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Help interpreting blood test results?


sunflowers

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sunflowers Rookie

Hi there - I need some help/support in interpreting my blood test results. For some background, I have been experiencing anemia and GI issues my entire life and began investigating in 2014. I was told it was just anxiety, depression, my period, stress. Only recently did a general practitioner by chance do a B12 test but "it's probably just depression." 🙄 So, I found out I'm deficient in B12 (184) and she referred me to a GI. There, I had to press the GI to do a celiac panel because I wanted to find the cause of the B12 deficiency. 

Anyway, the results came back and I'm only elevated in DGP-IgG. My results are 204.5 when the reference range is <14.9. Everything else was negative, and I don't appear to be deficient in IgA, my results are 245 and the reference range is 81-463. 

I have all the classic symptoms of celiac disease. For example, within 15-20 minutes of consuming gluten I'm bloated beyond belief, nauseous, brain fog, fatigued, abdominal pain. I vomit every morning if I had gluten the day before. I also have all the classic loose stool/constipation symptoms for as long as I can remember. 

If it's not celiac disease because I only tested positive on one test, what's causing me to feel like crap my whole life? 

Also, I do have an endoscopy and colonoscopy scheduled for 3 weeks from now and I have not stopped eating gluten just in case. And I continue to feel like a dumpster fire. 


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trents Grand Master

Welcome to the forum, sunflowers!

We here many stories on this forum that mirror yours. That is to say, only one test in the celiac panel turns out positive. But that's why they run the multiple tests that make up the panel and not just one or the other. I do believe you have celiac disease based on the symptoms and the testing. We also get people who test positive on the celiac panel (even tTG-IGA) but have negative biopsies. And then we have people with positive biopsies but all negatives on the celiac panel. No one testing method seems to be absolutely foolproof. 

sunflowers Rookie
  On 7/27/2022 at 10:49 PM, trents said:

Welcome to the forum, sunflowers!

We here many stories on this forum that mirror yours. That is to say, only one test in the celiac panel turns out positive. But that's why they run the multiple tests that make up the panel and not just one or the other. I do believe you have celiac disease based on the symptoms and the testing. We also get people who test positive on the celiac panel (even tTG-IGA) but have negative biopsies. And then we have people with positive biopsies but all negatives on the celiac panel. No one testing method seems to be absolutely foolproof. 

Expand Quote  

Hi and thank you for the reply!! I was totally misinformed then! I thought that you had to receive a positive on multiple or all to have celiac. 

knitty kitty Grand Master

@sunflowers,

Welcome to the forum!

Anemia can affect the production of white blood cells (and thus antibody production) as well as the production of red blood cells.  

We've had several members who reported as positive on only the DPG.  Don't worry, we'll still let you in the Celiac club.

Keep us posted on your endoscopy results!  

  • 4 weeks later...
sunflowers Rookie

Update: recieved my endoscopy results. Doctor said she saw inflammation in my stomach and esophagus, but the biopsy was negative for celiac. I'm also positive for SIBO. So doctor is telling me that I don't have celiac disease based on the negative biopsy results. What else might cause elevated DGP levels? I've been gluten free about 2 weeks and I feel better, so diagnosis or not I'm going to stick with it. 

trents Grand Master

What can mimic celiac disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587842/

 

Gluten containing grains will be high in carbs and would feed into the SIBO issue.

knitty kitty Grand Master

@sunflowers,

Glad you're feeling better! 

Were the biopsy samples examined by a pathologist?

How many biopsy samples were taken?

Damage to the small intestine can be patchy and the initial changes with Celiac can be microscopic.  

Have you had genetic testing done to check for the most common Celiac genes?

What recommendations did the doctor give for the SIBO?  

I went on the AIP diet (Autoimmune Paleo Protocol diet) and had great results.  The AIP diet starves out the SIBO bacteria.  Stay away from anything with high fructose corn syrup!  

Thanks for the update!


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