Several Questions...iga Def., Enterolab, Adrenals, Saliva Testing

[holiday16]

I'll try to give some background first. I became very sick after my dd was born 8 years ago. Had all kinds of tests including thyroid, celiac, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MRI etc. Everything came back negative. Then I tested via Enterolab last Oct. and it came back positive with Antigliadin IgA 11 Frustrating that the celiac panel came back negative before, but it was also done in March of 2003 so things could also have changed since then. My IGA was a 5 with less than 20 being negative so it was not even close. A total IGA was not done, but an IGG was which was negative as well (14 w/ less than 24 negative).

My parents tested as well with my dad scoring a 14 and my mother a 9. My dad went gluten free and my mother went gluten light, but I believe is now fully gluten free. She has issues with irregular heartbeat and muscle weakness. My dad has improved his peripheral neuropathy and mental state, but my mother noticed no improvement. My brother tested as well and scored a 22 I believe. My sister then tested and she thinks hers was an 11.

I called Enterolab to ask if there is a possibility of there being an issue with an IGA def. or low IGA as these scores run fairly low considering the degree of damage. While there is not an issue of positive or negative I guess the IGA scores can give you some idea of what's going on by the numbers (don't fully understand that). The nurse I talked with agree that there could be something going on given the numbers etc. and recommended getting a total IGA done which I should be able to get ordered this week. If it turns out that does run in our family it will change how we view the scores.

My questions are first has anyone had a situation similar to this where they tested with Enterolab then did the total IGA and found they have low or def. IGA levels or can provide any more information at all as to this aspect.

Second, my sister has some saliva testing done with her DHEA being low, cortisol was either low or high (can't remember right now) and her saliva IGA was 5 when it should have been around 60. So, how accurate is a saliva test and would the other two results being off (they were quite out of range)completely explain her low IGA number? She was not told to have a total IGA done to rule out the possilbility of def. The nurse I spoke with thought it indicated a def. and thinks she should test. I know adrenals are sometimes an issue with gluten. Has anyone had their problems with it totally go away after being gluten free and if so how long did it take?

I have had a dramatic improvement since going gluten free. My youngest daughter has been diagnosed on symptoms alone since her stomach hurts so much after having it and she is much better as well. I'm curious about the low IGA and my mothers borderline negative results because one of the first things I started with was muscle weakness. The nurse said that for some reason that one seems to take the longest to go away so improvement is not something you may see in the short term. My mother also had the gene test and has the DQ8 so she is certainly at risk.

I know this was really long, but I would greatly appreciate any input anyone can give!!!