Oh the Anomalies! This Forum Helped My Dog and Me

[powerofpositivethinking]

I haven't been on this forum for a long time, but it was absolutely wonderful during the diagnostic process! 

My path for celiac disease diagnosis was the following:

-Had normal IgA level, and my only serology positive test was the DGP IgG

-Deficiencies in both Vitamins D and K that did not increase at first despite massive supplementation

-Diagnosis of fat malabsorption both total and neutral

-Diagnosis of severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)

-Testing was completed to rule out causes of EPI, and the only one not ruled out was celiac.

-Both traditional endoscopy and pill capsule endoscopy yielded negative results for biopsy confirmation, but my GI doctor said that both procedures simply could have missed the damaged spots.

-EPI and fat malabsorption resolved after taking Creon for 6 months since my EPI was caused by celiac

-23 and Me said I don't have either of the two prominent genes for celiac disease

 

Remember that you might not have 'textbook' symptoms, but you still may have celiac disease.

 

Also, I am SO incredibly grateful for this site for all the learning it has allowed me to do. I have a senior dog, and these last few weeks with her were very scary! After two hospital stays, she finally received an IBD diagnosis after having gastroenteritis and pancreatitis. I know that celiac disease is not IBD, however, through reading this site, I learned more about it. I was relieved when I found out she had IBD and not cancer this past Wednesday. I know IBD can be managed thanks to what I've learned here! 

So celiac.com, not only did you help me, but you helped my pup too! Thank you ❤️

 

[Scott Adams]

I'm glad the site has helped you, hopefully you found these interesting articles from a veterinarian:

https://www.celiac.com/profile/102790-john-b-symes-dvm/

I'm not sure if they test for the most recent markers that have been found to be associated with celiac disease. The number of genes associated with celiac disease is more than two, but there are two main genes that are commonly tested for celiac disease susceptibility. These genes are HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8.

• HLA-DQ2: The majority of individuals with celiac disease (about 90-95%) carry the HLA-DQ2 gene.
• HLA-DQ8: Around 5-10% of individuals with celiac disease have the HLA-DQ8 gene.
• Other Genes: While HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 are the primary genes associated with celiac disease, having these genes doesn't guarantee that someone will develop celiac disease. Additionally, a small percentage of individuals with celiac disease don't have either of these genes. This suggests that other genetic factors may also play a role, though they are less common.

This article has more information about the genes associated with celiac disease: