Enterolab Results: Positive

[kellysensei]

So I got my gluten sensitivity stool test results back today:

 

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA      36 Units   (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

 

According to them, this means I need to avoid gluten. I'm not really surprised at the results. But they don't distinguish between gluten sensitivity and full-blown Celiac disease. Do stool test numbers correspond to blood test numbers?

 

I guess my next step is to have my GI doctor redo the Celiac blood test. I had a blood test done in November (and it was negative), but it wasn't valid because I'd been off gluten for several weeks. Now I've been eating gluten again for five weeks. I think I need to go eight weeks for a valid blood test, right? My birthday is in about three weeks, so I guess I'll eat a whole bunch of birthday cake and go out with a bang. LOL

[kareng]

So I got my gluten sensitivity stool test results back today:

 

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA      36 Units   (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

 

According to them, this means I need to avoid gluten. I'm not really surprised at the results. But they don't distinguish between gluten sensitivity and full-blown Celiac disease. Do stool test numbers correspond to blood test numbers?

 

I guess my next step is to have my GI doctor redo the Celiac blood test. I had a blood test done in November (and it was negative), but it wasn't valid because I'd been off gluten for several weeks. Now I've been eating gluten again for five weeks. I think I need to go eight weeks for a valid blood test, right? My birthday is in about three weeks, so I guess I'll eat a whole bunch of birthday cake and go out with a bang. LOL

This is a reliable place to get medical info:

Open Original Shared Link

For example :

Open Original Shared Link

"What is a gluten challenge?

A gluten challenge is the period of time when gluten is added back into a person’s diet to assist in the diagnosis of celiac disease. Antibodies take time to build into the blood stream before they can be detected through blood analysis. For a gluten challenge we recommend eating 1/2 slice of bread or a cracker each day for the duration of the challenge.

Prior to blood testing we recommend 12 weeks of eating gluten.

Prior to an endoscopic biopsy we recommend 2 weeks of eating gluten.

In the case of a severe reaction to gluten, a medical professional may opt to shorten the 12-week challenge and move immediately to an endoscopic biopsy."

Open Original Shared Link

"We only embrace tests that have endured rigorous scientific evaluations. So far, these tests have received no evidence-based support.

Enterolab has never successfully published anything on the accuracy of stool tests (nor have any other stool test manufacturers, to our knowledge) making it difficult to confirm the research results. Because of this, we must make our decisions based on what has been published; Harvard, UCSD, and the American College of Gastroenterology all agree that stool tests are simply not sensitive or specific enough methods in screening for celiac disease.

We can say therefore with confidence that the test currently being used by these labs is not good enough. In fact, while it is true that about 40% of people with proven gluten sensitivity have elevated AGA-IgG, it is also true that about 15-25% of the healthy individuals who have absolutely nothing wrong also have elevated AGA-IgG. Hence, about 60% of gluten sensitive people do not have elevated AGA-IgG (making the test not sensitive enough); and about 20% of normal, non-gluten sensitive people have elevated AGA-IgG for no apparent reason (making the test not specific enough)."

[ravenwoodglass]

How did your body respond to being gluten free and how has it responded to the challenge? IMHO that is the most important thing to which you should be paying attention. While it can be helpful to get a firm diagnosis if the diet is helping you should stick with it after all your testing is finished no matter what the results.

[kellysensei]

Well, I was off gluten for seven weeks. Since I've been back on gluten, I've noticed that I'm much more tired, I use the bathroom more, and the vision in my left eye is worse. So I do plan to avoid gluten after the next blood test, but I still hope that I don't have Celiac, of course, so I don't have to freak out if I eat something with a little bit of soy sauce in it (for example). Of course, being gluten-free could really mess up dreams of moving abroad in a few years. :-(

[RollingAlong]

There are celiacs all over the world; don't give up on your dreams! 

 

Enterolab offers a TTG test that may be a bit more informative as it looks at autoimmune activity.  Read this celiac.com blog post:

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/blog/856/entry-1546-enterolab-a-scientists-viewpoint/

 

If I remember correctly, Dr Fine did submit a paper for publication a few years ago and I don't think it was ever published. 

 

It is possible to have all the blood work be negative, the tests just aren't perfect. 

 

My spouse has never had any positive blood work. He did have a positive TTG test from enterolab and he did work with a GI doc to be sure it wasn't something else. He did a formal gluten challenge and became very ill over the 3 months. The doc told me, right after the endoscopy, that he was sure my husband had celiac.  The biopsy did come back negative, but at the follow up visit, the Gi doc said, based on what he saw, that he supported my husband's decision to not eat gluten. So, no formal diagnosis and can't use blood work to track his progress with the diet. 

 

However, he's had excellent response to the diet, the anemia is gone, etc. He also eliminated casein, so we confounded our variables. He did have multiple positive blood tests for casein. 

 

He retests with Enterolab with the TTG test annually and so far (5 years) has never gotten into the normal range, although his #'s have dropped.  

[kareng]

There are celiacs all over the world; don't give up on your dreams! 

 

Enterolab offers a TTG test that may be a bit more informative as it looks at autoimmune activity.  Read this celiac.com blog post:

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/blog/856/entry-1546-enterolab-a-scientists-viewpoint/

 

If I remember correctly, Dr Fine did submit a paper for publication a few years ago and I don't think it was ever published. 

 

It is possible to have all the blood work be negative, the tests just aren't perfect. 

 

My spouse has never had any positive blood work. He did have a positive TTG test from enterolab and he did work with a GI doc to be sure it wasn't something else. He did a formal gluten challenge and became very ill over the 3 months. The doc told me, right after the endoscopy, that he was sure my husband had celiac.  The biopsy did come back negative, but at the follow up visit, the Gi doc said, based on what he saw, that he supported my husband's decision to not eat gluten. So, no formal diagnosis and can't use blood work to track his progress with the diet. 

 

However, he's had excellent response to the diet, the anemia is gone, etc. He also eliminated casein, so we confounded our variables. He did have multiple positive blood tests for casein. 

 

He retests with Enterolab with the TTG test annually and so far (5 years) has never gotten into the normal range, although his #'s have dropped.

The blog post you link to explains why Enterolabs are not a good choice for tests.