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Blood Tests Vs Biopsy

heartofgold

By heartofgold
in Doctors

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heartofgold Rookie
heartofgold
Posted
:D Hi I am new to the forum. I live on Ontario, Canada. This November I had pains and spasm in my abdomen and eventually a month ago I had a gastroscopy. Before the gastroscopy, I had blood tests which showed high levels in the blood that indicated celiac disease. I had the biopsy of course when i had the gastroscopy and it was negative yet the blood worki was positive. I was also told i had chronic gastritis. My question is .. has anyone else had the positive blood tests and negative biopsy? I had 3 different blood tests the usual i am sure. I am on a gluten-free diet .. learning all about it but I noticed my abdomen is pretty hard to the touch and bloated. I am watching everything for the hidden gluten. I would appreciate some advice on the blood tests and if anyone else has the hard abdomen and bloating and if you think that is more related to the gastritis or the celiac. Thanks for reading this .
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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted
:D Hi I am new to the forum. I live on Ontario, Canada. This November I had pains and spasm in my abdomen and eventually a month ago I had a gastroscopy. Before the gastroscopy, I had blood tests which showed high levels in the blood that indicated celiac disease. I had the biopsy of course when i had the gastroscopy and it was negative yet the blood worki was positive. I was also told i had chronic gastritis. My question is .. has anyone else had the positive blood tests and negative biopsy? I had 3 different blood tests the usual i am sure. I am on a gluten-free diet .. learning all about it but I noticed my abdomen is pretty hard to the touch and bloated. I am watching everything for the hidden gluten. I would appreciate some advice on the blood tests and if anyone else has the hard abdomen and bloating and if you think that is more related to the gastritis or the celiac. Thanks for reading this .

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

I have never had the testing myself, but I understand there are at least four tests that are usually performed. Perhaps you could post your test results and the ranges the lab gave so that the "experts" here could look at them. It is not unusual to have positive blood and negative biopsy; the biopsy is done as confirmation of the blood work. But the damage can be patchy in the gut and if they don't take enough samples, or even if they do, they can miss the damaged areas. Gastritis is inflammation and may or may not go away. At any rate, the symptoms from celiac do not resolve immediately. Depending on the degree of damage it may take months or years. Usually you will notice some improvement within a few months. But it is possible that you have some other food intolerances that were being disguised by the gluten. I would suggest going back to a very simple diet of chicken, fish, vegetables, fruit and rice, and if you stabilize on that then you can add other things back in, one at a time. For the moment I would suggest avoiding all milk products, corn, soy and the gluten-free grains (which can be hard to digest initially), and see how you manage with that. I would suggest you also take a probiotic capsule and some digestive enzymes which can be helpful to overcome the disorder in the gut and help things along.

Report back to us and let us know how you are doing.

mimommy Contributor
mimommy
Posted

I just wanted to say that many of the members here, including my daughter, have had pos. blood tests and neg. biopsies. As Mushroom said, it can be 'patchy' damage to the villi and a gamble as to whether or not your doctor took the biopsy in just the right spot, which is one of the reasons why this topic has been so deeply debated. You may need to take the test results to another doctor for a second opinion--I did and they were actually positive. It can greatly depend on who is looking at it, who's opinion you get. Don't be afraid to advocate on your own behalf, by taking the intiative to go completely gluten free and/or seeing another doctor if you feel it is needed. It's your body!

Also, when she first became symptomatic, my daughter's stomach was hard. But only for a short period of time.

Good luck!

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

Excellent advise from mushroom! Here is some information on blood testing:

Open Original Shared Link

heartofgold Rookie
heartofgold
Posted
  • Author

Thanks so far for the great info it is so discouraging at first when you don't know much about celiac plus the fact the stomach biopsy said chronic gastritis and I have never had a problem over the years with any stomach/bowel issues.

I am in ontario canada so i am not sure how to read these tests meaning i have seen some blood tests posted but I could not compare anything cause the labs may post differently here. LIke you said maybe someone can help me on it here .

