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Anti-gliadin Antibody Test

nobigideas

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nobigideas Newbie
nobigideas
Posted

Hi, my doctor has been terribly unhelpful over the last year or so since he diagnosed me with celiac disease. Initially, he even told me that gluten present in condiments or products that are not wheat-based wouldn't cause me any problems. This past monday even, he said most people cheat and get along fine anyways. I'm not sure if any of this is true, but I've often read that even the most negligible amounts of gluten can cause quite severe reactions. So I have been struggling with continued symptoms despite being gluten free for the last eight months. In January my AGA levels were at .2 (down from 17 at diagnosis) and, as of this week, they are at .8. My doctor does not believe these levels should be causing my symptoms. I was just wondering if any of you could share what your doctors have said regarding this issue, or if you have heard contradictory information.

I understand that a gluten free diet must be very strict, I am just wondering specifically about the AGA levels.

Thanks, John.

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gf4life Enthusiast
gf4life
Posted

Hi nobigideas,

Welcome to the board!

I don't know specifically about the numbers since all labs seem to use a different system of calculating. But I do knoww that ANY amount of gluten is too much. And certainly enough to cause symptoms in some people. You might have to get much more strict than you have been and not go by this particular doctors comments about the diet. Maybe he had other Celiac patients who cheated and didn't suffer from outward symptoms, but they certain suffered inside. Even the tiniest amount of gluten consumed over a time period can cause damage to the intestines and put you at risk for developing other related illnesses. There is plenty of information already posted here at this site, and at lots of other. If there is a specific question about something, don't hesitate to ask. Someone here should have an answer for you.

God bless,

Mariann

KaitiUSA Enthusiast
KaitiUSA
Posted

Welcome to the board :D Ask any questions there are great people on here.

Any amount of cheating is bad..it is not fine. It does damage to your intestines. Your body not only attacks the gluten but it attacks where the gluten is starting to be absorbed, your villi. There will be accidents though. Your doctor may not know alot about celiac if he thinks that cheating is ok. What would be the point of the diet if we were allowed to cheat on it? hello doctors? :lol:

Think about this...you have a car and you crash it and there is damage...does this mean you should keep crashing it and giving it more damage? Eventually the car will get too much damage to it and you will see signs of wear and tear until it shuts down....

This is a link to some lists that might be helpful to you. The forbidden list may help as a guideline while you learn the ropes to celiac.

https://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=12

There are also brands that will not hide any wheat,rye,barley, or oats on their label. So on these brands below they are safe unless WRBO is listed on the label.

Aunt Nelly's

Balance

Baskin Robbins

Ben & Jerry

Betty Crocker

Blue Bunny

Breyers

Campbells

Cascadian Farms

Celestial Seasonings

Country Crock

Edy's

General Mills

Good Humor

Green Giant

Haagen Daz

Hellman's

Hershey

Hormel

Hungry Jack

Jiffy

Knorr

Kozy Shack

Kraft

Libby's

Lipton

Martha White

McCormick

Nabisco

Nestle

Old El Paso

Ortega

Pillsbury

Popsicle

Post

Progresso

Russell Stover

Seneca Foods

Smucker

Stokely's

Sunny Delight

T Marzetti

Tyson

Unilever

Wishbone

Yoplait

Zatarain's

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    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @rei.b,  I understand how frustrating starting a new way of eating can be.  I tried all sorts of gluten-free processed foods and just kept feeling worse.  My health didn't improve until I started the low histamine AIP diet.  It makes a big difference.   Gluten fits into opioid receptors in our bodies.  So, removing gluten can cause withdrawal symptoms and reveals the underlying discomfort.  SIBO can cause digestive symptoms.  SIBO can prevent vitamins from being absorbed by the intestines.  Thiamine insufficiency causes Gastrointestinal Beriberi (bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea or constipation).  Thiamine is the B vitamin that runs out first because it can only be stored for two weeks.  We need more thiamine when we're sick or under emotional stress.  Gastric Beriberi is under recognised by doctors.  An Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test is more accurate than a blood test for thiamine deficiency, but the best way to see if you're low in thiamine is to take it and look for health improvement.  Don't take Thiamine Mononitrate because the body can't utilize it well.  Try Benfotiamine.  Thiamine is water soluble, nontoxic and safe even at high doses.  I thought it was crazy, too, but simple vitamins and minerals are important.  The eight B vitamins work together, so a B Complex, Benfotiamine,  magnesium and Vitamin D really helped get my body to start healing, along with the AIP diet.  Once you heal, you add foods back in, so the AIP diet is worth doing for a few months. I do hope you'll consider the AIP diet and Benfotiamine.
    • captaincrab55
      Finding gluten free ingredients

