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Strange Biopsy + Blood Result Help

efc79

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efc79 Newbie
efc79
Posted

Hello, all! I'm new around here, and was hoping someone might be able to give me some help with my test results! I have a follow up appointment with my doctor for over a month from now, but I'm fairly impatient ;)

I had an EGD about two weeks ago, with a negative result on the biopsy for celiacs. However, there was some sort of infection in my upper intestines which the doctor thought could be masking celiacs, so he sent me for the celiac bloodwork panel (as well as a range of tests to ensure I didn't have giardia or any other infections/parasites, which all came back negative) - I just got those results today:

tTG Ab IgA: 28 (0-4 = neg, 5-8 = inconclusive, > 8 = positive)

IgA serum: 236 (normal range: 81-463)

I'm wondering if the positive tTG Ab IgA combined with the weirdness in my intestines might be enough for a celiacs diagnosis...?

Thanks in advance! It would be great to finally know what's wrong with me :)

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I would suggest giving the diet a good strict try now that you are done with testing. You don't have to wait to see the doctor again. With a positive blood test it is pretty likely that you are going to benefit from the diet. Read as much as you can here and do start out with whole unprocessed foods in the beginning. It is also helpful for healing to avoid dairy until you are feeling better.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

The TTG IgA could be caused by the "weirdness" in your intestines. TTG can come up with other inflammatory problems as well as celiac.

You've had the testing done, so there is certainly no harm in trying the diet.

efc79 Newbie
efc79
Posted
  • Author

Thanks so much for your replies! I'm definitely going to go ahead and cut gluten. If nothing else, it's worth a shot at this point!!

I just got one further test result, I was hoping someone might be able to explain it to me, as well.

Apparently the did a further Endomysial Titer, and my result was:

1:20, with a reference range: LESS THAN 1:5.

Is that positive or negative, does anyone know? Thanks in advance!

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

It's weakly positive. With the titers, they dilute your serum and test to see how far they can thin it down and still get a reaction. In your test, being able to dilute to 1/5th serum is normal, and you have enough extra antibody that they could go to 1/20th serum and still see signal. A strong positive would be more like a dilution to 1 part in 100.

So, you have anti-TTG and a little bit of anti-EMA. You probably are in the early stages of celiac.

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