Negative Blood Test

[WGibs]

Well, I have my blood work back, and it looks like I don't have it. Since getting blood taken, I have stopped eating gluten, just to see if it would help, because I was desperate with painful gas and frequent D. All of my gastro symptoms immediately went away. So, how is it possible that I don't have a gluten problem? What am I missing? I feel so down, because I felt like I had figured out the source of my problems and now I had the power to fix it. Now I feel like it was just a fluke or something.

Here are my results:

IgA (total) 162mg/DL -- normal

tTG Ab, IgG <3 U/mL -- negative

tTG Ab, IgA <3 U/mL -- negative

Gliadin Ab IgA 10 U/mL -- negative

Gliadin Ab IgG 30 U/mL -- positive

It was that one high AGA IgG result that got this whole thing started, and now I feel like I've been robbed of a solution. It's not that I want celiac, but I do want an answer, and the power to fix/control it.

FYI, most of my problems are gastro -- daily D (up to 3-5 times); cramping; bloating; gas -- but I also have a poison ivy-like rash on my legs. All of my gastro stuff cleared up immediately without gluten.

I'm curious if it would mess these tests up to be fasting? I fasted for 12-14 hours, because my GP told me to and then when I arrived for the tests, my GI said I didn't need to be. That wouldn't make a difference, would it? Also, I've only had my symptoms for about six months. Is it possible I haven't had time to develop antibodies in my blood yet?

I would appreciate any ideas.

[jnifred]

My blood tests also came back in all normal ranges, but you know what??? I don't care, I have been gluten free for about a weel and feel better than I ahve in AGES!!!!! If I have a flareup then I'll re-evaluate, but for now I am gluten free.

And I started really looking at my diet and over the last 3-5 years I have slowly been cutting out gluten without even realizing it, jsut on my normal diet I could go gluten free for days without even knowing that is what i was doing. My doctor said that could cause me to have negative blood tests. I ahve not had the biopsy yet, will have that soon. But either way I am staying as far away from gluten as possible. I enjoy not using rolls of toilet paper and flushing several times when I go to the bathroom and I also enjoy not having that bloated feeling, the exhaustion, etc...etc... don't miss it, and gluten free brownies taste just FINE!!!!

I could be wrong and am totally new to all this, but I say have the biopsy, look at family history and do what your body says feels right.

[RiceGuy]

I could be wrong and am totally new to all this, but I say have the biopsy, look at family history and do what your body says feels right.

Yep!

I look at it this way:

Do you eat gluten and be sick just because of some numbers on a piece of paper? Or, do you stay gluten-free and enjoy the relief it brings you? Which results make more logical sense? If some scientist with a wall full of degrees told you that elephants are smaller than mice, would you believe him?

[Guest nini]

Just because your blood tests don't answer your question in the way that you were looking for, your positive dietary response is enough of an indicator to prove that at the very least you are intolerant to gluten. That doesn't necessarily show up on the blood tests.

My daughter's blood tests were inconclusive for Celiac, but, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that gluten makes her very ill. She knows it too now and she's only five. The few times she's been accidentally glutened she doesn't like the way it makes her feel.

That in itself is sufficient evidence to keep her on the gluten free diet.

My bloodwork was positive however, so I do know she has the genetic tendency for it, and while she may not have had full blown celiac, she certainly had enough symptoms to be able to see an improvement when she went gluten free.

I agree with the poster that asked do you want to continue to poison yourself just because a piece of paper says you don't have a specific disease? Listen to your body. Your body will tell you if gluten is the problem. Just because your tests don't show it, doesn't mean you don't have it.

Yes you could have inadvertantly been avoiding gluten before testing and/or at least cutting back significantly to the point that it affected the results of your bloodwork. Also, the one positive test is enough of an indicator that you do at least have a gluten intolerance.

[WGibs]

You're all right. If my good health continues, I will have no problem skipping gluten in my everyday life. I guess the reason I would love to have proof is for all those times someone really wants me to have some of the pie they baked, or the pasta dish they made. Without a mediacally proven reason, I feel a little like a brat saying "I can't eat that." I know I shouldn't -- good health should be the most important diagnostic indicator.

As for a biopsy, I have a feeling my HMO will say I don't have it and not want to do a biopsy.

As for family history, no one is diagnosed, but I do have a grandmother with scleroderma, lupus, and osteoporosis.

I went and read "Before the Villi are Gone" and realized that given the fact that I've only had GI symptoms for about 5-6 months, it was unlikely I would be full blown anyway, unless I was asymptomatic before. Also, the fact that the tests rule it in but not out...I hadn't been thinking of it that way.

I'm considering going through Enterolab, but haven't decided yet.

Thank you all for your reassurances that I'm not crazy. I only had to flush once this morning -- There's no denying the truth in that!

[tarnalberry]

You're tests weren't negative - entirely. The antigliandin IgG was positive. Don't dismiss that one test because of the others; it's still telling you something important. Given that the tTg's were negative, it may be telling you that you DO have a delayed reaction (intolerance) to gluten - or at the very least, wheat - but that you are not yet developing antibodies that are destroying your villi. That doesn't mean you should go eating wheat - your body is producing antibodies against it the same way it'd do for other "foreign invaders", or that IgG test wouldn't have come up positive.

The dietary test IS a valid test. When skin tests and blood tests don't get very far, allergists will specifically do dietary tests, for IgE based allergies (those are immediate ones) in their offices. Listen to your body, and what it's telling you. If someone says, "here, have this piece of bread," it's sufficient reason to say no simply because you don't want to get days of diahreah!