Blood Work Results: What The Iga Does Not Indicate, The Crp Might

[kayo]

I'm on the journey to figuring out if my GI issues are gluten insensitivity or celiac. I have my kit from enterolab to do this weekend but when I was at my rheumy's a few weeks ago I asked him to run the blood test to see what it would show. Unfortunately at the time I didn't realize I should have been more specific* so the test ran was the "TTG/Endomysium Ab, IgA". My results came back as a 2, with a normal range of 0 - 19. I knew the blood test would be a long shot as I stopped eating gluten 3 months ago and from what I read one can also be IgA deficient.

However, I compared all of my blood test results (routine RA blood work) to the results I got 6 months ago to see if there has been any improvement in my general health. The only change in my lifestyle in the past 6 months has been the gluten-free diet (I have been dairy free for 4+ years). I was happy to see that my CRP (c-reactive protein) which is the indicator used to determine how much inflammation one is experiencing drop 6.5 points (from a 10.8 to a 4.3). Normal range for CRP is 0.0 - 3.0. So while I'm still out of the normal range for inflammation there has been a significant reduction from where I was 6 months ago. I feel this improvement in my body as well.

This tells me I had indeed been experiencing an immune reaction to gluten. I knew I was but it's nice to see the numbers support it

I am anxious to see what the results are from enterolab.

*sidebar rant: don't you hate that you have to tell the doctors which tests to run?! I'm not the one with the medical degree! And yet all the tests I think I needed (total IgA, IgA gliadin, IgG gliadin and IgA antibody) weren't run. Also not run was a test for vitamin D. I was curious to see if my absorption has increased in the past 6 months. (test result 6 months ago: 11, normal range 25 to 80)