Could a biopsy be wrong?

[Spitcard]

Hi, I am newly diagnosed. I had done blood work last year and it came back negative. I was having a ton of GI issues and saw a functional doctor that ordered me a full GI panel through Genova Diagnostics. The results of that test came back with Anti-Deamidated Gliadin IgG (DGP IgG) positive and everything else negative. This was a new market that I had not tested before. With that, I went to a GI doctor, spoke to their PA (that didn’t sound too familiar with the disease). They ordered me the endoscopy and the results read as follows: biopsy is confirmatory of celiac disease given the positive blood test. 
Maybe I am in denial, but is there a chance that it is not celiac? I was thinking maybe the doctor didn’t read the chart and thought the other markers were positive too and misdiagnosed me? I was reading the DGP Igg is not really used for diagnosis. Please help me!  anyone had a similar experience and it wasn’t celiac? Thanks!

[knitty kitty]

Welcome to the forum, @Spitcard!

A biopsy is considered the "gold standard" of diagnosis.  

In early stages of celiac disease and in young people, DGP IgG antibodies are often the first antibodies to be produced.  

Anemia, diabetes, and Thiamine deficiency can affect the production of tTg IgA anti gluten antibodies.  

Celiac Disease is genetic.  You can have a DNA test to look for known Celiac genes.  You must have at least one genetic marker to develop Celiac Disease.  

I know it's a big adjustment getting your head around celiac disease and living gluten free.  You've found a great community for support!

[Spitcard]

Thank you so much! That makes me feel better 💐🙏🏻 I appreciate your quick response! 

[trents]

The DGP-IGP is a secondary test used for detecting celiac disease and is not as reliable as a diagnostic tool as the tTG-IGA and the EMA. But it is still used and is still valuable, especially in pediatric cases or situations where other factors such as low total IGA, anemia, diabetes or having already begun limiting gluten intake are at play to cause false negatives in primary tests. But if your biopsy is positive, there is no doubt.

Edited April 8, 2024 by trents

[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.  Your positive blood test alone makes it pretty likely you have celiac disease, but combined with a positive endoscopy results the chances you have celiac disease would be extremely high. 

 

 

[Spitcard]

1 hour ago, Scott Adams said:

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.  Your positive blood test alone makes it pretty likely you have celiac disease, but combined with a positive endoscopy results the chances you have celiac disease would be extremely high. 

 

Thank you so much! this was very helpful! I guess I need to accept reality hehe