Need Help Interpreting Results

[hadabaday2day]

So I finally got the paperwork back from my old doctor who missed my diagnosis of Celiac disease. Seems that there is no biopsy here of my DH even though I know I had one done. Which kinda screws up being able to get a dx without a intestinal biopsy, but oh well.

So my Antigliadin IgA is 18 which is negative

Antigliadin IgG is 30 which is positive

tTG IgA is 13 which is negative

I am having trouble understanding my CBC that they did at the same time. If anyone knows anything about these it would be so helpful. Everything was normal except a few things. It says my Neutrophils are low at 32. Lymphs are high at 59. Neutrophils (Absolute) are low also at 1.7.

I don't know what any of this means to me and nobody ever said anything was out of whack so maybe it's okay. But I wonder. So if you know anything please let me know. This was almost 4 years ago by the way. Thanks

Alia

[Hummingbird4]

Hi there. I am a Medical Technologist and work in a hospital laboratory. I understand your post to say that your Neutrophils were 32% and Lymphs 59%? Don't be concerned, those numbers are not very far out of the normal range. For an adult over the age of 11, the low end of normal for Neuts is 37%, and the high end of normal for Lymphs is 51%. (The numbers are different for children - and your numbers are actually within range for children.) At our lab, your absolute Neut count is within normal range.

It's when the Neuts fall into really low numbers that you should be concerned about ability to fight off infections. Also, for a normal person, your percentages fluctute from day to day. You might have just been a little low that day, or maybe this is the way you always are. No worries.

[Mother of Jibril]

I'm not a medical professional, but IMO it makes sense to pay attention to numbers that are at the high end of "normal" or somewhat out of range. Why wait until you have a crisis on your hands before taking action? Typically, if your lymphocytes are above 46% you have what's called "relative lymphocytosis." This can be caused by:

- Being under the age of 2

- Acute viral infection

- Connective tissue disorder (Sjogren's, lupus, RA)

- Thyrotoxicosis (extreme hyperthyroidism)

- Addison's disease (autoimmune destruction of the adrenal glands)

- Splenomegaly (enlarged spleen)

- Goiter (a sign of hypothyroidism)

Have you ever been tested for any of these autoimmune disorders? It's not very difficult or expensive to test your TSH (for thyroid problems) or ANA (for lupus and other connective tissue disorders). Your body is definitely mounting an autoimmune response to gluten... having one autoimmune disorder puts you at risk for others.

Since I started taking thyroid hormones and eating a gluten-free (corn-free, dairy-free) diet, my % of lymphocytes has dropped from 41% to 33%, even though the absolute number has not changed... my other WBC (especially the neutrophils) increased to compensate.

[MaryJones2]

I wouldn't be too concerned about your abnormal CBC results. It's quite common to have one or two things that are slightly off on the CBC. I would recommend reviewing the results with a new physician and see what they have to say. If your bloodwork is 4 years old I would also recommend another workup before getting too concerned.

[hadabaday2day]

I'm not a medical professional, but IMO it makes sense to pay attention to numbers that are at the high end of "normal" or somewhat out of range. Why wait until you have a crisis on your hands before taking action? Typically, if your lymphocytes are above 46% you have what's called "relative lymphocytosis." This can be caused by:

- Being under the age of 2

- Acute viral infection

- Connective tissue disorder (Sjogren's, lupus, RA)

- Thyrotoxicosis (extreme hyperthyroidism)

- Addison's disease (autoimmune destruction of the adrenal glands)

- Splenomegaly (enlarged spleen)

- Goiter (a sign of hypothyroidism)

Have you ever been tested for any of these autoimmune disorders? It's not very difficult or expensive to test your TSH (for thyroid problems) or ANA (for lupus and other connective tissue disorders). Your body is definitely mounting an autoimmune response to gluten... having one autoimmune disorder puts you at risk for others.

Since I started taking thyroid hormones and eating a gluten-free (corn-free, dairy-free) diet, my % of lymphocytes has dropped from 41% to 33%, even though the absolute number has not changed... my other WBC (especially the neutrophils) increased to compensate.

Hi there. I just recently had a thyroid test done because my mom has Hashimoto's. So I have it checked yearly. That was normal. Most of the other things you mentioned I am sure would have gotten much worse over the last 4 years. Except maybe Sjorgen's. I have had someone on here tell me before that I may have that. I am always dehydrated. I mean my fingers are shriveled like 60% of the time. On a daily basis. And I drink a lot of water. I don't really have problems with dry mouth or other areas. Sometimes my eyes get dry, but usually just if I stare at the computer all night and it's not too bothersome. I know different people have different symptoms, but I don't know if that's enough to have Sjorgen's. Also, if it's cold out (and it could be a cool Summer night really) and I stay outside for more than like 5 minutes, my little toes will go numb. Sometimes even a finger tip. And they turn white and it takes a long time to warm them back up. It's scary. I always attributed it to being dehydrated. You know, you are dehydrated every day so your blood volume is probably kinda low and that makes for bad circulation. I may be out of my mind, but that seems logical to me. My blood pressure is usually like 110/60-ish. Almost dead.

So anyways, I should probably get tested for Sjorgen's. Is there a blood test? I don't have insurance so I kinda have to do one thing at a time to be able to afford it.

Thanks for the advice.

Alia

I forgot to add that the CBC was done when I had my first Dermatitis Herpetiformis rash. I don't know if my body trying to deal with that may have skewed some of my counts a bit.

[Mother of Jibril]

So anyways, I should probably get tested for Sjorgen's. Is there a blood test? I don't have insurance so I kinda have to do one thing at a time to be able to afford it.

Hi Alia,

This is one of the best articles I've found about Sjogren's:

Open Original Shared Link

IMO, the only reason to get tested for antibodies is if there's a chance you could become pregnant. Otherwise, there's no cure... you just have to manage your symptoms. I'm using prescription eye drops to increase tear production (an opthamologist can test you for "chronic dry eyes")... I can't believe what a difference it makes! My eyes are much more comfortable and my vision is CLEAR. You don't have to wait until your symptoms are severe before you ask for relief. I also get a lot of cavities from having a dry mouth.

The other thing to know about Sjogren's is that it overlaps with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (in terms of symptoms as well as some of the antibodies). If you think you have Sjogren's, educate yourself about these other disorders and be on the lookout!

[Mother of Jibril]

Actually... let me amend that statement about testing.

It's very important to get tested for Sjogren's antibodies if you could become pregnant. One of the common antibodies (found in many, but not all patients with Sjogren's) is "lupus anticoagulant" (LA), which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal lupus.

Otherwise... you don't need to be tested. BUT... if you can afford it, a firm diagnosis might give you some psychological relief (it's not just "all in your head"). It might also help you to be more assertive about getting good medical care. Depending on your symptoms, you might need treatment from an ophthamologist, dentist, rheumatologist, GYN, etc... It's a lot easier to say "I have Sjogren's syndrome" than to run through the list of symptoms every time