Blood Test Results & Experience

[mslew10]

Hi all! I've been lurking on the forums for a few days, but this is my first post! 🙂 So excited to have found ya'll!

I just got my bloodwork back and would love some feedback. My dad has confirmed Celiac and I have had gastro symptoms, low b12, and an on and off itchy rash (diagnosed as something different by everyone who looked at it) for several years. I also have one copy of HLA-DQ2. I've started to slowly remove gluten from my diet, but not completely. I just had bloodwork done last week - which I should have had before I started to decrease gluten consumption - and my results are below. I've seen so many different limits of what a "normal" value for ttg IGA is and am trying to decide what to do from here. Any and all feedback welcome! My primary care doctor didn't really think I needed any additional information, but since you've all been through it, I wanted to see what your thoughts are. Thank you!

tTg-IgA: 8.2 mg/dL

IgA: 113 mg/dL

[trents]

Welcome to the forum community @mslew10!

The reason you have run across so many different "normal" values for the tTG-IGA is that there is no industry standard and each lab develops there own tests and their own scales. So, the values you posted are not helpful to us unless you also post the scale used by the lab that analyzed the blood sample. The second test you post, the IgA at 113 is not a test for celiac disease per se but a measure of what we call total IGA. If total IGA is lower than normal then a person is IGA deficient and this will result in a negative skew to individual IGA antibody scores, except perhaps the DGP-IGA.

To get valid test results you would need to go back to eating generous amounts of gluten (10gm daily, the equivalent of about 4-6 slices of bread) for three weeks or more.

[mslew10]

Thanks @trents! The scale for this test said that 15 was the threshold for abnormal, so maybe I'm in the clear. Appreciate your speedy response! I wasn't aware that every lab has their own scale, that's pretty wild!

[trents]

I certainly would not conclude that you are in the clear. There is a big question mark about whether or not you are consuming enough gluten to render valid test results. In addition, you have a family history of celiac disease, you have symptoms and you have genetic potential. A couple of recent studies done with larger groups, one of them was done by the Mayo Clinic, found that >40% of first degree relatives of those with confirmed celiac disease were found to have celiac disease when tested.

IMO, your next logical step would be to undertake a proper gluten challenge and then get retested with a full celiac panel, not just the total IGA and the tTG-IGA tests. This would include the DGP-IGA the DGP-IGG tests.

It is also possible that you have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) which is 10x more common than celiac disease and shares many of the same symptoms. There is no test for it available, however. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. Some experts believe NCGS can be a precursor to developing celiac disease.

[Scott Adams]

If you have DH you will likely also want to avoid iodine, which is common in seafoods and dairy products, as it can exacerbate symptoms in some people. This article may also be helpful: