Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Full Celiac Panel Negative But Are Figures Still Relevant

Peta

Recommended Posts

Peta Explorer
Peta
Posted

Just curious.

My 10yr old son had the Celiac Panel done (5 tests).

The normal range stated <20...... my sons results on these test was <20 but did not give the actual figures.

Are the figures relevant if they are considered in normal range... how would I know if he was IgA deficient (or would this have shown up in the other parts of the test).

I am surprised the doctor has referred him for a biopsy considering the results? It must be due to his symptoms, dq2 and dq8 genes, and irregular levels in his complete blood count?? or maybe his doctor just doesn't understand Celiac (which she doesn't)??

Any info?

Peta

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


almostnrn Explorer
almostnrn
Posted

Oh I can only imagine how frustrated you must be. I hope that some day this disease is really understood. I wish I had more information for you but all I can offer up is support here. Good luck to you and your family!

nikki-uk Enthusiast
nikki-uk
Posted
Just curious.

My 10yr old son had the Celiac Panel done (5 tests).

The normal range stated <20...... my sons results on these test was <20 but did not give the actual figures.

Are the figures relevant if they are considered in normal range... how would I know if he was IgA deficient (or would this have shown up in the other parts of the test).

I am surprised the doctor has referred him for a biopsy considering the results? It must be due to his symptoms, dq2 and dq8 genes, and irregular levels in his complete blood count?? or maybe his doctor just doesn't understand Celiac (which she doesn't)??

Any info?

Peta

Hmmm, it would be unusual for a doc to refer for biopsy without having good reason.

Did your son have a Total Serum IgA?? (that would show up IgA deficiency)

Maybe your son's levels were borderline? (i.e 19) just below the reference range or he is anaemic which would show on the complete blood count.

Does your son have 'classic' symptoms??

Peta Explorer
Peta
Posted
  • Author
Hmmm, it would be unusual for a doc to refer for biopsy without having good reason.

Did your son have a Total Serum IgA?? (that would show up IgA deficiency)

Maybe your son's levels were borderline? (i.e 19) just below the reference range or he is anaemic which would show on the complete blood count.

Does your son have 'classic' symptoms??

I don't think even the doctor knows if they are borderline because other than '<20' there were no other figures printed, so we only know they were under 20 (which is normal)

His blood test shows low white cell count, low lymphocytes and a low ferritin level.

The doctor may have taken these into consideration but from what she said I think she is sending him for biopsy on the strength of his positive gene test. She is very uniformed when it comes to Celiac and she thinks the gene test means he has it!! (although I know differently)

The doctor we are referred to now is VERY informed on Celiac so I will follow it through and listen to what he has to say. I have an appointment Friday and he may deem the biopsy unecessary, although I would still like him biopsied as he has many classic symptoms that need explaining.

I guess, like everyone else, I am searching for answers.

Thanks,

Peta

aikiducky Apprentice
aikiducky
Posted

I think with a positive gene and symptoms your doctor is actually being prudent to consider a biopsy. It's entirely possible to have negative blood work and a positive biopsy!

Pauliina

rez Apprentice
rez
Posted

Did your son have a tTG test? We have gotten two opinions from very good doctors that would not biopsy unless there is a positive tTG. Of course if the patient is IGA deficient that's another story. My son's tTG is postive, but daughter's is not. She has Hypothyroid, joint pain, allergies, etc. but BOTH docs we consulted said it is not wise to biopsy w/ out a postivie tTG as tTG titer portrays the amount of damage to the small intestine. Good luck. Check to see if your doc did a total IGA and tTG. Good luck! I'm remembering now. Wasn't your son right on the line for the tTG? Maybe that's why they're biopsying.

Peta Explorer
Peta
Posted
  • Author
Did your son have a tTG test? We have gotten two opinions from very good doctors that would not biopsy unless there is a positive tTG. Of course if the patient is IGA deficient that's another story. My son's tTG is postive, but daughter's is not. She has Hypothyroid, joint pain, allergies, etc. but BOTH docs we consulted said it is not wise to biopsy w/ out a postivie tTG as tTG titer portrays the amount of damage to the small intestine. Good luck. Check to see if your doc did a total IGA and tTG. Good luck! I'm remembering now. Wasn't your son right on the line for the tTG? Maybe that's why they're biopsying.

My son's tTg (which I presume is Tissue Transglutaminase IgG and IgA) was <20. The normal range was <20 so he appears normal there too! Yet she still said he needs a biopsy.

Our local doctor pointed to the gene results on the screen and said "it looks like he is celiac" so in other words, not really sure she knows what she is looking for.

I am seeing a specialist tomorrow to arrange his biopsy but she may also be able to give a clearer idea of what she thinks. Perhaps a biopsy is ordered on the strength of classic symptoms and irregular bloodwork (wcc, lympho, ferritin, etc). There is definitely something not right going on in his system.

Tomorrow I should have a clearer idea? Hopefully!

