False Positive?

[kpyoung24]

hi everyone its me again! okay so we went to the ped gi today and now more confused than before!! my daughter's test was a transglutaminase IgG test which she said is not as reliable as the transglutaminase IgA test, so first of all what's the difference between the two? also, she said that since it was a weak positive it might be a false positive.. so we are going to go ahead with the biopsy. but I've been hearing and reading that there is no such thing as a false positive, so what gives??? I'm totally conflicted now! can anyone help please!?!? Thanks!~K

[elye]

I can answer your second question: with these tests, there are no false positives, only false negatives. If they find the antibodies, then you have the condition. A "weak" positive sounds odd, as it's like being a little pregnant--either you are or you aren't. Perhaps they found only a small count on the antibodies, but they're still there, and it proves an intolerance at the very least.

[mamaw]

Yes, it is very rare but there can be false positive. That is what my readings were in the beginning. And one of the big celiac doctors agreed it happens, rarely but it happens. I asked that question while at a conference...

hth

mamaw

[kpyoung24]

thanks for the replies! any info helps! this is all so overwhelming...i'm just ready for them to diagnose her so that we can get her feeling better. she's always nauseated, has chronic (very foul smelling) diarrhea,gas, bloating, tummy aches, fatigue...etc. its sounds like celiac to me, but it doesn't really matter as long as we can get her better. ugh!!!

[healthygirl]

Hi, Yes, my situation is that I got a weak positive on the transglutaminase test and my doctor repeated the same test (not sure why) and the second one came back negative. I have an appointment with her in a couple of days to find out why we don't need a 3rd blood test and why she is assuming the first one is wrong, as she seems to think the second one being negative somehow means nothing is wrong. It's frustrating and I'm thinking I might just stick with gluten-free and not worry about an official diagnosis.

M.