Question about test results

[charbam123]

Hello all,

 

I am new to the forum so thank you already for all the information I have read so far, it is very helpful! I have been symptomatic for about a month now, I have had chronic (10+ times a day) diarrhea as well as stomach pain and gas and bloating especially after eating. My doctor has ran a variety of tests but said I may have celiac according to my blood tests. My lab results say my Tissue Transglutaminase IgA is value 47U/ml and my Endomysial Ab, IgA, Qual was positive. My Immunoglobulin IgA was within normal ranges, but I also had some liver enzymes that were elevated which I read can be indicative of an autoimmune disorder. Based on everyone's experience, what do these lab results mean to you? I read 47 is very high. 

 

Also, side note. I am kind of freaking out because articles keep talking about the overlap between late diagnosis and other diseases and cancers. I am a 20 year old female, and am worried this diagnose means I will develop other severe issues. Any feedback on the prevalence of overlap with other diseases and how worried I should be?

Thanks everyone! Any input is appreciated. 

 

Charlotte

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, charbam123!

It's hard to say much about your antibody test numbers since you did not include the reference ranges for each test. Since each lab uses it's own ranges for negative v. positive we need the range they used. There is no industry standard. All we know is some of them are positive but until we have the ranges we can't say if they are a strong positives.

But every indication is that you do have celiac disease. The endomysial test (aka, EMA) is very specific for celiac disease. Has your physician mentioned wanting to have the results confirmed by an endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel lining. That is the normal next step when antibody tests are positive. And you should not attempt a gluten-free diet until all testing is complete.

At age 20 years your body is very resilient! It takes most people around 10 years to get a diagnosis after the  onset of symptoms so you are probably early in that curve. No need to worry.

[charbam123]

6 minutes ago, trents said:

Welcome to the forum, charbam123!

It's hard to say much about your antibody test numbers since you did not include the reference ranges for each test. Since each lab uses it's own ranges for negative v. positive we need the range they used. There is no industry standard. All we know is some of them are positive but until we have the ranges we can't say if they are a strong positives.

But every indication is that you do have celiac disease. The endomysial test (aka, EMA) is very specific for celiac disease. Has your physician mentioned wanting to have the results confirmed by an endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel lining. That is the normal next step when antibody tests are positive. And you should not attempt a gluten-free diet until all testing is complete.

At age 20 years your body is very resilient! It takes most people around 10 years to get a diagnosis after the  onset of symptoms so you are probably early in that curve. No need to worry.

For reference, the normal level was 0-3 for the one I scored at 47. The other ones I do not know off the top of my head. It said over 10 was a positive for celiac, but I have read blood tests usually aren’t enough for a diagnosis unless your numbers are extremely high (like 10x the normal range). My doctor has not given me any feedback regarding what to do next, diet changes, etc. only told me I might have it. Thank you! I appreciate your affirmation.

[trents]

So, If you feel like you need confirmation of celiac disease via endoscopy/biopsy then push your doctor for a GI doc referral to pursue that course. Many people find they need that psychologically to stay on track with the gluten-free diet. It's so easy to rationalize it away without confirmation.

[charbam123]

Okay! Thank you. That’s very helpful. I did get a GI referral, sadly they are booked out a few months so it’ll be a waiting game from here on forward. Thank you for all the suggestions/input, much appreciated! 

[trents]

Just to give you another option, you might like to know that the Mayo Clinic guidelines for the pre-test "gluten challenge" for those wanting to get a biopsy but have already been eating gluten free is the daily consumption of two slices of wheat bread (or the gluten equivalent) for two weeks leading up to the day of the procedure. So, conceivably, you could trial gluten-free eating until closer to the time of the endoscopy/biopsy and still expect valid test results. This might be handy to know if your symptoms are difficult to live with. With that in mind, this might be helpful now or in the future:

 

Achieving a truly gluten-free diet as oppose to just eating lower gluten is more difficult than most people imagine at the outset. You are either all in or not in at all. Small amounts of gluten can keep inflammation going even though the symptoms are sub clinical.

