TTG IgA and IGA elevated mildy

[thejayland10]

My TTG IgA and IGA are elevated mildly, right at borderline positive,e but my EMA is negative. All my vitamin levels are normal as well as cbc and metabolic panel. What is the likely cause of this? I have been on gluten-free diet for 15 yrs nearly. 

[knitty kitty]

Do you consume dairy?

Have you recently had an infection or cold?

Do you have digestive symptoms?  

Do you eat processed gluten free foods?

What is your Vitamin D level?

[thejayland10]

1 hour ago, knitty kitty said:

Do you consume dairy?

Have you recently had an infection or cold?

Do you have digestive symptoms?  

Do you eat processed gluten free foods?

What is your Vitamin D level?

Hello! 

 

Yes I do have dairy 

no I don't think so but I have seasonal allergies 

not really very minor if I do which worsen with stress

Yes I do eat gluten-free processed food 

Vitamin D level 30 

[knitty kitty]

Some Celiacs react to the dairy protein Casein the same as they would to gluten. This could explain your ongoing inflammation.  

Allergies can raise your histamine levels as can processed gluten free products.  To clear histamine, certain vitamins can help, B12, Pyridoxine B6, Vitamin C, and Thiamine B1.  

Optimal Vitamin D levels are between 80 and 100.  Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system.  

Seems like addressing nutritional deficiencies would be beneficial to you.  Blood tests aren't accurate measurements of the stores of vitamins inside cells in the tissues and organs where they are utilized.  Blood levels of vitamins can reflect what you've eaten in the past day or two.  

Processed gluten free foods do not have vitamins added to them like their gluten containing counterparts.  Vitamins are chemical compounds our bodies cannot make, so we have to get them from what we eat.  The gluten free diet can be short in some vitamins and minerals, so supplementing can be beneficial, especially since you're still having inflammation.  

[Scott Adams]

For people with celiac disease hidden gluten in their diets is the main cause of elevated Tissue Transglutaminase IgA Antibodies (tTG-IgA), but there are other conditions, including cow's milk/casein intolerance, that can also cause this, and here is an article about the other possible causes:

 

 

[thejayland10]

On 6/5/2025 at 9:35 PM, knitty kitty said:

Some Celiacs react to the dairy protein Casein the same as they would to gluten. This could explain your ongoing inflammation.  

Allergies can raise your histamine levels as can processed gluten free products.  To clear histamine, certain vitamins can help, B12, Pyridoxine B6, Vitamin C, and Thiamine B1.  

Optimal Vitamin D levels are between 80 and 100.  Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system.  

Seems like addressing nutritional deficiencies would be beneficial to you.  Blood tests aren't accurate measurements of the stores of vitamins inside cells in the tissues and organs where they are utilized.  Blood levels of vitamins can reflect what you've eaten in the past day or two.  

Processed gluten free foods do not have vitamins added to them like their gluten containing counterparts.  Vitamins are chemical compounds our bodies cannot make, so we have to get them from what we eat.  The gluten free diet can be short in some vitamins and minerals, so supplementing can be beneficial, especially since you're still having inflammation.  

my ttg iga was 16.5 3 months ago and jumped to 30.1 last week. my iga was 415 and jumped to 455. This was done at a different lab though than the first test for ttg iga one had units as ml the other as cu... so not sure if they really jumped as much as shown. i am so strict on my diet and have no clue why this is happening 

On 6/6/2025 at 10:04 AM, Scott Adams said:

For people with celiac disease hidden gluten in their diets is the main cause of elevated Tissue Transglutaminase IgA Antibodies (tTG-IgA), but there are other conditions, including cow's milk/casein intolerance, that can also cause this, and here is an article about the other possible causes:

 

 

thank you for attaching this, could this happen randomly even after being gluten-free for so long ? my ttg iga was 16.5 3 months ago and jumped to 30.1 last week. my iga was 415 and jumped to 455. This was done at a different lab though than the first test for ttg iga one had units as ml the other as cu... so not sure if they really jumped as much as shown. i am so strict on my diet and have no clue why this is happening 

[RMJ]

Comparing results with different units can be very difficult, or impossible. What are the normal ranges for each result? 

[thejayland10]

4 hours ago, RMJ said:

Comparing results with different units can be very difficult, or impossible. What are the normal ranges for each result? 

