I am so very confused...

[DorySue]

I am very confused by my blood results, and 2 of my children being diagnosed. So, I am 43 yrs old I am complete menopause (at age 36), I have onset epileptic at 38, with my blood work my IgA is low 0.81, but my celiac test is still negative? How?

[trents]

Welcome to the forum community @DorySue!

I take it to mean that your IGA score of 81 is referring to what we call "total IGA"! The total IGA is not a test for celiac disease per se. However, if total IGA is low it will drive down individual celiac antibody IGA scores toward the negative range and so can create false negatives in, for instance the tTG-IGA celiac antibody test, which is the primary test ordered by physicians when checking for celiac disease. In this situation, physicians should reflexively (i.e., in response to) order other celiac antibody tests that are not affected by low total IGA such as the DGP-IGA and the DGP-IGG. Here is an overview of celiac disease antibody testing: 

 

[DorySue]

Here is a screenshot of what the results say..

Immunology Celiac Screening                            RESULT           RANGE

Tissue Transglutaminase Ab IgA                         <0.5             <12.0 U/mL

                                                                        NEGATIVE
IgA antibody to tissue transglutaminase has
approximately 95% sensitivity and specificity for
celiac disease. False negative results may occur
with a gluten-restricted diet or IgA deficiency.
The BioPlex method includes an internal control
to confirm IgA is sufficient, thus avoiding false
negatives due to IgA deficiency.

Tested by a multiplex flow immunoassay (BioPlex)
method.             

                                    RESULTS       RANGE

Immunoglobulin IgA  0.81 LOW     0.54-4.17 g/L

[trents]

Yes, you are IGA deficient and should request a more complete celiac panel that includes the tests I mentioned above that do not depend on normal IGA levels.

If those other tests are negative then you could have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) for which there is no test but shares many of the same symptoms with celiac disease. But first, celiac disease must first be ruled out. NCGS is 10x more common than celiac disease and also requires a commitment to gluten free eating.