[Wheatwacked]

2 hours ago, charbam123 said:

I am a 20 year old female, and am worried this diagnose means I will develop other severe issues.

2 hours ago, charbam123 said:

I have had chronic (10+ times a day) diarrhea as well as stomach pain and gas and bloating especially after eating.

Once you start eating Gluten Free most of your symptoms will improve.  Ones that don't may vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Because you are in the child bearing age group, and less the 10% of our population eat enough Choline and Choline, like B vitamins is affected by the malabsorbtion caused by Untreated Celiac Disease make sure to eat liver, eggs and steak or take choline supplement.  When you stop eating fortified wheat gluten containing foods you also need to replace the folate. Folate with Choline works to reduce homocysteine, the toxic waste produced by protein metabolism.  Low choline intake can also be the reason for poor fat digestion, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and gall bladder dysfunction.  Like Thiamine the only accurate way to tell if you are deficient is to supplement and see the improvement.

Gall Bladder, A Vital Organ That is Being Removed At Alarming Rates  

• What are the symptoms of choline deficiency?
• Belching
• Gas
• Indigestion
• Pain between the shoulder blades
• Pain in the abdomen (on right) under ribs and next to the belly button
• Bloating shortly after meals
• Intolerance of fatty foods
• Nausea and vomiting
• Constipation
• low energy levels of fatigue.
• memory loss.
• cognitive decline.
• learning disabilities.
• muscle aches.
• nerve damage.
• mood changes or disorders.

Quote

When humans eat diets low in choline, fatty liver is one of the earliest adverse events, and in some people significant hepatic damage occurs (as assessed by release of hepatic enzymes into blood)    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3729018/#:~:text=When humans eat diets low,into blood) [9].

Quote

 

About 500 pregnancies per year are affected by neural tube defects in California alone, Choline, an essential nutrient found in egg yolks, soy, wheat germ and meats, was the only nutrient measured whose blood levels were linked to risk of neural tube defects.   https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2009/08/low-choline-levels-in-pregnant-women-raise-babies-risk-for-brain-and-spinal-cord-defects-study-shows.html

 

Ask for a vitamim D test. Low vitamin D is ubiquitous in Celiac and other autoimmune diseases. It is essential for mental health, autoimmune control, bone health. 

Quote

Vitamin D deficiency adversely affects bone mass causing rickets in children and adolescents, and osteoporosis and osteomalacia in adults. In addition, vitamin D deficiency has been also linked to the onset/maintenance of other diseases including cardiovascular diseases [8], chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases [9], allergic asthma [10], type 2 diabetes [11], and autoimmune diseases   https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-021-00358-3#:~:text=Vitamin D has a key,and%2For high disease activity.

 

 

[Mathew]

12 hours ago, charbam123 said:

Hello all,

 

I am new to the forum so thank you already for all the information I have read so far, it is very helpful! I have been symptomatic for about a month now, I have had chronic (10+ times a day) diarrhea as well as stomach pain and gas and bloating especially after eating. My doctor has ran a variety of tests but said I may have celiac according to my blood tests. My lab results say my Tissue Transglutaminase IgA is value 47U/ml and my Endomysial Ab, IgA, Qual was positive. My Immunoglobulin IgA was within normal ranges, but I also had some liver enzymes that were elevated which I read can be indicative of an autoimmune disorder. Based on everyone's experience, what do these lab results mean to you? I read 47 is very high. 

 

Also, side note. I am kind of freaking out because articles keep talking about the overlap between late diagnosis and other diseases and cancers. I am a 20 year old female, and am worried this diagnose means I will develop other severe issues. Any feedback on the prevalence of overlap with other diseases and how worried I should be?

Thanks everyone! Any input is appreciated. 

 

Charlotte

My celiac score came back +200 basically maxed out the chart. No need for biopsy at that level.

 

Hope u find peace mate.

[charbam123]

Geez that is wild! Thank you.