Blood test results!

[Sjmc]

Hi all,
Can anyone help me understand the results i recently received?
I've struggled for a few years with some strange symptoms, but it wasn't until recently when things started to get a lot worse that I went to get myself checked out. I have an appointment next week to discuss results, but it wasn't until i looked at my NHS app that I understood why the appointment had been made.
I don't mean to sound stupid, but i never once considered that any of this could be possible signs of celiac disease. I often get sore/stabbing and aching pains in any part of my body, loss of appetite, episodes of really bad hiccuping, fatigue, diarrhea, feeling sick and brief feelings of numbness and weakness in parts of my legs and arms. The list goes on, but I'm assuming most of it is linked.

Anyway, here's the results i copied from the app.....

Coded entry - Immunoglobulin A level
(XE25B) 3.7 g/L [0.7 - 4]
Coded entry - Tissue transglutaminase
IgA level (XaJg2) 21.2 u/mL [0 - 3.9];
Above high reference limit; Positive
IgA Tissue Transglutaminase
autoantibody.; Highly suggestive of a
diagnosis of coeliac; disease. If not
known to have coeliac disease,;
recommend referral to
Gastroenterology 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @SJ MAC!

Immunoglobulin A level
(XE25B) 3.7 g/L [0.7 - 4] - This means your total IGA count is within normal range. If it were low, there would be a concern that individual IGA antibody tests would be falsely low. Not a problem in your case.

Tissue transglutaminase
IgA level (XaJg2) 21.2 u/mL [0 - 3.9] - This is the most popular single antibody test ordered by doctors when checking for celiac disease because it combines cost effectiveness with a high degree of both sensitivity and specificity for what you are testing for. There are other antibody tests, however, that can be run when checking for celiac disease.

People who have celiac disease experience inflammation in the villous lining of the small bowel when gluten is ingested. This triggers the production of certain antibodies that are markers for celiac disease.

The referral to a gastro doc is likely to result in a second stage of testing involving an endoscopy and biopsy of the small bowel lining to check visually and microscopically for damage caused by celiac disease inflammation. This is considered to be the gold standard diagnostic test.

Hope this helps.

[Scott Adams]

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. 

Be sure that you keep eating gluten daily until all tests for celiac disease are completed, because going gluten-free before these tests can create false negative results.