Test Results

[1boy1girl]

I got the call yesterday that my son has Celiac Disease. I asked if I could have his test results this morning (so I could post them here and get them explained to me). I picked them up but they didn't give me much. They had said there is damage to the intestine but nothing like that is here and really there is very little on this piece of paper she gave me. Here is what she wrote....

GLIADIN/GLUTEN IGG AB 30

GLIADIN/GLUTEN IGA AB 3

tTG IGA AB 3

IMMUNOGLOBULIN A (IGA) SERUM 142

Can anyone explain this to me? Is this all I need to know? Is this enough? They first said he had IBS. We ended up with a new doctor who ran a ton of tests and x-rays and said Celiac. Should I ask for more results or just accept the diagnosis? We have gone gluten free but since we just got the call yesterday he has only had 3 meals so far. I've been reading/studying everything I can get my hands on and checked out some cookbooks from the library today. I also have an appointment with a dietician. Thanks for the help in advance.

[tarnalberry]

  On 2/3/2010 at 5:22 PM, 1boy1girl said:

I got the call yesterday that my son has Celiac Disease. I asked if I could have his test results this morning (so I could post them here and get them explained to me). I picked them up but they didn't give me much. They had said there is damage to the intestine but nothing like that is here and really there is very little on this piece of paper she gave me. Here is what she wrote....

GLIADIN/GLUTEN IGG AB 30

GLIADIN/GLUTEN IGA AB 3

tTG IGA AB 3

IMMUNOGLOBULIN A (IGA) SERUM 142

Can anyone explain this to me? Is this all I need to know? Is this enough? They first said he had IBS. We ended up with a new doctor who ran a ton of tests and x-rays and said Celiac. Should I ask for more results or just accept the diagnosis? We have gone gluten free but since we just got the call yesterday he has only had 3 meals so far. I've been reading/studying everything I can get my hands on and checked out some cookbooks from the library today. I also have an appointment with a dietician. Thanks for the help in advance.

What they gave you isn't enough. If you didn't get a copy of the lab report itself, but rather a hand written note, demand a copy of the lab report. You need reference ranges to compare the values to. (On a guess, I'm guessing that just the IgG test went positive, but the biopsy results - which are not listed in what you typed at all - were positive.)

[1boy1girl]

  On 2/3/2010 at 6:32 PM, tarnalberry said:

What they gave you isn't enough. If you didn't get a copy of the lab report itself, but rather a hand written note, demand a copy of the lab report. You need reference ranges to compare the values to. (On a guess, I'm guessing that just the IgG test went positive, but the biopsy results - which are not listed in what you typed at all - were positive.)

I called and asked for the ranges. She said the first one is >17 positive. The second one is <11 negative. The third one is <5 negative. He has not had a biopsy yet. He had ultrasound and x-rays that show problems. And lots of blood work. The biopsy has to wait a couple weeks because we have to go out of town to see my sister (last stages of cancer). My son is 14. He was told it was IBS 2 years ago. The doctor who told us that did not do blood work so I am not sure what made him decide that. Since IBS runs in the family I accepted it. He just kept getting worse. That caused us to try to find answers. This doctor says Celiac. Should I accept it or wait until the biopsy? Could it be something else causing a false positive?

[nora-n]

This is a high antigliadin IgG result.

Just shows the importance of testing for that test too, not just the tissue trasnglutaminase IgA.

The total IgA was okay, and they do that test just to check if the IgA type tests are valid.

Now the endomysium and the antigliadin test are the old tesst, and afterwards they got the tissue transglutaminase test.

Now whenever they invent a new test they write lots of articles bragging how bad the old tests were and how good the new fancy expensive test is.

Now when you ahvwe read several of these things, it really looks like just marketing, they want to sell more tests.

If you google ford gluten you can find some explanation about the antigliadin IgG test, and why it is so important, and not to dismiss it.

(at the same time you can see how they tout the new deamidated gliadin test which is supposed to be so much better than the trasglutaminase test, which used to be so much better than the antigliadin test, which was so much better than whatever...)

I really think the test does mean something.

The child should NOT go completely gluten free right now, must wait until after the biopsy.

In children the villi heal so fast the biopsies could go indeterminate in a couple of weeks off gluten.

You really want a diagnosis right now.

[tarnalberry]

False positives are extraordinarily rare. (Virtually never. But hey, labs can make mistakes. :/)

Whether to take him gluten free now or not entirely depends on your (and his) need for an official diagnosis. If you want an official diagnosis, he needs to stay on gluten (and plenty of it) before the biopsy. If you don't care if he ever has a doctors dx, then you can take him off (he'd need to be *STRICTLY* gluten free) for a few weeks (6-8, at least) and see if there are any changes. Not an easy decision. Given his age, I'm not sure what I would do in that situation.

[Jestgar]

  On 2/3/2010 at 9:54 PM, 1boy1girl said:

Since IBS runs in the family I accepted it.

Maybe it's Celiac that runs in the family.....

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 2/5/2010 at 5:24 PM, Jestgar said:

Maybe it's Celiac that runs in the family.....

I was thinking the same thing. It is very important that you not take him gluten free yet. Wait until the day he has the biopsy then go right from the procedure to a gluten free diet. I would also let other family members know that with his positive blood work it is really pretty certain that he is celiac so they should be tested also.