Inadequate Testing

[CarlaB]

With all the talk on the board about testing and the talk about Enterolab, I emailed my GP and asked him to send me my records (he's a friend of mine). He did. I found out the only test he did was gliandin IgA ABS. I know there are four other tests, and you would think that after all the time here I would know, but why is this single test inadequate? Obviously it was, but I'm wondering if this is ever not elevated while the other indicators are?

Also, the GI only took three biopsies after a 6 week gluten challenge ... no wonder he didn't find anything.

One more question. My hemoglobin was 13.6, which is about as high as it gets for me, but my iron saturation was 52. I always thought that hemoglobin was the test for iron. Anyone know what iron saturation is? My doc told me to stop takng iron based on it, then in two months I could hardly get out of bed!

Thanks for your insight!

[mmaccartney]

With all the talk on the board about testing and the talk about Enterolab, I emailed my GP and asked him to send me my records (he's a friend of mine). He did. I found out the only test he did was gliandin IgA ABS. I know there are four other tests, and you would think that after all the time here I would know, but why is this single test inadequate? Obviously it was, but I'm wondering if this is even not elevated while the other indicators are?

Did you doc test you for IgA deficiency? You can be IgA deficient and your anti-gliadin IgA will be negative. Other tests (IgG, ttg, and others I can't think of right now) might have told a different story.

The Anti-Gliadin IgA test is highly specific, but not highly sensitive. Meaning that a positive is most likely gluten intolerance/celiac (This is the specific part), while there can be false negatives (This is the sensitive part). The IgG test is not highly specific, but is highly sensitive. Meaning that a positive could be a number of things, while false negatives aren't as likely.

Hope that helps more then it confuses you further!

[penguin]

The iron saturation is a measure of how much transferrin you have, which is what carries the iron around and releases it into the blood stream. I would kill for a saturation of 52! Actually, he told you to stop taking iron because 52 is a bit high. My bloodwork shows the normal range to be between 20-50%. My iron saturation is a 4

What that means is that you are in no way anemic

[Homegirl]

Iron saturation is your ferritin level or your iron stores. Whey they are depleted, you become anemic. I would ask what the lab range is for that because 52 may still not be enough for you. My labs ranges are like from 20 to 150 I think. My doctor put me on an iron supplement and I am now up to 44. I have read that the optipmal level is 70-90.

[penguin]

Iron saturation is your ferritin level or your iron stores. Whey they are depleted, you become anemic. I would ask what the lab range is for that because 52 may still not be enough for you. My labs ranges are like from 20 to 150 I think. My doctor put me on an iron supplement and I am now up to 44. I have read that the optipmal level is 70-90.

Ferritin is different from iron saturation. Iron saturation is also called Transferrin Saturation and it's a calculation of your total serum iron and your total iron binding capacity. The result is a percentage. Here's the formula: Open Original Shared Link

TFS = 100 x Serum Iron (ug/dl) / TIBC (ug/dl)

Here is more info: Open Original Shared Link

Ferritin is the protein found mostly in the liver that stores iron. Ferritin levels give the doctor an indication of how much iron is stored in the body.