transglutaminase IGA Ab still present, but low

[Darcee]

I've been gluten free for 14 years now and recently (last 2 years) did a full elimination and re-introduction following the AIP protocol and am now essentially eating paleo plus rice.  The rest of my household is not gluten free however.  I had my transglutaminase IGA ab tested and it was 3.6.  Greater than 15 is considered positive for Celiac on this lab.  However, the fact that I have had a VERY clean diet for the last 2 years and still have antibodies present makes me concerned.  Do you think I'm getting cross contamination from touching gluten products in my house or does that value of 3.6 mean nothing?  I would just assume if I'm not exposed to any more gluten I should've have any antibodies at all.  Thanks for any advice!

[DonnaNM]

I'm not a doctor.  However, my blood doctor told me because I have Celiac disease the antibodies will always be present.  So don't panic, but discuss it with your doctor.  

[Scott Adams]

For some people there are other conditions that can cause elevated Tissue Transglutaminase IgA Antibodies (tTG-IgA). This article discusses them:

 

 

[Raquel2021]

21 hours ago, Darcee said:

I've been gluten free for 14 years now and recently (last 2 years) did a full elimination and re-introduction following the AIP protocol and am now essentially eating paleo plus rice.  The rest of my household is not gluten free however.  I had my transglutaminase IGA ab tested and it was 3.6.  Greater than 15 is considered positive for Celiac on this lab.  However, the fact that I have had a VERY clean diet for the last 2 years and still have antibodies present makes me concerned.  Do you think I'm getting cross contamination from touching gluten products in my house or does that value of 3.6 mean nothing?  I would just assume if I'm not exposed to any more gluten I should've have any antibodies at all.  Thanks for any advice!

If greater than 15 is normal then I think is normal to still have a few antibodies.  I recently did mine, being gluten-free for 3 years and follow a similar style diet and mine were 7. My Dr told me that was good.

[Jane07]

do you think if it below 15 it not consided postive for celiac in the lab

[Darcee]

42 minutes ago, Jane07 said:

do you think if it below 15 it not consided postive for celiac in the lab

I do not understand what you wrote.  I know that greater than 15 from this lab indicates Celiac.  However, I've had my daughter tested (to make sure she doesn't have it) and her value from the lab was <1.  Mine was 3.6 so I was just wondering if it's normal to still have antibodies present regardless of your gluten free diet (14 years) or if having any antibodies present (less than 15) means you are still reacting to gluten from an unknown source then.  

[Jane07]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:33 PM, Darcee said:

I've been gluten free for 14 years now and recently (last 2 years) did a full elimination and re-introduction following the AIP protocol and am now essentially eating paleo plus rice.  The rest of my household is not gluten free however.  I had my transglutaminase IGA ab tested and it was 3.6.  Greater than 15 is considered positive for Celiac on this lab.  However, the fact that I have had a VERY clean diet for the last 2 years and still have antibodies present makes me concerned.  Do you think I'm getting cross contamination from touching gluten products in my house or does that value of 3.6 mean nothing?  I would just assume if I'm not exposed to any more gluten I should've have any antibodies at all.  Thanks for any advice!

ok thanks its not in the normal range for me yet. its just been about a year on a gluten free diet it difficult,  

im  hope things improve i get  to the normal range. i will keep trying.

wow you done it for 14 yrs good luck

[Scott Adams]

If your goal is to get the level near zero you may try a casin/milk-free diet to see if that works, as per the article I shared.

[Rogol72]

I had a coeliac panel last year to see if any sneaky gluten was getting into my system, the ttg result was 3.1.

I had another done last week, and it came down to 1.7.

[flowerpen]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:23 PM, DonnaNM said:

I'm not a doctor.  However, my blood doctor told me because I have Celiac disease the antibodies will always be present.  So don't panic, but discuss it with your doctor.  

I thought it was normal, as in for non- celiac individuals, to have these antibodies. I've been mostly gluten free for years, operating under the assumption I had an intolerance, and I have always landed in the mid-normal range (7-10 with 20 being the cutoff). 

Is it normal for non-celiacs to have none or almost none?

[Scott Adams]

The antibodies used in celiac disease screening are very specific to people who have an autoimmune reaction to gluten, so those without celiac disease or gluten sensitivity normally test at or near zero.