Did My Dr. Order The Right Tests?

[cornflake girl]

After poking around a bit on this site, I suspect that I may have celiac disease. I went to a regular md who agreed to test me for it, but since it seems that everyone has such a hard time getting a diagnosis, I wanted to double check on what is being tested.

He ordered these blood tests:

CBC

T4

TSH

Serum iron, TIBC

Serum calcium

total protein

albumin

And checked my stool for fat content

Of course, the day I took my stool sample I had the first solid stool that I've had in months. Does that make a difference?

Thank you!

[tarnalberry]

maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but that list doesn't have any of the standard antibody tests like IgG's or IgA's for antigliandin or antireticulin or the tTg antibodies....

[Susan123]

I agree. You need to ask for the Celiac Sprue blood test that test for IgA, IgG and Tissue Transglutimase. The tests you list above are helpful after diagnosis in determining if you are getting the right nutrients and that your body is getting enough iron. In other words, in determining your overall health but in not pinpointing Celiac.

[cornflake girl]

You guys are so helpful, thank you! I'm so disappointed that I specifically asked to be tested and my dr. didn't know which tests to order. grrrr. I'll be requesting these tests when I go for my follow up. Thanks again!

[cornflake girl]

ok, I got my results back and I'm confused. My numbers don't look like any that I've seen mentioned here. The dr. said they are fine.

Here they are:

IgA--normal is 81-463 and mine is 170

IgG--normal is 694-1618 and mine is 1479

help! doies this make any sense?

[seeking-wholeness]

I wonder if your doctor ordered tests for TOTAL serum IgA and IgG, instead of specifically ANTI-GLIADIN IgA and IgG. If this is the case, don't despair; it is actually very important to know the total values as well, especially for IgA. You'll want to ask your doctor about this and request testing for ANTI-GLIADIN IgA and IgG and anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies, if necessary. I hope this helps!

[cornflake girl]

Thank you, again. I can't believe that my dr. has no idea how to test for this. I'm going to go to someone else who I found recommended on this site. He had the nerve to tell me that if my chronic diarrhea is bothersome that I should just take some immodium since he could find nothing wrong with me. Um, thanks for helping me solve my problem.