One lab said normal range for IgA is 45-325 and TTG IgA anything above 15 means positive for Anitbody   

For this one my IGA was 415 and TTG IgA 16.3 

 

The other lab 3 months later said IgA range is 75-425 and TTG IgA anything below 20 is negative, 20-30 weak positive, 30+ positive. 

For this one my IGA was 456 and TTG IgA 30.2 CU 

[RMJ]

In testing for celiac disease total IgA is run just to be sure you’re not deficient (in which case the TTG IgA results would not be reliable). Different labs may have slightly different normal ranges, but the units are usually the same and the results can be compared.  In your case, what is meaningful for celiac disease is that you were not deficient in total IgA for either test.

Different labs use different units for the TTG IgA test and there are no conversion factors to turn one into the other. In your case, the labs have another difference - one uses a weak positive category and one doesn’t.  The two results really can’t be compared. In each case you’re slightly into the full positive range for that test/lab so in reality your antibodies might not have jumped up at all between these two tests.

 

[thejayland10]

1 hour ago, RMJ said:

In testing for celiac disease total IgA is run just to be sure you’re not deficient (in which case the TTG IgA results would not be reliable). Different labs may have slightly different normal ranges, but the units are usually the same and the results can be compared.  In your case, what is meaningful for celiac disease is that you were not deficient in total IgA for either test.

Different labs use different units for the TTG IgA test and there are no conversion factors to turn one into the other. In your case, the labs have another difference - one uses a weak positive category and one doesn’t.  The two results really can’t be compared. In each case you’re slightly into the full positive range for that test/lab so in reality your antibodies might not have jumped up at all between these two tests.

 

Thank you for the clarifcation, how can I get to the bottom of this as to why they may be elevated even on a super strict gluten-free diet? 

[RMJ]

Do you have any other results from either of the two labs where you’ve been tested recently?  If so, are the newest results from that lab elevated over previous results?

It took me 5 years to get all of my antibodies into the normal range. Then 3 years later one went up into the positive range.  I realized that I had started baking with a different brand of gluten free flour.  When I stopped using that flour the level went back to normal.  Has something changed in your diet, environment, activities, medications or other areas where you could possibly be exposed to gluten? 

[thejayland10]

interesting I did not know that was that common or could take that long.  When I was diagnosed 15 yrs ago I was told just follow gluten-free diet and follow up with primary care doctor (who never checked celiac panel again). I felt way better and all the major symptoms went away. It wasn't until recently at 25 (14 yrs after diagnosis) that I thought to follow up with a gastro doctor who then did a celiac panel and noted those minor elevations 3 months ago then I got them checked again by another doctor the other week and were showing roughly the same thing. 

I am very strict with what I eat and dieitican was maybe thinking it could be oat flour. I do eat a fair amount of processed food but I will not touch anything unless it is certified gluten free. 

1 hour ago, RMJ said:

Do you have any other results from either of the two labs where you’ve been tested recently?  If so, are the newest results from that lab elevated over previous results?

It took me 5 years to get all of my antibodies into the normal range. Then 3 years later one went up into the positive range.  I realized that I had started baking with a different brand of gluten free flour.  When I stopped using that flour the level went back to normal.  Has something changed in your diet, environment, activities, medications or other areas where you could possibly be exposed to gluten? 

Do you see this pretty commonly with others? Having mild rises in TTG IGA and IGA who have been on gluten-free diet for years? 

[RMJ]

I don’t know how common it is, but it happens.  Total IgA going up is not necessarily celiac related.  The body can make IgA antibodies against all sort of things.  

But if I understand correctly that until recently you haven’t had a celiac blood test since diagnosis, how do you know that your recent blood tests are a mild rise, vs never going down to the normal range? That also can happen, although not too common.

Some people with celiac disease do react even to purity protocol certified gluten free oats. Removing oats from your diet for a few months and retesting is probably a good idea.

[thejayland10]

1 hour ago, RMJ said:

I don’t know how common it is, but it happens.  Total IgA going up is not necessarily celiac related.  The body can make IgA antibodies against all sort of things.  

But if I understand correctly that until recently you haven’t had a celiac blood test since diagnosis, how do you know that your recent blood tests are a mild rise, vs never going down to the normal range? That also can happen, although not too common.

Some people with celiac disease do react even to purity protocol certified gluten free oats. Removing oats from your diet for a few months and retesting is probably a good idea.

That is a very good point I do not know if they truly ever went down. With my nutrient levels all being good, CBC, metabolic panel I assumed everything was fine over the years. Now Im worried this is refractory celiac or something else