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Help understanding bloodwork results.

Lacie

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Lacie Newbie
Lacie
Posted

I am new to learning about celiac and alot of the bloodwork is confusing.  In january i had a tissue transglutaminase ab, iga of 4 with a range of > or = 4 antibody detected. In april my gi did more thorough testing.

Dgp igg result 4.5 eu/ml range <4.9 eu/ml.. negative

Dgp iga result 3.2 eu/ml range <6.1 eu/ml.. negative

Ttg iga result 3.1 u/ml range <10.3 u/ml.. negative

Ema iga positive 

Total iga 95mg/dl range of 44-441

My gene test was dq2.5[ hla dqa1*05: dqb1*0201]

I would like to know if the possibility of having celiac is there even with most antibodies being negative. I have an appointment for an edg and have read there is a chance they could miss the damage. So if  biopsy is negative would you recommend trying gluten free still. I have no common symptoms so would not know if the diet was working. I have hashimoto's hypothyroidism and low vitamin d. Im constantly tired with no energy but ive been told it was because of the thyroid. Thank you for your help in advance.

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Estes Contributor
Estes
Posted

I was chatting moth my friend about this.  She is the wife of a pathologist at Mayo Clinic.  Her husband runs the lab that processes the blood tests.  He says the celiac panel is very accurate in detecting celiac but not at getting the levels.  Basically the yes or no is pretty reliable but the high and low numbers can vary.  If I were you and gluten free made me feel better, I would try it.  Wheat is hard to digest and can make anyone tired.  I heard gluten free is a good idea for Hashimoto.

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Only you can make that decision whether you should go gluten free.  However, you should NOT go gluten free prior to your endoscopy or you can get negative results.  Celiac disease must be active for all testing!  

You have had two positives on the panel.  Your doctor was wise to order the endoscopy.  Just make sure he takes at least four tissue samples from the appropriate areas (Google it).  

keep us posted.  It is hard waiting!  In the meantime, you can bid a fond farewell, to your favorite foods!  Enjoy them!  (Be sure to eat some sourdough buttered bread for me!)

P.S. Anemia was my symptom.  I had no tummy issues at all when I was diagnosed, so I was shocked to have celiac disease.  

Sugarcube Rookie
Sugarcube
Posted

Normally the deamidated gliadin peptide test is highly reliable for celiac.

Its possible that the weak positive ttg Iga levels are a false positive for celiac.

Did they re-test ttg levels in April also?

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Lacie Newbie
Lacie
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for your replies. I got the endoscope done and have inconclusive results. Awaiting to see the doctor tomorrow to discuss the test. After the biopsy he said my small intestine looked different to start a gluten free diet. Im even more confused now. I was expecting the biopsy to be positive or negative but wow.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted
On 4/18/2016 at 0:17 AM, Lacie said:

I am new to learning about celiac and alot of the bloodwork is confusing.  In january i had a tissue transglutaminase ab, iga of 4 with a range of > or = 4 antibody detected. In april my gi did more thorough testing.

Dgp igg result 4.5 eu/ml range <4.9 eu/ml.. negative

Dgp iga result 3.2 eu/ml range <6.1 eu/ml.. negative

Ttg iga result 3.1 u/ml range <10.3 u/ml.. negative

Ema iga positive 

Total iga 95mg/dl range of 44-441

My gene test was dq2.5[ hla dqa1*05: dqb1*0201]

I would like to know if the possibility of having celiac is there even with most antibodies being negative. I have an appointment for an edg and have read there is a chance they could miss the damage. So if  biopsy is negative would you recommend trying gluten free still. I have no common symptoms so would not know if the diet was working. I have hashimoto's hypothyroidism and low vitamin d. Im constantly tired with no energy but ive been told it was because of the thyroid. Thank you for your help in advance.

Lacie, a few comments on your test results.............while they are certainly not what doctors like to see when trying to rule Celiac in or out, they tell a little story .  The EMA test was positive and you should know that no other disease will cause a positive on that except for Celiac.  When you have a positive tTg and a positive EMA, that is pretty much a slam dunk for Celiac.  You tested borderline on the tTg back in January and it would not be highly unusual for that to test normal now.  Lots of folks never trip an antibody test but still have full blown Celiac.  There was little difference in your tTg levels so that is not a reason to rule Celiac out....especially with a positive EMA.  The EMA is expensive, has to be done manually by a tech and makes use of immune-fluorescence so it is not likely to be a false positive.

You also have Hashi's thyroid disease and that, along with Type 1 diabetes, are the 2 top associated conditions that occur frequently with Celiac.  Then you have your positive gene testing. Doctors rarely take into account associated conditions you may have or any other clues like vitamin deficiencies.  Having a low Vit. D doesn't necessarily mean Celiac as many people living in northern areas may have low Vit. D from a lack of sun.

Even if the biopsy is negative, I would still do a strict dietary trial.  There still is a very good chance you have it, with your history and medical test results.  I also have Hashi's thyroid disease and they blamed that for everything that was wrong with me.  I ended up figuring it out myself and requested the testing that they never offered.  Of course, 30 years ago, no one was looking for Celiac but I wasn't actually diagnosed until I was in my mid 40's.

Good luck!

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