Gliadin AB IgG 36 H (which is high i am sure ) then it says 20 KEU/L CMH

Gliadin Ab IgA 21 H 20 KEU/L CMH

tTransglut IgA 45 H 20 KEU?L CMH

Interpretation Positive findings of IgA Endomystal antibodies (IgA Transglutaminese) are essentially diagnostic of Celiac Disease or Dermatitis Herpatiformis. The IgA Endomystal antibodies should disappear with a strict adherence to a gluten free diet and can be used to monitor adherence to diet.

*** i know i dont have the D.H. skin disease.

Again i hope someone can interrupt this as it is a canadian hospital that did them.

Also what about corn chips gluten free do you think they are too hard on the system at first for snacks .. like is it better to just eat the fish chicken, rice, veggies, fruits .. salads type of thing at first. thanks again

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted
Also what about corn chips gluten free do you think they are too hard on the system at first for snacks .. like is it better to just eat the fish chicken, rice, veggies, fruits .. salads type of thing at first. thanks again

I would do without the corn chips for a while since corn is also one of the top allergens. For snacks you could try a handful of almonds, perhaps some rice crackers with hummus dip, but I personally wouldn't go much further than that to start. You want things with low allergic potential and easy to digest.

heartofgold Rookie
heartofgold
Posted
  • Author

thanks mushroom. i was told to go easy on the dairy by a lady in the local health food store who has celiac. Shesaid it is hard on the immune system. what about fruits any i should stay away from since i have the gastritis too. i was thinking something like an orange would be very acidic. I have being eating lots of applesauce and thought maybe some peaches it their own juices? hope someone can help me with the blood tests. i just asked for a copy from the doctor's secretary so they are more in doctor's terminology . it was not like they sent me them which some doctors do in the emails. :)

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Peaches sound good, also pears, apricots, plums. For vegetables you can do purees of things like parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, and in combinations that tickle your fancy; get your greens in from things like spinach and swiss chard; I would avoid cabbage for now. I know, it sounds a bit like baby food :P , but you will need to baby your tummy for a while to let it recover. Good luck with your healing.

heartofgold Rookie
heartofgold
Posted
  • Author
Peaches sound good, also pears, apricots, plums. For vegetables you can do purees of things like parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, and in combinations that tickle your fancy; get your greens in from things like spinach and swiss chard; I would avoid cabbage for now. I know, it sounds a bit like baby food :P , but you will need to baby your tummy for a while to let it recover. Good luck with your healing.

mushroom do you know where else i can post the blood tests. I see no one has entered anything on here.thanks

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted
mushroom do you know where else i can post the blood tests. I see no one has entered anything on here.thanks

Try posting them in " Celiac Disease - Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms "

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
mushroom do you know where else i can post the blood tests. I see no one has entered anything on here.thanks

Hello and welcome. People may not be responding because Mushroom is putting it so well. :) I would add in some peas and green beans to the veggie suggestions. Your gastritis is likely a result of the celiac. After you have had a bit of time to heal then go ahead and add in some other fruits and veggies and see how they do. If you do not normally eat a lot of fruits and veggies go slow with adding them into your diet and make sure that they are cooked. If your not digesting well then try the puree but I never found it needed. Buckwheat is also a really good easy to digest protein and carb source. If you were a fan of cream of wheat then cream of buckwheat will be a good sub.

Welcome to the board and ask any questions you need to.

heartofgold Rookie
heartofgold
Posted
  • Author
Hello and welcome. People may not be responding because Mushroom is putting it so well. :) I would add in some peas and green beans to the veggie suggestions. Your gastritis is likely a result of the celiac. After you have had a bit of time to heal then go ahead and add in some other fruits and veggies and see how they do. If you do not normally eat a lot of fruits and veggies go slow with adding them into your diet and make sure that they are cooked. If your not digesting well then try the puree but I never found it needed. Buckwheat is also a really good easy to digest protein and carb source. If you were a fan of cream of wheat then cream of buckwheat will be a good sub.

Welcome to the board and ask any questions you need to.

Thanks Ravenwoodglass. My comment was regarding if anyone could understand my blood tests. You are right though Mushroom is helpful and you are too . i see you have been through a lot yourself and your family. i am trying to eat as plain as possible meaning natural foods like the veggies bananas pears in water applesauce i find is ok and chicken and fish. i introduced some rice bread both plain and raisin for breakfast. i am keeping the dairy intake lower too but did buy some soy milk. thanks again R.

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