Peta

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


rez Apprentice
rez
Posted

Good luck. The specialist will be able to shed some light on things.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      2

      Son's legs shaking

      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son. Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia. An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal. Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Paulaannefthimiou's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Bob red mill gluten free oats

      Oats naturally contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to the gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. While avenin is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease, some individuals, around 5-10% of celiacs, may also have sensitivity to avenin, leading to symptoms similar to gluten exposure. You may fall into this...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      @SamAlvi, It's common with anemia to have a lower tTg IgA antibodies than DGP IgG ones, but your high DGP IgG scores still point to Celiac disease. Since a gluten challenge would pose further health damage, you may want to ask for a DNA test to see if you have any of the commonly known genes for Celiac disease. Though having the genes for Celiac...
    4. trents
      - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining...
    5. SamAlvi
      - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,868
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    LMGarrison
    Newest Member
    LMGarrison
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son.  Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia.  An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal.   Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps, as well as aggression and irritability, confusion, mood swings and behavior changes.  Thiamine is essential to the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which keep us calm and rational.   @Jsingh, histamine intolerance is also a symptom of Thiamine deficiency.  Thiamine is needed to prevent mast cells from releasing histamine at the slightest provocation as is seen in histamine intolerance.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine from the body.  Without sufficient thiamine and other B vitamins to clear it, the histamine builds up.  High histamine levels can change behavior, too.  High histamine levels are found in the brains of patients with schizophrenia.  Thiamine deficiency can also cause extreme hunger or conversely anorexia.   High carbohydrate meals can precipitate thiamine deficiency because additional thiamine is required to process carbohydrates for the body to use as fuel.  The more carbohydrates one eats daily, the more one needs additional thiamine above the RDA.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses. Keep in mind that gluten-free processed foods like cookies and such are not required to be fortified and enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts are.  Limit processed gluten-free foods.  They are often full of empty calories and unhealthy saturated fats and additives, and are high in histamine or histamine release triggers.  It's time you bought your own vitamins to supplement what is not being absorbed due to malabsorption of Celiac disease.  Benfotiamine is a form of Thiamine that has been shown to improve intestinal health as well as brain function. Do talk to your doctors and dieticians about supplementing with the essential vitamins and minerals while your children are growing up gluten free.  Serve nutritionally dense foods.  Meats and liver are great sources of B vitamins and minerals. Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • Scott Adams
      Bob red mill gluten free oats

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Oats naturally contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to the gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. While avenin is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease, some individuals, around 5-10% of celiacs, may also have sensitivity to avenin, leading to symptoms similar to gluten exposure. You may fall into this category, and eliminating them is the best way to figure this out. Some people substitute gluten-free quinoa flakes for oats if they want a hot cereal substitute. If you are interested in summaries of scientific publications on the topic of oats and celiac disease, we have an entire category dedicated to it which is here: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/oats-and-celiac-disease-are-they-gluten-free/   
    • knitty kitty
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @SamAlvi, It's common with anemia to have a lower tTg IgA antibodies than DGP IgG ones, but your high DGP IgG scores still point to Celiac disease.   Since a gluten challenge would pose further health damage, you may want to ask for a DNA test to see if you have any of the commonly known genes for Celiac disease.  Though having the genes for Celiac is not diagnostic in and of itself, taken with the antibody tests, the anemia and your reaction to gluten, it may be a confirmation you have Celiac disease.   Do discuss Gastrointestinal Beriberi with your doctors.  In Celiac disease, Gastrointestinal Beriberi is frequently overlooked by doctors.  The digestive system can be affected by localized Thiamine deficiency which causes symptoms consistent with yours.  Correction of nutritional deficiencies quickly is beneficial.  Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine, helps improve intestinal health.  All eight B vitamins, including Thiamine (Benfotiamine), should be supplemented because they all work together.   The B vitamins are needed in addition to iron to correct anemia.   Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • trents
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By trents · Posted

      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining of the small bowel which generates specific kinds of antibodies. Some people are IGA deficient and such that the IGA antibody tests done for celiac disease will have skewed results and cannot be trusted. In that case, there are IGG tests that can be ordered though, they aren't quite as specific for celiac disease as the IGA tests. But the possibility of IGA deficiency is why a "total IGA" test should always be ordered along with the TTG-IGA. The other modality is an endoscopy (scoping of the upper GI track) with a biopsy of the small bowel lining. The aforementioned autoimmune response produces inflammation in the small bowel lining which, over time, damages the structure of the lining. The biopsy is sent to a lab and microscopically analyzed for signs of this damage. If the damage is severe enough, it can often be spotted during the scoping itself. The endoscopy/biopsy is used as confirmation when the antibody results are positive, since there is a small chance that elevated antibody test scores can be caused by things other than celiac disease, particularly when the antibody test numbers are not particularly high. If the antibody test numbers are 10x normal or higher, physicians will sometimes declare an official diagnosis of celiac disease without an endoscopy/biopsy, particularly in the U.K. Some practitioners use stool tests to detect celiac disease but this modality is not widely recognized in the medical community as valid. Both celiac testing modalities outlined above require that you have been consuming generous amounts of gluten for weeks/months ahead of time. Many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even reducing their gluten intake prior to testing. By doing so, they invalidate the testing because antibodies stop being produced, disappear from the blood and the lining of the small bowel begins to heal. So, then they are stuck in no man's land, wondering if they have celiac disease or NCGS. To resume gluten consumption, i.e., to undertake a "gluten challenge" is out of the question because their reaction to gluten is so strong that it would endanger their health. The lining of the small bowel is the place where all of the nutrition in the food we consume is absorbed. This lining is made up of billions of microscopically tiny fingerlike projections that create a tremendous nutrient absorption surface area. The inflammation caused by celiac disease wears down these fingers and greatly reduces the surface area needed for nutrient absorption. Thus, people with celiac disease often develop iron deficiency anemia and a host of other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is likely that many more people who have issues with gluten suffer from NCGS than from celiac disease. We actually know much more about the mechanism of celiac disease than we do about NCGS but some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease.
    • SamAlvi
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By SamAlvi · Posted

      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.