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

Please Help


I Love Food

Recommended Posts

I Love Food Newbie

Please help. been suffering for years.

 

Got a copy of my lab reports from 2008

 

AGA IGA positive 12.6 reference < 12.0 U/ML

AGA IGG positive 21.6 reference < 12.0 U/ML

TTG (endomysial) negative 1.3 reference < 10.0 U/ML

 

Biopsy was negative. Seems like there were only 2 samples taken. 

 

Symptoms started out as mostly GI (diahrea, every single day, bloating, have to run to washroom and would have shaking and cold sweats).

 

I've also had the tiny itchy liquid filled blisters on my hands - but they only appear (or at least in great number and extremely itchy) in August/September.

 

Went gluten and dairy free this past November for 30 days. felt amazing. Starting eating normal again by Christmas time.

 

New symptoms within the last 8 months - sinus pain daily, sore throat daily, joint pain (wrists, knees ankles) EXTREME fatigue (likes it's a real struggle to make it through work) I could sleep all he time, brain fog (almost like split second blackouts, like I forget for a second where I am or what I wanted to do) forgetfull, easily irritated especially with banging noises, a spot on my face next to my right ear went numb one afternoon (I could dig my fingernail in and feel nothing) trouble loosing weight despite eating well, heartburn


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



cyclinglady Grand Master

Welcome! Time to get retested by a celiac-savvy GI! Here are the tests (actually any medical doctor can order a complete celiac panel which is critical in your case since your old TTG results were negative and the old AGA tests were used). I tested positive to only the DGP IGA and my TTG tests were negative yet biopsies revealed moderate to severe damage (many sample were taken).

I Love Food Newbie

Thanks so much for your reply. so AGA aren't used anymore? What is the complete celiac panel? 

cyclinglady Grand Master

Oops! Sorry! Here is the list of celiac disease tests:

-tTG IgA and tTG IgG

-DGP IgA and DGP IgG

-EMA IgA

-total serum IgA and IgG (control test)

-AGA IGA and AGA IgG - older and less reliable tests largely replace by the DGP tests

-endoscopic biopsy - make sure at least 6 samples are taken

(Source: NVSMOM -- )

I meant to say that my TTG rests were negative but the DGP IGA test was positive. My biopsies revealed severe damage. Sounds like your GI did not take enough samples as damage can be patchy and the small intestine is the size of a tennis court -- seriously!

Keep eating gluten until all testing is complete!

Welcome to the forum and let us know how it goes!

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. - GlorietaKaro replied to GlorietaKaro's topic in Super Sensitive People
      3

      Am I nuts?

    2. - trents replied to GlorietaKaro's topic in Super Sensitive People
      3

      Am I nuts?

    3. - lalan45 replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      29

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

    4. - Russ H posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      0

      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

    5. - Scott Adams replied to JoJo0611's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Just diagnosed today

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

    • Total Members
      132,805
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    lalan45
    Newest Member
    lalan45
    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

    • GlorietaKaro
      Thanks to both of you for your responses!  Sadly, even after several years of very strict gluten avoidance, I remember the symptoms well enough that I am too frightened to risk a gluten challenge— heartbeat and breathing problems are scary— Scott, thank you for the specific information— I will call around in the new year to see if I can find anyone. In the meantime, I will carry on has I have been— it’s working! Thanks also for the validation— sometimes I just feel crushed by disbelief. Not enough to make me eat gluten though—
    • trents
      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @GlorietaKaro! As Scott indicated, without formal testing for celiac disease, which would require you to have been consuming generous amounts of gluten daily for weeks, it would be not be possible to distinguish whether you have celiac disease or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). Their symptoms overlap. The difference being that celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that damages the lining of the small bowel. We actually no more about celiac disease than we do about NCGS, the mechanism of the latter being more difficult to classify. There are specific antibody tests for celiac disease diagnosis and there is also the endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel lining. Currently, there are no tests to diagnose NCGS. Celiac disease must first ruled out. Researchers are working on developing testing methods to diagnose celiac disease that do not require a "gluten challenge" which is just out of the question for so many because it poses serious, even life-threatening, health risks. But we aren't there yet.
    • lalan45
      That’s really frustrating, I’m sorry you went through that. High fiber can definitely cause sudden stomach issues, especially if your body isn’t used to it yet, but accidental gluten exposure can feel similar. Keeping a simple food/symptom journal and introducing new foods one at a time can really help you spot patterns. You’re already doing the right things with cleaning and separating baking—also watch shared toasters, cutting boards, and labels like “may contain.”
    • Russ H
      I thought this might be of interest regarding anti-EMA testing. Some labs use donated umbilical cord instead of monkey oesophagus. Some labs just provide a +ve/-ve test result but others provide a grade by testing progressively diluted blood sample. https://www.aesku.com/index.php/ifu-download/1367-ema-instruction-manual-en-1/file Fluorescence-labelled anti-tTG2 autoantibodies bind to endomysium (the thin layer around muscle fibres) forming a characteristic honeycomb pattern under the microscope - this is highly specific to coeliac disease. The binding site is extracellular tTG2 bound to fibronectin and collagen. Human or monkey derived endomysium is necessary because tTG2 from other mammals does not provide the right binding epitope. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/3/1012
    • Scott Adams
      First, please know that receiving two diagnoses at once, especially one you've never heard of, is undoubtedly overwhelming. You are not alone in this. Your understanding is correct: both celiac disease and Mesenteric Panniculitis (MP) are considered to have autoimmune components. While having both is not extremely common, they can co-occur, as chronic inflammation from one autoimmune condition can sometimes be linked to or trigger other inflammatory responses in the body. MP, which involves inflammation of the fat tissue in the mesentery (the membrane that holds your intestines in place), is often discovered incidentally on scans, exactly as in your case. The fact that your medical team is already planning follow-up with a DEXA scan (to check bone density, common after a celiac diagnosis) and a repeat CT is a very proactive and prudent approach to monitoring your health. Many find that adhering strictly to the gluten-free diet for celiac disease helps manage overall inflammation, which may positively impact MP over time. It's completely normal to feel uncertain right now. Your next steps are to take this one day at a time, focus on the gluten-free diet as your primary treatment for celiac, and use your upcoming appointments to ask all your questions about MP and what the monitoring plan entails. This dual diagnosis is a lot to process, but it is also the starting point for a managed path forward to better health. This article has some detailed information on how to be 100% gluten-free, so it may be helpful (be sure to also read the comments section.):    
×
×
  • 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.