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      Imemsm, Most of us have experienced discontinued, not currently available or products that suddenly become seasonal.   My biggest fear about relocating from Maryland to Florida 5 years ago, was being able to find gluten-free foods that fit my restricted diet.  I soon found out that the Win Dixie and Publix supper markets actually has 99% of their gluten-free foods tagged, next to the price.  The gluten-free tags opened up a  lot of foods that aren't actually marked gluten-free by the manufacture.  Now I only need to check for my other dietary restrictions.  Where my son lives in New Hartford, New York there's a Hannaford Supermarket that also has a gluten-free tag next to the price tag.  Hopefully you can locate a Supermarket within a reasonable travel distance that you can learn what foods to check out at a Supermarket close to you.  I have dermatitis herpetiformis too and I'm very sensitive to gluten and the three stores I named were very gluten-free friendly.  Good Luck 
    • rei.b
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By rei.b · Posted

      Okay well the info about TTG-A actually makes a lot of sense and I wish the PA had explained that to me. But yes, I would assume I would have intestinal damage from eating a lot of gluten for 32 years while having all these symptoms. As far as avoiding gluten foods - I was definitely not doing that. Bread, pasta, quesadillas (with flour tortillas) and crackers are my 4 favorite foods and I ate at least one of those things multiple times a day e.g. breakfast with eggs and toast, a cheese quesadilla for lunch, and pasta for dinner, and crackers and cheese as a before bed snack. I'm not even kidding.  I'm not really big on sugar, so I don't really do sweets. I don't have any of those conditions.  I am not sure if I have the genes or not. When the geneticist did my genetic testing for EDS this year, I didn't think to ask for him to request the celiac genes so they didn't test for them, unfortunately.  I guess another expectation I had is  that if gluten was the issue, the gluten-free diet would make me feel better, and I'm 3 months in and that hasn't been the case. I am being very careful and reading every label because I didn't want to screw this up and have to do gluten-free for longer than necessary if I end up not having celiac. I'm literally checking everything, even tea and anything else prepacked like caramel dip. Honestly its making me anxious 😅
    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      So you're saying that you think you should have severe intestinal damage since you've had the symptoms so long?   DGP IgG antibodies are produced in response to a partial gluten molecule.  This is different than what tissue transglutaminase antibodies are  produced in response to.   TTg IgA antibodies are produced in the intestines in response to gluten.  The tTg IgA antibodies attack our own cells because a structural component in our cell membranes resembles a part of gluten.  There's a correlation between the level of intestinal damage with the level of tTg antibodies produced.  You are not producing a high number of tTg IgA antibodies, so your level of tissue damage in your intestines is not very bad.  Be thankful.   There may be reasons why you are not producing a high quantity of tTg IgA antibodies.  Consuming ten grams or more of gluten a day for two weeks to two months before blood tests are done is required to get sufficient antibody production and damage to the intestines.  Some undiagnosed people tend to subconsciously avoid lots of gluten.  Cookies and cakes do not contain as much gluten as artisan breads and thick chewy pizza crust.  Anemia, diabetes and thiamine deficiency can affect IgA antibody production as well.   Do you carry genes for Celiac?  They frequently go along with EDS.
    • rei.b
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By rei.b · Posted

      I was tested for celiac at the same time, so I wasn't taking naltrexone yet. I say that, because I don't. The endoscopy showed some mild inflammation but was inconclusive as to celiac disease. They took several biopsies and that's all that was shown. I was not given a Marsh score.
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