Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • 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

Does The Aga Igg/iga Blood Test Tell You Anything?


SiandAshs Mom

Recommended Posts

SiandAshs Mom Apprentice

Hi all. I had the ttg iga test run a few months ago and it was flat out negative (my total iga was normal). I still suspect I have an issue with gluten but our labs here don't run any other tests. I know that the local naturopath can run a 'celiac panel' that includes ttg iga (already know it's negative) along with antigliadin iga and igg. Now I know most labs don't run these tests any more as they aren't as specific (?) to celiac, but is there a possibility that they could tell me some useful information? Are there people who are actually celiac that only show positive antigliadin blood tests? Is there any proof that they show possible NCGI? I would love your opinions before I pay out of pocket to have these tests run. Thanks so much!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



1desperateladysaved Proficient

Did you have any nutrient levels tested?  Many of us have low vitamin B, D and iron/ferritin.  My levels were low, but since have come up. 

 

D

nvsmom Community Regular

Some doctors think that the AGA IgA and AGA IgG can show gluten senstivity (NCGI/NCGS) in individuals without celiac disease but that is not a widely accepted belief. It's discussed briefly inOpen Original Shared Linkon page 11. On page 12 it shows that the sensitivity is not as good as the other tests so here is a chance that a gluten sensitivity (mainly celiac disease)  could be missed - especially in the AGA IgG.  Overall, I think the AGA tests are usually used for determining if one has celiac disease, and not NCGI. I'm not sure if there is anyone around here who "just" had a positive AGA test and was diagnosed with celiac disease, but I think that could be due to the fact that it's not run that often anymore because it is less reliable than the other tests.

 

If you are going to spend money on tests, you may want to consider the newer DGP IgA and DGP IgG tests. They tend to do a good job of detecting celiac disease, and are superior tests for detecting early cases of celiac disease.

 

You might want to have the tTG IgG run. Some celiacs are negative in all IgA based tests even though their total serum IgA is fine. There are a few active board members around who have had this experience.  And then there are those who had all negative blood tests but the endoscopic biopsy was positive (or vice versa).

 

There are a lot of tests because not everyone's celiac disease gets "caught" the same way.

 

If you run out of testing options, due to cost or availability, you could always go gluten-free and call yourself a possible celiac disease or NCGI.  Two of my kids definitely had issues with gluten. I am a celiac so I had them tested. The only test available was the tTG IgA, and it was negative. I made them gluten-free anyways and they are much healthier because of it. We still don't know if they have NCGI or celiac disease, but either way, the gluten-free diet is the treatment.

 

Best wishes.

SiandAshs Mom Apprentice

Did you have any nutrient levels tested?  Many of us have low vitamin B, D and iron/ferritin.  My levels were low, but since have come up. 

 

D

Thanks for the response. Yes, my iron is quite low. It was at 9 ug/L and after being on good quality oral iron supplements for a year it's only now at 12. I have an endometrial cyst on my ovary so my doctor believes this is due to heavy menstrual bleeding (which it may be...). My B12 was in the normal range for my lab (>150 is normal) but I feel it's still kind of low at 276 pmol/L. I don't know about my vitamin D levels... 

 

Some doctors think that the AGA IgA and AGA IgG can show gluten senstivity (NCGI/NCGS) in individuals without celiac disease but that is not a widely accepted belief. It's discussed briefly inOpen Original Shared Linkon page 11. On page 12 it shows that the sensitivity is not as good as the other tests so here is a chance that a gluten sensitivity (mainly celiac disease)  could be missed - especially in the AGA IgG.  Overall, I think the AGA tests are usually used for determining if one has celiac disease, and not NCGI. I'm not sure if there is anyone around here who "just" had a positive AGA test and was diagnosed with celiac disease, but I think that could be due to the fact that it's not run that often anymore because it is less reliable than the other tests.

 

If you are going to spend money on tests, you may want to consider the newer DGP IgA and DGP IgG tests. They tend to do a good job of detecting celiac disease, and are superior tests for detecting early cases of celiac disease.

 

You might want to have the tTG IgG run. Some celiacs are negative in all IgA based tests even though their total serum IgA is fine. There are a few active board members around who have had this experience.  And then there are those who had all negative blood tests but the endoscopic biopsy was positive (or vice versa).

 

There are a lot of tests because not everyone's celiac disease gets "caught" the same way.

