Help With Test Results!

[Kelsie]

Hi,

I am waiting my endoscopy results but requested the blood test results that was taken when I was in for my colonoscopy.

I just received these in the Mail and I have no idea what is means. All is says is:

ANTI-TRANS AB

results= 1.8

Reference= < 10 U/ml

Site= GDL

I have no idea what this means and can't find much info via google. Is this even bloodwork results? Or is that the results from the biopsies taken during my colonoscopy??

Hoping for some insight Thanks!!

[nvsmom]

It looks like the results for the anti-tissue transglutiminase IgA test (tTG IgA) which is one of the celiac disease tests. According to that test, the Neal negative is ess than 10; you had a 1.8 so that is normal. There are many other celiac disease tests that should be done if you suspect celiac disease. The tTG IgA can miss between 5-25% of all celacs.

The remaining tests are:

TTG IgG

DGP IgA and DGP IgG

EMA IgA

Total serum IgA - a control test as 5% of celiacs are deficient in IgA and that affects their test results

AGA ia and AGA IgG (older and ess reliable tests)

The colonoscopy is not a celiac disease test. You would need the endoscopic biopsy for that.

Best wishes!

[Kelsie]

It looks like the results for the anti-tissue transglutiminase IgA test (tTG IgA) which is one of the celiac disease tests. According to that test, the Neal negative is ess than 10; you had a 1.8 so that is normal. There are many other celiac disease tests that should be done if you suspect celiac disease. The tTG IgA can miss between 5-25% of all celacs.

The remaining tests are:

TTG IgG

DGP IgA and DGP IgG

EMA IgA

Total serum IgA - a control test as 5% of celiacs are deficient in IgA and that affects their test results

AGA ia and AGA IgG (older and ess reliable tests)

The colonoscopy is not a celiac disease test. You would need the endoscopic biopsy for that.

Best wishes!

 

Thanks Nicole! 

I had my endoscopy this past Thursday, I didn't have it at the same time as the colonoscopy because I had to do a Gluten Challenge.  So I did that for 3 weeks and then went in for the endoscopy.  The only thing is, at the time when I had the above blood test, I was more or less Gluten free for about 8 weeks (and gluten free with cheat days before that).  During the 8 weeks prior to the blood test (and colonscopy), I had such bad diarrhea, that I was only eating oatmeal, rice, steamed veggies and occasionally chicken.  Would a gluten free diet affect the blood test?

I'm waiting for my rheumatologist to call me today to see if I should continue the gluten challenge and if they want to send me to one of their docs (in the hospital) for a second opinion.

Thanks for all your help!  You always respond to  my posts with such valuable info!  If there was "most helpful group member" award, you'd have my vote

[nvsmom]

Ah gosh.  Thanks.  

 

Sorry, I had your story mixed up...  Three weeks for the endoscopy should be enough for accurate results there, or as accurate as that test gets.  There is a chance of false negatives for that test too, especially if they don't take at least 6 samples, so don't expect it to give you a 100% guaranteed correct answer.

 

To have accurate blood tests, most people need to be eating gluten in the 8-12 weeks prior to testing, and three months is the ideal.  Being  largely gluten-free in the 8 weeks prior to testing could definitely affect your results.  In two months of gluten-free eating, some people's autoantibody levels could be back to normal; it seems most celiacs have normal anti-autobody levels within 6 months of eating gluten-free.

 

If your body can hack it, a 8-12 week gluten challenge would give you more accurate results for celiac blood tests. And if you do retest, get as many tests done as possible, including the tTG IgA again; those tests are not foolproof so having more tests run will increase your chances for accuracy.

 

Also, make sure you have a total serum IgA test done. One out of every twenty celiacs is so low in IgA that it will affect their IgA based tests (like tTG IgA) and cause false negatives.

 

I like this report for info on the tests (pages 8-12): Open Original Shared Link

 

If the testing falls through, or you end up with all negatives but still suspect celiac disease, give the gluten-free diet a strict try for about 3-6 months.  You could have celiac disease in spite of the tests or it could be non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI), if so then going gluten-free could really help things.  Just make sure you are 100% gluten-free for those gluten-free months because small amounts of gluten or cheat days can really set you back.

 

Good luck with it! Let us know what the rheumy says.

[Kelsie]

Thanks again Nicole!  Will keep you posted for sure!!!!!