Could I Please Have Some Help With My Results?

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Hi, I've been doing some reading on this forum today and would like some advice with my 2.5yr old son's results.

The blood tests we had done are (excuse me for typing them out full as I'm not sure of all of the short forms that are referred to in this forum, so to save confustion will do it like this):

Gliadin IgA - Negative

Gliadin IgG - Weak Positive

Tissue Transglutaminase IgA - Moderate Positive

Tissue Transglutaminase IgG - Negative

Comment at bottom "presence of IgG gliadin with IgA tTg positivity is highly specific for celiac disease".

Here in NZ a biopsy is required to confirm if he does have celiac disease, but my doctor advised against the biopsy unless we really want to do it. She suggested just doing a full gluten-free diet and if the symptoms disappear then that's our answer. I'm not keen on the biopsy, but am unsure of whether how others on this board who are experienced see our results ie are any of these results a more definite answer to celiac disease than others? The comment seems to suggest that this is the cause (he just has the pale coloured stools with undigested food, skin rashes, small for age, terrible night sleep, feels cold (is this a symptom?). So is there any point in putting him through the biopsy based on this? Can we do the diet and see if we see a change and if not to reintroduce the full gluten diet again prior to the biopsy? I have read on this board about the difference between a tolerance and celiac disease, do these results define between these one way or the other? Just wondering if we need to go fully gluten-free or just do a reduced-gluten diet?

Sorry if these same questions have already been asked so often, I'm just a bit overwhealmed with all the info available and am having trouble focusing on one thing at a time.

[aikiducky]

You're maybe hoping that it isn't true? A partially gluten-free diet doesn't really do much good I'm afraid, even very small amounts of gluten do damage if one is sensitive to it, so whether your son has celiac or just an intolerance, the diet is the same, 100% gluten free.

A positive blood test is positive, weak or not. How high the numbers are depends on age, how much damage has already done, and how much antibodies a person produces, as far as I know, so a weak positive doesn't mean a "weak celiac". You either have it or you don't.

A biopsy can't rule celiac out, but it could be useful for seeing if there already is damage to the small intestine or not. But you have to decide if you want him to go through that. First going gluten free and then later introducing gluten again might be quite tough if he really has celiac. People usually react stronger to it after being gluten free for a while, so it might make him quite sick then.

Pauliina

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi, I've been doing some reading on this forum today and would like some advice with my 2.5yr old son's results.

The blood tests we had done are (excuse me for typing them out full as I'm not sure of all of the short forms that are referred to in this forum, so to save confustion will do it like this):

Gliadin IgA  -  Negative

Gliadin IgG  - Weak Positive

Tissue Transglutaminase IgA  -  Moderate Positive

Tissue Transglutaminase IgG  - Negative

Comment at bottom "presence of IgG gliadin with IgA tTg positivity is highly specific for celiac disease".

Here in NZ a biopsy is required to confirm if he does have celiac disease, but my doctor advised against the biopsy unless we really want to do it.  She suggested just doing a full gluten-free diet and if the symptoms disappear then that's our answer.  I'm not keen on the biopsy, but am unsure of whether how others on this board who are experienced see our results ie are any of these results a more definite answer to celiac disease than others?  The comment seems to suggest that this is the cause (he just has the pale coloured stools with undigested food, skin rashes, small for age, terrible night sleep, feels cold (is this a symptom?).  So is there any point in putting him through the biopsy based on this?  Can we do the diet and see if we see a change and if not to reintroduce the full gluten diet again prior to the biopsy?  I have read on this board about the difference between a tolerance and celiac disease, do these results define between these one way or the other?  Just wondering if we need to go fully gluten-free or just do a reduced-gluten diet?

Sorry if these same questions have already been asked so often, I'm just a bit overwhealmed with all the info available and am having trouble focusing on one thing at a time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He needs to be gluten free and test everyone olse in the family also. Do not delay, you don't want your son to end up 20 years old and 5 ft tall and suffering emotionally. You will see a difference. I would not put him through a biopsy as your doctor fully recognizes the need for a gluten-free diet without one, great doctor you have there. Thank him, he is ahead of his time for the US. The symptoms you mentioned are from celiac and there may be impacts on his school preformance that you won't realize are there till they are gone. Thank God it was caught when he was young and get him (and perhaps the whole house) gluten free.

[Jnkmnky]

100% gluten free. No "cheating", no accidents, no "a little bit won't hurt..." Your child needs to be 100% gluten free for life! You'll see a remarkable difference. And remaining 100% gluten-free means NO medications with all their nasty side-effects. This is a great disease to have.

[lbsteenwyk]

I personally would not do the biopsy, but if you feel that having a positive biopsy will help your family to accept the diagnosis, then by all means have it done. From what I understand from others whose children have gone through the biopsy, it is not that bad; probably less stress for your child than having blood drawn. You can get negative results on a biopsy, due to patchy damage or to bad reading by a pathologist (there are initial signs of damage that some pathologists don't know to look for), so even if the biopsy comes back negative, I would still recommend putting him on the gluten-free diet. Good luck with your decision.

[tarnalberry]

The dietary test (trying the diet) is a valid test in and of itself. It's your choice on the biopsy, but there's no point in just reducing the amount of gluten - it must be entirely eliminated.

[julie5914]

Ye, the Ttg is very specific, so if it's positive, he has it, whether it's weak or not. If your doctor is ok without biopsy, I would be happy and go with that. He needs to be 100% gluten free is he's going to feel better. Read up and start being super strict about it. Not a crumb. Check everything that touches his skin as well.

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Wow, thanks for the time you've all spent replying to me! It's really appreciated and it's answered all those questions (for now), swimming around inside. We live in New Zealand and yes I am happy with my doctor and her approach to this (we are yet to be referred to a paediatrician who she did warn us will push for us to do the biopsy so I'm glad that I'm clear now on what we want to do). Thanks for the tips on no touching anything either, I wasn't too sure about that side of things. Fortunately my parents are also taking on this diet since they do suspect that my mum has suffered for quite a while. We've been having a lot of issues with night wakings for my son and a bit of erratic crazy behaviour so I am quite relieved to have a diagnosis and look forward to seeing some changes.

I look forward to getting to know you all more, I'm sure I'll be adding this board to my list of daily visits.