Possiable Celiac Disease Diagnosis

[klea83]

Hi, I am new to this site but I have already found it useful. I just got back my blood work tests from my doctor and she has refered me to a GI. I am a little confuse though as to what the results mean. Here is what it says:

Gliadin AB IGA

<20 units negative

20-30 units weak positive

>30 units Moderate to Strong Positive

Gliadin AB IGG

<20 units negative

20-30 units weak positive

>30 units Moderate to Strong Positive

Could someone help me understand what that means? Also, I have stopped eating gluten containing foods for two days now since the results came back and I am wondering if my GI does a biopsy will it come up negative because I haven't been eating anything containing gluten eventhough I may actually have celiac disease?

Another question is that I am not under weight, in fact I am a bit over weight so can I really have celiac disease? I have a lot of the symptoms but weight loss is not one of them. Could I really have IBS not celiac disease?

If anyone could offer me any advise as to what to do or how to make sure I get all the proper tests done to find out what I really have I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much!!!

[Guest jhmom]

Hi klea83, welcome!!!

Looking at the numbers you posted it only looks like you listed the ranges and not your actual test results. Look at your labwork, on mine to the right of the "test" is the number (results).

If you are going to have a biopsy or other blood test you should still be on gluten until they are over or the results will not be accurate.

Not everyone is underweight that has celiac disease, I was a bit overweight until I lost 40lbs in two months because of celiac disease but not everyone has weightloss as a symptom. If you have improved on a gluten-free chances are you have celiac disease/gluten sensitivity.

If your bloodwork and biopsy turns out to be negative you could still have celiac disease. My suggestion is to order a stool panel test from Open Original Shared Link. The testing is more sensitive than blood and VERY accurate and you DO NOT have to be on gluten for the results.

I hope I have answered your questions and I do hope you find answers soon!

[GFdoc]

Hi- first of all, what you posted on your message is the reference values for the gliadin antibody tests...these are not YOUR results! Somewhere on the page nearby those values should read your own results.

Secondly, antigliadin antibodies are not the best or most accurate way to detect Celiac Disease (celiac disease) anymore. A more specific test that needs to be done is anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) or tissue transglutaminase (TTG). If one of these is negative, then the chances of having celiac disease at this time is very low (you could still develop it at a later time, though). Some people will have the biopsy done - this is considered the standard of diagnosis, but also can be inaccurate depending on the skill of the doctor reading the biopsy slides.

It is important to continue having gluten in your diet until your testing is complete - if you go gluten free now, you will mess up your results.

The "classic" symptoms of celiac disease are weight loss and malnutrition, however, MANY people do not have those symptoms and still have celiac disease (I am one of those non-classic CDers!)

Hope this answers your questions.... my best advice is go get testing done from someone who has experience with celiac disease (yes, its OK to ask your doctor that question). Don't panic ....you may not have celiac disease, and if you do...join the club...we'll help!

[klea83]

Thanks guys for the info! I looked at the test results agian and it says 59 under the the Gliadin AB IGG, it is in the "Out of Range" catagory. Do you know what this means? Thanks!

[gf4life]

It means that you might have celiac disease and you might not. A lot of doctors will tell youu that you tested negative for celiac disease, but really the results are inconclusive. All three of my kids tested positive on the IgG Gliadin and negative on all the other tests. The problem is that IgG could be elevated for another reason, other that celiac disease. It warrants further testing. My insurance won't cover better blood testing and gene testing, so I opted to have my kids tested at Open Original Shared Link . This is where I had my testing done as well. It is much cheaper. My biopsy came back negative, but I know the lab they used wasn't very skilled at testing for celiac disease, so I don't put too much weight into the negative results. I feel much better on the gluten-free diet, so that is the solid evidence in my mind, combined with the positive gene & antibody tests from Enterolab, I know the truth. My doctor still won't believe me. I had one doctor tell me I couldn't possibly have Celiac because I am overweight, and ALL Celiac are severely underweight. Well that is just not true. Us Celiacs come in all different sizes! and it also depends on how your body handles the malnutrition and the stage of damage you have in your intestines. It is a very confusing disease for doctors to diagnose, since everyones symptoms are a little bit different. Oh, and I was told I had IBS for more than 16 years! I've had symptoms since I was 4 years old and I'll be 32 next week. That is almost 28 years of symptoms before I figured out what was wrong with me. And each year I would get sicker. I hope the GI you were referred to does more for you than mine. She looked at my chart and my negative test results and said it was just IBS and I needed to eat more WHEAT fiber! I don't think so. I hope that you get more testing soon, but do not go gluten free until you are done testing, since it can mess up your results.

God bless,

Mariann