Blood Test Results Back

[tallfran]

I got my results back this afternoon from my doc. They are:

IGA: 242 (range 68-378)

ttG IGA: 0.5 (negative <7)

Iron: 100 (range 40-165)

Ferritin: 43.2 (range 11-306.8)

Vit B12: 712 (range 180-914)

Folate: 5.7 (normal >5.2)

Everything there is normal. I think the ferritin is a little low since I am close to the bottom of a very wide range, but otherwise... I will still be seeing the GI doc, but I don't know if he will want to do the endoscopy with normal blood results.

Right now I don't really know what to do. Although I really don't necessarily want to be Celiac, it would be a lot better than not knowing what is wrong and feeling awful all the time.

My symptoms tend to be more neurological than digestive: extreme exhaustion, peripheral neuropathy, dizziness, ataxia, bad brain fog.

It is important to me to be officially diagnosed because otherwise my sister (my only surviving close relative) will just roll her eyes and poo-poo me like she had done the last 60 years, more or less

Anybody with any ideas?

Thanks

Fran

[ravenwoodglass]

You could do enterolab testing to check and see if you are forming antibodies. And/or after your biopsy is done you can do a trial of the gluten free diet and see if it helps. You should do this regardless of the results of the biopsy and you don't need to wait for the results to be in to start. The truest test is how you respond to the diet.

[happygirl]

Just throwing this out there:

Your doc didn't run the full Celiac panel, which consists of five tests. They are recommended to be run together. It looks like you had the total IgA and the tTG.

(from columbia university)

Of the commercially available serologic tests that aid in the diagnosis of celiac disease, no one test is ideal. Using multiple serologies increases the diagnostic yield. Therefore, in the United States, screening in patients with possible celiac disease should consist of a panel of the following serologic tests:

Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) both IgA and IgG

Anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA

Total IgA level.

You may have something other going on other than Celiac/gluten problem. You may want to try a gluten free diet, and then explore other options (or, vice versa).