Help understanding labs

[drkelli]

Good morning, I'm new here!  I have been progressively getting sicker for the last two years.  Severe allergy issues, recurrent infections, malaise, etc.  My mom has 5 AI diseases including celiac but I could not get anyone to help me. After going to 5 doctors I finally saw someone who took my concerns seriously and ordered every test out there.  It turns out all gluten panel blood work was unremarkable except my TTG IgG which was high at 18.  I also have some inflammatory markers and vitamin deficiencies (D, B12, B6, etc).  Of course my doctor wants a scope but I can't get in for even a consult until early October.  So what do I do until then?  Do I have a gluten sensitivity?  Probable celiac?  I'm just not sure how to act in the interim.

TIA,

Kelli

[tessa25]

The full celiac panel includes:

TTG IGA
TTG IGG
DGP IGA
DGP IGG
EMA
IGA

You have to be eating gluten daily for 12 weeks before the blood test. A positive on any one blood test should lead to a gastroenterologist doing an endoscopy /biopsies to confirm a celiac diagnosis.

Since you do have one positive you should get the endoscopy/biopsies. Keep eating gluten until after the endoscopy.

[drkelli]

Thank you. Should I keep eating it even though it makes me so bloated?

[cyclinglady]

Tessa gave you the complete celiac panel.  Get copies of your lab reports to see if you were given the complete panel.  If not, now is the time (while you are still eating gluten) to get the rest of the blood panel.  You could go gluten free, You would need to go back on gluten for a solid two weeks prior to the endoscopy.  Sounds easy?  It is not.  If you do actually have celiac disease, chances are you will react severely when you go back on gluten for two weeks.  Most people can not handle it and give up.  Their diagnosis is unclear as the biopsies (obtained through endoscopy) will most likely be negative or .....maybe not.  It is a crap shoot.  

If you can stand the bloating, consider toughing it out.  In the meantime, eat gluten and bid farewell Over the next month to your favorite gluten foods.  That is what I did.  Or call to see if there has been any cancellations at your GI’s office!  

Take care!  

[GFinDC]

Hi,

You don't need to eat a lot of gluten to keep the immune reaction going.  A 1/2 slice of regular bread should do it.  And you can eat that at any time during the day.  So if it works out better for you at night or in the morning then that's the time to eat it.

Another thing you can do is to stop eating all dairy for now.  Dairy is often a problem in untreated celiac.  Stopping dairy may reduce the bloating.

Another thing to try is stopping all sugar and carby foods.  Sugar and carby foods feed bacteria that make gas in the bowels.

You can also take peppermint Tea or peppermint Altoids to help get gas out of the stomach.

Pepto Bismol may help with pain.