What Do These Results Mean?

[gammagirl]

I am SO confused. Should I avoid gluten or not? History- about 7 years ago, i had a saliva test through an "alternative" pharmacy. My main symptom was inability to lose weight. Once of the results was that I had a problem with gluten. I followed this up with a blood test from my internist. All he told me was that I had antibodies for gluten and gave me a pamphlet on which foods to avoid. End of story. Well, I did not avoid the gluten foods and really had no problems besides the weight issue.

A few years later , I had a new doctor run a panel on me . The results : Tissue Transglutam AB IGA Negative

Gliadin AB ( IGA) - Neg

Gliadin AB ( IGG) 46 strong positive

I tried a gluten free diet for a month and felt worse- lots of stomach pains plus no weight loss.

I had an endoscopy and it was negative.

This year, a new doctor who is treating me for hypothyrodism ordered a whole panel of blood work including a Celiac panel. Everything came back negative but she did not order an IGG just the IGA panel.

I am still not losing weight so she suggested trying a gluten free diet again for a month. Could I be gluten sensitive but not have Celiac? I am so confused by all this. I have no other symptoms other than low blood pressure, soft stools, very low Vitamin D and Ferritin levels, Adrenal and thyroid insufficiency.- Not sure if any of those are related.

Monica

[CarlaB]

Your testing has come up negative for celiac disease, but that does not mean that you are okay with gluten. Some people, like myself, are non-celiac gluten intolerant. Plus, the testing is known for false negatives. You can only find out by trying the diet to see what happens. You need to get meticulous with it and be sure you are not getting contamination from anywhere.

I'm very concerned about your low vitamin D level. Vitamin D is very important to the immune system. It really acts more as a hormone than a vitamin. I've been doing some research on it myself and am amazed at what I'm finding. For example, the farther you get from the equator in either direction, the higher the rate of MS.

I think that our fascination with sunscreen is working against us. Yes, we need sunscreen for prolonged sun exposure, but we need our skin to get some natural sunlight as often as possible. Personally, I try to get outside in the sunlight with arms, legs and face exposed several times per week for 20-30 minutes (I'm in Ohio).

Since it's getting to be summertime, work on that tan and see if it helps. Go gluten-free for a while and see how your respond to the diet.