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Confusing Dgp Tests

Oceanlvrs5

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Oceanlvrs5 Newbie
Oceanlvrs5
Posted

I took my first set of blood tests in Oct. 2012.  At that time I had NOT been gluten free.  My results were as follows:

 

tTG Antibody IgA - 3.85      

tTG antibody IgA result - Negative Negative

 

tTG Antibody IgG - 5.72

tTG Antibody IgG result - Negative Negative

 

DGP Antibody IgA - 48.20

DGP Antibody IgA result - Positive Negative

 

So my GI  MD said I had Celiac's and put me on a gluten-free diet

My PCP said I do not have Celiac's

 

I retested in March 2013 after being VERY VIGILANT on my gluten-free diet and my results were as follows:

 

tTG Antibody IgA - 3.40

tTG Antibody IgA result - Negative Negative

 

tTG Antibody IgG - 5.84

tTG Antibody IgG result - Negative Negative

 

DGP Antibody IgA - 55.31

DGP Antibody IgA result - Positive Negative

 

So now Both my GI and my PCP say I don't have Celiac's

 

I have read that DGP is very accurate and I'm testing higher now then when I was eating lots of Gluten.  Any thoughts????  I'm not sure what to think or how to eat at this point...  Thanks :)  Connie

 

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powerofpositivethinking Community Regular
powerofpositivethinking
Posted

hi Connie,

 

has the gluten-free diet made you feel better?  if yes, then your answer is stick with the diet  :)  To be honest, I have no idea why your DGP-igA would be raised more, if you have been following a strict gluten-free diet.  Does that include gluten-free cosmetics and toiletries?    Did you ever have a biopsy?  Can anyone else answer, is it possible to have refractory sprue with a positive DGP-igA score?

 

I'm in the same camp as you except my DGP igG was positive, and my biopsy was negative.  I really wish more research studies would be done on the effectiveness of DGP on adults because I've also read that it's very specific to celiac, but yet a lot of doctors won't diagnose celiac without the intestinal damage.  My GI doctor wouldn't diagnose me with celiac based only on the positive DGP igG score because I did not have intestinal damage, so he diagnosed me with gluten intolerance.  I will have another celiac panel done in June, and the hope is it will drop, but I'm very interested in what your doctors think is raising your DGP igA.  Did they give you any ideas, or say it's not celiac, and hurry you out the door  :P

Oceanlvrs5 Newbie
Oceanlvrs5
Posted
  • Author

hi Connie,

 

has the gluten-free diet made you feel better?  if yes, then your answer is stick with the diet  :)  To be honest, I have no idea why your DGP-igA would be raised more, if you have been following a strict gluten-free diet.  Does that include gluten-free cosmetics and toiletries?    Did you ever have a biopsy?  Can anyone else answer, is it possible to have refractory sprue with a positive DGP-igA score?

 

I'm in the same camp as you except my DGP igG was positive, and my biopsy was negative.  I really wish more research studies would be done on the effectiveness of DGP on adults because I've also read that it's very specific to celiac, but yet a lot of doctors won't diagnose celiac without the intestinal damage.  My GI doctor wouldn't diagnose me with celiac based only on the positive DGP igG score because I did not have intestinal damage, so he diagnosed me with gluten intolerance.  I will have another celiac panel done in June, and the hope is it will drop, but I'm very interested in what your doctors think is raising your DGP igA.  Did they give you any ideas, or say it's not celiac, and hurry you out the door  :P

The gluten-free diet did NOT solve the GI problems - it didn't hurt them, but my PCP is thinking IBS vs Celiac's and the GI doc said intolerance.  I didn't have the biopsy done due to cost and the GI doc said it wouldn't change my treatment as I would be on a gluten-free diet anyway.  We are treating the IBS and that has really helped my GI issues.  But I'm still concerned about the celiacs because I don't want to unintentionally cause damage if I eat any gluten thinking that I don't have celiacs.  I'm really stumped as to why my "score" would go up because I didn't eat anything that didn't say gluten-free, wasn't on a gluten-free menu or that I didn't research ahead of time (not even a little cheating).  I don't wear makeup and did check my toothpaste but didn't check my chapstick.  Even so, I would think with all the stuff I'm no longer eating, chapstick should be enough to RAISE my numbers???   The GI Doc had his nurse contact me with the results so I haven't met with him yet.  I wanted to do my research first on the DGP so I know what questions to ask....

powerofpositivethinking Community Regular
powerofpositivethinking
Posted

does your chapstick definitely have gluten in it?  though i'm not sure if chapstick would be enough to raise it  :huh:   anybody have any ideas on that one?

The gluten-free diet did NOT solve the GI problems - it didn't hurt them, but my PCP is thinking IBS vs Celiac's and the GI doc said intolerance.  I didn't have the biopsy done due to cost and the GI doc said it wouldn't change my treatment as I would be on a gluten-free diet anyway.  We are treating the IBS and that has really helped my GI issues.  But I'm still concerned about the celiacs because I don't want to unintentionally cause damage if I eat any gluten thinking that I don't have celiacs.  I'm really stumped as to why my "score" would go up because I didn't eat anything that didn't say gluten-free, wasn't on a gluten-free menu or that I didn't research ahead of time (not even a little cheating).  I don't wear makeup and did check my toothpaste but didn't check my chapstick.  Even so, I would think with all the stuff I'm no longer eating, chapstick should be enough to RAISE my numbers???   The GI Doc had his nurse contact me with the results so I haven't met with him yet.  I wanted to do my research first on the DGP so I know what questions to ask....

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

Welcome - that your DGP continued to increase indicates there is still gluten being consumed - unfortunately gluten free items served in most restaurants only mean there is not gluten in the ingredients used - gluten is still in the kitchens and unless they have a strict gluten free preparation policy - there is gluten in their food.

Additionally - if you are eating a lot of prepared gluten-free items they can be very hard on the damaged digestive system.

I highly suggest eating mostly whole gluten-free items ratherr than the meriad of gluten-free processed foods out there. Labeled gluten-free does not equal healthful.

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