 

If you run out of testing options, due to cost or availability, you could always go gluten-free and call yourself a possible celiac disease or NCGI.  Two of my kids definitely had issues with gluten. I am a celiac so I had them tested. The only test available was the tTG IgA, and it was negative. I made them gluten-free anyways and they are much healthier because of it. We still don't know if they have NCGI or celiac disease, but either way, the gluten-free diet is the treatment.

 

Best wishes.

Thank nvsmom. You have helped me out with lots of questions I've posted previously so I appreciate the help :). I am in Alberta and I haven't seen any DGP IGA and IGG available anywhere. I haven't seen the tTG IGG available anywhere either. I wish wish wish I could have those run! I am heading to Vancouver later this month - is there anywhere I could have those tests run there? I'm really struggling with not having an official diagnosis, especially when I know there are other tests that could maybe show something. For my kids' sakes I wish I could have a definitive answer but I know that just may not happen...

cyclinglady Grand Master

Do not fall for the old heavy menstrual bleeding routine! That and a genetic anemia masked my celiac disease. I mean it could be related, but maybe not.

I was diagnosed last year, but my husband was not. He went gluten-free 13 years ago at the advice of my allergist and his GP. The proof of his intolerance occurred with the strict avoidance of gluten. My cousin tested negative to the blood test and biopsy, but went gluten-free anyway and she feels great. We figured since her mom had gluten issues and I did, that was enough to keep her gluten free.

I wish you well!

livinthelife Apprentice

 

There are a lot of tests because not everyone's celiac disease gets "caught" the same way.

 

I love that you put it this way. It's just so true. 

 

I'd been having problems for years. New doctor said I presented celiac, but he opted to do a colonoscopy first because I'd had polyps before. He went into the ileum and found completely flattened villi. That's when he ordered an endoscopy for the next time and did blood work. Endoscopy also showed inflamed esophagus and more flattened villi. The only positive bloodwork was the ttg igg. Ttg iga was fine. 

 

What a ride. I just had my follow up appointment last week and am anxiously awaiting those results. I can see that ferritin is really low but B12 looks ok. We'll see. 

 

Stay on the hunt!

SiandAshs Mom Apprentice

Do not fall for the old heavy menstrual bleeding routine! That and a genetic anemia masked my celiac disease. I mean it could be related, but maybe not.

I was diagnosed last year, but my husband was not. He went gluten-free 13 years ago at the advice of my allergist and his GP. The proof of his intolerance occurred with the strict avoidance of gluten. My cousin tested negative to the blood test and biopsy, but went gluten-free anyway and she feels great. We figured since her mom had gluten issues and I did, that was enough to keep her gluten free.

I wish you well!

 

Thank you! I am on progesterone only birth control pill now so my bleeding should decrease. Hopefully my iron levels start to go up more but if they don't, maybe the doctor will agree to send my for an endoscopy :). I'm glad your family feel better gluten free. I may have to follow their lead and go gluten free without a diagnosis. That wouldn't be the end of the world!

I love that you put it this way. It's just so true. 

 

I'd been having problems for years. New doctor said I presented celiac, but he opted to do a colonoscopy first because I'd had polyps before. He went into the ileum and found completely flattened villi. That's when he ordered an endoscopy for the next time and did blood work. Endoscopy also showed inflamed esophagus and more flattened villi. The only positive bloodwork was the ttg igg. Ttg iga was fine. 

 

What a ride. I just had my follow up appointment last week and am anxiously awaiting those results. I can see that ferritin is really low but B12 looks ok. We'll see. 

 

Stay on the hunt!

That's why I wish we had more testing options available - they treat the tTG IGA like a one-size-fits-all test and it really isn't. Many people probably test negative when they are in fact celiac. 

My doctor is willing to send me for a colonoscopy due to GI issues I've had all my life (I've been diagnosed with IBS) so maybe I should go ahead with that... Thanks for your input.

 

So the general consensus is that the AGA igg/iga tests are pretty useless? Is there any way I could get the DGP tests and tTg IGG tests here in Alberta? Google searches haven't been fruitful...


