it acts as a control to ensure the accuracy of the other tests.

hawkpacific Newbie
hawkpacific
Posted
  • Author

Your primary care can order the tests.  Make sure that your doctor uses a lab which performs all the tests; if they are not listed on the lab sheet (i.e., just read celiac panel) have him write in what tests he wants (you want :) ) performed.  Yes, you should have the last four tests.  Some lab protocols will run the EMA only if the tTG is positive though.  The total serum IgA is important because it acts as a control to ensure the accuracy of the other tests.

I know you know what your talking about. But, since the new Dr. may not be familiar with celiac testing, do you have a link to a medical information page that tells which blood tests are most important?

nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

Lab Tests On-line might be good enough to show him:

Open Original Shared Link

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    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      oh that's interesting... it's hard to say for sure but it has *seemed* like oats might be causing me some vague issues in the past few months. It's odd that I never really connect specific symptoms to foods, it's more of an all over feeling of unwellness after  eating them.  If it happens a few times after eating the same foods- I cut back or avoid them. for this reason I avoid dairy and eggs.  So far this has worked well for me.  oh, I have some of Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot cereal and I love it! it's hard to find but I will be looking for more.  for the next few weeks I'm going to be concentrating on whole fresh fruits and veggies and beans and nuts and seeds. I'll have to find out if grains are truly necessary in our diet. I buy brown rice pasta but only eat that maybe once a month at most. Never liked quinoa. And all the other exotic sounding grains seem to be time consuming to prepare. Something to look at later. I love beans and to me they provide the heft and calories that make me feel full for a lot longer than a big bowl of broccoli or other veggies. I can't even tolerate the plant milks right now.  I have reached out to the endo for guidance regarding calcium intake - she wants me to consume 1000mgs from food daily and I'm not able to get to more than 600mgs right now.  not supposed to use a supplement until after my next round of testing for hyperparathyroidism.   thanks again- you seem to know quite a bit about celiac.  
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    • catnapt
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