Jump to content
  • 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

Unfamiliar Test- Help Interpreting Them


Brit1612

Recommended Posts

Brit1612 Apprentice

I just called to ask about my son's bloodwork from last Monday.  I was so anxious to see if any of his celiac levels would come back abnormal this time.....they did not.  They were negative (even the ttg igg that was once positive).  

 

The nurse basically said that the Dr would go over everything when I came in for our 3 month check up and that everything was "normal, or she would have called".  I had to bug her a little just to get her to share some of the results with me.  Once I got off the phone I realized that there were a couple I forgot to ask about!

 

But there were two test that I am really not familiar with, and I don't know the reference ranges....

 

prealbumin - 12.6 (I know this has to do with malnourishment, but I don't know what "normal" should be for a 2 year old.  The data that I have found shows different ranges, some of which put him "low")

 

Diphtheria/Tetanus Ab - .09 (I believe this test shows if his vaccines have worked properly?  The nurse didn't tell me the range for this, but said it was fine.  Of course, I googled it and everything I can find shows normal being >.15.  Which would make him low on this as well......)

 

total IGE - 29.2 (anyone know what normal should be?)

 

The immunologist ordered these test to "get a better picture of how his immune system was working and just how well he was doing in general".  Anyone have any insight on these test, or how they may or may not be related to celiac disease???  His IGA was also low again, but slightly higher than last check.

 

Thanks again!  Sorry for the many questions!  I hate that they expect you to wait 3 months before getting the results or having a chance to ask questions!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Brit1612 Apprentice

Nobody has any insight?  I still can't get the dr office to call me back....

RMJ Mentor

IgE is related to allergies, not celiac. Here is a page with reference ranges. Be sure to read the part on how to interpret them.

Open Original Shared Link

nvsmom Community Regular

I don't know much about those tests, besides what RMJ said and what I could google.

Brit1612 Apprentice

Thanks y'all.  Sorry for so many questions, I just worry that we are somehow missing something.  They finally did get back to me about the results, but the nurse really didn't know anything either.  His tetanus result was in range according to their standards.  But his prealbumin was low (12.8 with a range of 18-45), not sure how significant that is.  

 

They also told me that his BUN level on his metabolic panel was high 47 (range 6- 25).  She only said, "if he was sick, it could have affected the results or he could have been dehydrated", and really seemed to not know anything else about what it meant.  I don't see why he would be dehydrated and he had a bit of a cough, but I'm not sure if you would count that as being sick.....

 

We go for a sweat test tomorrow.  Although it is really just a formality, I am nervous about it because of the serious nature of CF.  The immunologist was surprised that no one had made him have one before, but does not believe that is the problem.  Wouldn't he be sick often if he had cystic fibrosis???

nvsmom Community Regular

HUGS

Good luck with that test.  It's nerve wracking to check for things like that even when you are pretty sure it won't be positive... Hang in there.

Brit1612 Apprentice

Ya, I agree, it is.  Today I was reading something about celiac can cause a false positive....."Oh great!!!"  Thanks for your support.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Archived

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

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    2. - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    3. - Jsingh replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Son's legs shaking

    4. - lizzie42 posted a topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Son's legs shaking

    5. - trents replied to Paulaannefthimiou's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Bob red mill gluten free oats

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,868
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    yooperjb
    Newest Member
    yooperjb
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining of the small bowel which generates specific kinds of antibodies. Some people are IGA deficient and such that the IGA antibody tests done for celiac disease will have skewed results and cannot be trusted. In that case, there are IGG tests that can be ordered though, they aren't quite as specific for celiac disease as the IGA tests. But the possibility of IGA deficiency is why a "total IGA" test should always be ordered along with the TTG-IGA. The other modality is an endoscopy (scoping of the upper GI track) with a biopsy of the small bowel lining. The aforementioned autoimmune response produces inflammation in the small bowel lining which, over time, damages the structure of the lining. The biopsy is sent to a lab and microscopically analyzed for signs of this damage. If the damage is severe enough, it can often be spotted during the scoping itself. The endoscopy/biopsy is used as confirmation when the antibody results are positive, since there is a small chance that elevated antibody test scores can be caused by things other than celiac disease, particularly when the antibody test numbers are not particularly high. If the antibody test numbers are 10x normal or higher, physicians will sometimes declare an official diagnosis of celiac disease without an endoscopy/biopsy, particularly in the U.K. Some practitioners use stool tests to detect celiac disease but this modality is not widely recognized in the medical community as valid. Both celiac testing modalities outlined above require that you have been consuming generous amounts of gluten for weeks/months ahead of time. Many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even reducing their gluten intake prior to testing. By doing so, they invalidate the testing because antibodies stop being produced, disappear from the blood and the lining of the small bowel begins to heal. So, then they are stuck in no man's land, wondering if they have celiac disease or NCGS. To resume gluten consumption, i.e., to undertake a "gluten challenge" is out of the question because their reaction to gluten is so strong that it would endanger their health. The lining of the small bowel is the place where all of the nutrition in the food we consume is absorbed. This lining is made up of billions of microscopically tiny fingerlike projections that create a tremendous nutrient absorption surface area. The inflammation caused by celiac disease wears down these fingers and greatly reduces the surface area needed for nutrient absorption. Thus, people with celiac disease often develop iron deficiency anemia and a host of other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is likely that many more people who have issues with gluten suffer from NCGS than from celiac disease. We actually know much more about the mechanism of celiac disease than we do about NCGS but some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease.
    • SamAlvi
      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
    • Jsingh
      Hi,  My 7 year daughter has complained of this in the past, which I thought were part of her glutening symptom, but more recently I have come to figure out it's part of her histamine overload symptom. This one symptom was part of her broader profile, which included irritability, extreme hunger, confusion, post-nasal drip. You might want to look up "histamine intolerance". I wish I had known of this at the time of her diagnosis, life would have been much easier.  I hope you are able to figure out. 
    • lizzie42
      My 5yo was diagnosed with celiac last year by being tested after his sister was diagnosed. We are very strict on the gluten-free diet, but unsure what his reactions are as he was diagnosed without many symptoms other than low ferritin.  He had a school party where his teacher made gluten-free gingerbread men. I almost said no because she made it in her kitchen but I thought it would be ok.  Next day and for a few after his behavior is awful. Hitting, rude, disrespectful. Mainly he kept saying his legs were shaking. Is this a gluten exposure symptom that anyone else gets? Also the bad behavior? 
    • trents
      Not necessarily. The "Gluten Free" label means not more than 20ppm of gluten in the product which is often not enough for super sensitive celiacs. You would need to be looking for "Certified Gluten Free" (GFCO endorsed) which means no more than 10ppm of gluten. Having said that, "Gluten Free" doesn't mean that there will necessarily be more gluten than "Certified Gluten" in any given batch run. It just means there could be. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.