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



cyclinglady Grand Master

Yeah, I went on Hormone replacement to stop my 30 day periods that dropped my hemoglobin levels so low that I could not breathe well. It worked (and I did not need a hysterectomy that my GYN. Was hoping for!) I took iron and then my ferritin level increased to just within the normal range. Hemoglobin always is just below range due to genetic anemia. A year later, I officially went through menopause and my ferrtin dropped again. That is when the GI caught the celiac disease. I was in for a routine colonoscopy. He ordered the blood tests and added an endoscopy along with my colonoscopy.

livinthelife Apprentice

Maybe he could at least peek at your terminal ileum during your colonoscopy? Worth an ask? I hope you find an answer.

nvsmom Community Regular

You could try the AGA tests but the only result you can be sure is accurate is a positive; the negatives could be a false negative.... You never know.

Is it possible to get the endoscopy done at the same time as the colonoscopy? A few have had it done that way but I am not aware if they do it that way out here. I never saw a GI ( the wait time was crazy) so I don't know.

I suppose you could ask if they could run the DGP tests and send it to an out of province lab. I know someone who had tht done for a different test, so it can be done.

Hang in there. I know it is super frustrating.

SiandAshs Mom Apprentice

Yeah, I went on Hormone replacement to stop my 30 day periods that dropped my hemoglobin levels so low that I could not breathe well. It worked (and I did not need a hysterectomy that my GYN. Was hoping for!) I took iron and then my ferritin level increased to just within the normal range. Hemoglobin always is just below range due to genetic anemia. A year later, I officially went through menopause and my ferrtin dropped again. That is when the GI caught the celiac disease. I was in for a routine colonoscopy. He ordered the blood tests and added an endoscopy along with my colonoscopy.

Wow - yeah, low iron after menopause is certainly a red flag! I'm sorry it took so long for you to get a diagnosis but I'm glad they figured it out :)

 

Maybe he could at least peek at your terminal ileum during your colonoscopy? Worth an ask? I hope you find an answer.

 

Yeah, I will definitely ask! It couldn't hurt. Thanks so much :)

You could try the AGA tests but the only result you can be sure is accurate is a positive; the negatives could be a false negative.... You never know.

Is it possible to get the endoscopy done at the same time as the colonoscopy? A few have had it done that way but I am not aware if they do it that way out here. I never saw a GI ( the wait time was crazy) so I don't know.

I suppose you could ask if they could run the DGP tests and send it to an out of province lab. I know someone who had tht done for a different test, so it can be done.

Hang in there. I know it is super frustrating.

Thanks - my regular doctor really didn't think an endoscopy was warranted at all so I'm not sure how much help he'll be. Since he's willing to send me for a colonoscopy though I could just take my chances and hope the GI is more willing to look for possible celiac damage. And maybe he'd look into out-of-province DGP testing, if only to shut me up! Lol! Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will certainly look into it. 

All the best to you all! 

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,186
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kris46
    Newest Member
    Kris46
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Ginger38
      So I recently had allergy testing for IGE antibodies in response to foods. My test results came back positive to corn, white potatoes, egg whites. Tomatoes, almonds and peanuts to name a few.  I have had obvious reactions to a few of these - particularly tomatoes and corn- both GI issues. I don’t really understand all this allergy versus celiac stuff. If the food allergies are mild do I have to avoid these foods entirely? I don’t know what I will eat if I can’t  have corn based gluten free products 
    • Kris2093u4
      Geography makes a difference.  I'm in the West and Trader Joe's gluten-free bread tastes great and is a better price than most gluten-free breads sold elsewhere in my area.  
    • JForman
      We have four children (7-14 yo), and our 7 year old was diagnosed with NCGS (though all Celiac labs were positive, her scope at 4 years old was negative so docs in the US won't call it celiac). We have started her on a Gluten Free diet after 3 years of major digestive issues and ruling out just about everything under the sun. Our home and kitchen and myself are all gluten-free. But I have not asked my husband/her dad or her other siblings to go completely gluten-free with us. They are at home, but not out of the home. This has led to situations when we are eating out where she has to consistently see others eating things she can't have and she has begun to say "Well, I can't have <fill in the blank>...stupid gluten."  How have you supported your gluten-free kiddos in the mental health space of this journey, especially young ones like her. I know it's hard for me as an adult sometimes to miss out, so I can't imagine being 7 and dealing with it! Any tips or ideas to help with this? 
    • Jane878
      By the time I was 5 I had my first auto0immune disorder, Migraine headaches, with auras to blind me, and vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound. I was 5 years old, and my stepfather would have pizza night, milling his own flour, making thick cheesy gluten pizza, that I would eat and the next day, I would have serious migraines, and my mother & stepfather did nothing about my medical problems. When I was 17 in my first year at college, I was diagnosed with my 2nd known auto-immune disorder, Meniere's disease. I was a elite athlete, a swimmer, and soccer player. And once again my parents didn't think anything of understanding why I had a disorder only older people get. Now after my mother passed from Alzheimer's disease she also suffered with living with gluten. She had a rash for 30 years that nobody could diagnose. She was itchy for 45 years total. My brother had a encapsulated virus explodes in his spleen and when this happened his entire intestines were covered with adhesions, scar tissue and he almost lost his life. He has 5 daughters, and when I finally was diagnosed after being pregnant and my body went into a cytokine storm, I lost my chance to have children, I ended up having Hashimoto's disease, Degenerative Disc disease, and my body started to shut down during my first trimester. I am 6ft tall and got down to 119lbs. My husband and I went to a special immunologist in Terrace, California. They took 17 vials of blood as we flew there for a day and returned home that evening. In 3 weeks, we had the answer, I have Celiac disease. Once this was known, only my father and husband made efforts to change their way of feeding me. At the family cabin, my stepfather & mother were more worried that I would ruin Thanksgiving Dinner. It wasn't until one of my cousins was diagnosed with Celiac disease. They finally looked into getting Gluten Free flour and taking measures to limit "gluten" in meals. He did nothing but ask for me to pay for my own food and wi-fi when I came to the cabin to stay after our house burned down. When he informed my mother, they proceeding to get into a physical fight and she ended up with a black eye. The is just more trauma for me. Sam had no interest in telling the truth about what he wanted. He lied to my mother that he had asked my husband if I could pay for "food" when he asked Geoffrey if I had money to pay for my wi-fi. My mother hates when he spends so much time on the computer so he lied and said I could pay for my own food. I will remind you I weighed 119lbs at this time. (At 6ft) that is a very sick looking person. Neither parent was worried about my weight, they just fought about how cheap my stepfather was. As my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014. He had her sign over the will to a trust and added his children. He had no testimonial capacity at the time, so she signed without proper papers. Making this Trust null and void. When I gave my brother my childhood home, my mother stated I would be getting an equal part of inheritance to the house on Race. It currently worth 2.0 million $. I got nothing, and my stepfather has since disowned me b/c of my claim and he knows that my mother would never have left it uneven between my biological brother and myself. She sat me and my husband down, as we lived at the Race Street house and treated and took care of it as our own. My brother took over b/c he was going through a horrific divorce and needed a home so he could get a better custody deal with his soon to be ex-wife who was a Assist DA for Denver. She used the girls against him, and he & I were the primary caregivers. We, Judd and I spent the most time with them pre the divorce. Once Judd moved into the house, he threw all of my mother, grandmother and my family heirlooms out to the Goodwill. Nobody told my mother about this as she was going through cancer treatment and had Alzheimer's disease in her mother and her sister. My stepfather and biological brother took advantage of this matter, as I called a "family council" that my brother just never could make it to at the last moment. All of the furnishing, kitchen ware, everything was in the house my brother just moved into. He had had 2 weddings, I chose to elope b/c my stepfather ruined my brother's first wedding by talking about his relationship with my brother in front of my dad and his entire family, insulting him and having my grandfather leave the ceremony. It was a disaster. My stepfather just plays dumb and blames my father for the slight. I was the only child not to have a wedding. So, my mother and stepfather never had to pay for a thing. My mother had had an agreement with my father he'd pay for college and all medical issues with their kids, myself and Judd. So truly my mother never had to pay for anything big for me in her entire life. I am looking for anyone that has had a similar story, where they grew up in a household that had a baker that regularly milled flour and ate gluten. What happened to you? DId you suffer from different auto-immune diseases b/c of living with a baker using "gluten" Please let me know. I have been looking into legal ways to get my stepfather to give me what my mother had promised, and he erased. Thank you for listening to my story. Jane Donnelly  
    • trents
      Possibly gluten withdrawal. Lot's of info on the internet about it. Somewhat controversial but apparently gluten plugs into the same neuro sensors as opiates do and some people get a similar type withdrawal as they do when quitting opiates. Another issue is that gluten-free facsimile flours are not fortified with vitamins and minerals as is wheat flour (in the U.S. at least) so when the switch is made to gluten-free facsimile foods, especially if a lot of processed gluten-free foods are being used as substitutes, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can result. There is also the possibility that she has picked up a virus or some but that is totally unrelated to going gluten-free.
×
×
  • Create New...