Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Test Help.


VOZDUK

Recommended Posts

VOZDUK Newbie

Hello,

About a year and a bit ago I started getting stomach symptoms(gas, pain, diarrhea, constipation and etc) and it took me about 8 months to do something about it and I got a blood test done(ceoliac scan) and these were the results of the test.

Coeliac Disease Serology (SERUM)

Gliadin IgA (EIA) 6 units - Normal (< 20)

Transglutaminase IgA Ab (EIA) 72 units - Normal (< 20)

Total IgA 2.05 g/L (0.85-3.70)

Following these results I booked for a biopsy but as the appointment was two weeks after booking I jumped straight into a gluten free diet as I found the urge of getting rid of what I had to hard to resist but ended up eating a bit of gluten a day prior to the test. The biopsy came up wit the following.

Microscopy

1. Sections show mild inflammation to this gastric antral mucosa with some slight congestion to the lamina propria. The glandular epithelium is well differentiated and there is no evidence of intestinal metaplasia in the sections examined. The stain for Helicobacter-like organisms is negative.

2. Sections show well defined villi to this small bowel mucosa with a normal crypt/villus ratio present and a minor degree of congestion in the lamina propria. There is no inflammation, ulceration or atypia and Giardia lamblia were not identified.

Jump forward 6 months and I tried my hardest to follow a gluten free diet and am still suffering from the same symptoms. Just recently I had another blood test (Ceoliac scan) which showed the following.

Coeliac Disease Serology (SERUM)

Gliadin IgA (EIA) 8 units - Normal (< 20)

Transglutaminase IgA Ab (EIA) 93 units - Normal (< 20)

Total IgA 2.22 g/L (0.85-3.70)

Looking at the test the Transglutaminase IgA has gotten worse by 21 units which shocked me. What does this mean? Can anyone help me out?


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



ravenwoodglass Mentor

It likely means you are still getting gluten somewhere, IMHO. What is your typical diet like? Are you going with mostly whole unprocessed foods and avoiding restaurants? Is your home gluten free and if it isn't have you got your own new dedicated toaster, condiments, butter, pnut butters and jelly etc? I take it by your spelling you are in Europe, are you eating products with Codex Wheat starch? Although thought to be gluten free many of us do not tolerate them. Do you work around wheat flour or in the home remodeling profession? Airborne wheat can be an issue as can stuff like drywall compound, wall paper paste etc.

Skylark Collaborator

With negative anti-gliadin IgA, negative biopsy, and lack of response to the diet you might not be celiac. Your doctor should have tested you for anti-endomysial antibodies or anti-deamidated gliadin peptide when your biopsy came back normal.

Have you been checked for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or chronic liver disease? Anti-TTG can be elevated in these conditions and anti-gliadin IgA is not. There are also not anti-endomysial antibodies. Sadly at this point you've been gluten-free long enough that the anti-EMA may not be accurate.

Raven also makes a good point that the gluten-free diet has to be very strict, but it seems to me that you would be feeling somewhat better even if you haven't done it perfectly.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

In addition to the conditions Skylark mentioned TTG can also be falsely positive in some other instances so make sure those have been ruled out also. From what I understand the new anti-deamidated gliadin peptide is the best test so far.

Open Original Shared Link

Tissue transglutaminase antibodies or TTG

Since tTG had been first described as the autoantigen of celiac disease in 1997, it has been utilized to develop innovative diagnostic tools. The tTG IgA ELISA test is highly sensitive and specific. The tTG assay correlates well with EMA-IgA and biopsy. However, it represents an improvement over the antiendomysial antibody assay because it inexpensive, rapid, is not a subjective test, and can be performed on a single drop of blood using a dot-blot technique. One negative aspect of the TTG antibody is that it can be falsely positive in a patient who has another autoimmune condition. TTG false positivity has been described in patients with both type I diabetes and autoimmune hepatitis. Theoretically, it can also be falsely positive in other autoimmune disease

Skylark Collaborator

That's a good link, Raven! I believe TTG also shows up in rheumatoid arthritis, but that gives joint pain rather than GI symptoms.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

That's a good link, Raven! I believe TTG also shows up in rheumatoid arthritis, but that gives joint pain rather than GI symptoms.

What I find interesting is that my gene is considered an RA associated gene in the US but is considered a celiac related gene in other countries. If I had been gene tested before being diagnosed celiac I would have been labeled with RA since I had a lot of joint impact and other RA features. Since many RA patients also have 'IBS' they would have stopped looking there.

It really makes me wonder how many RA patients may actually be celiac along with many others that have other associated autoimmune disorders. In other words are those really false positives with the TTG or is it that perhaps the IGA tests are false negatives. With the high rate of undiagnosed celiacs here how many would benefit from the diet even with a negative test but are told it couldn't be the root of their issues.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      129,868
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Joyetta
    Newest Member
    Joyetta
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Shining My Light
      Thank you @trents! This is all sound advice. In 2022 I did have a biopsy done with the EGD: SPECIMEN: (A) DUODENUM, BIOPSY (B) GASTRIC BIOPSY(C) GASTRIC POLYP, BIOPSY(D) ESOPHAGUS BIOPSY (E) ESOPHAGUS BIOPSY This would have been when the candida was found.  If I understand right it’s the duodenum they take a biopsy of. Nothing was mentioned about Villous atrophy however they were not looking for that particularly.    Something that stumps me is the correlation between symptoms and damage. One seems to equal the other. I have yet to see damage with “silent celiac”. Not saying it doesn’t exist.  Also super curious on other symptoms that would improve based on a gluten free diet. Obviously silent celiac wouldn’t have an improvement in GI symptoms but that is all I have read any data for. No one saying things like my anxiety went away or my headaches and joint pain are gone.    I see why it would be a “gluten challenge” since eating 4-6 slices of bread daily is a challenge to do. 😳 I would replace that with cake 🍰😉 
    • xxnonamexx
      I know I haven't been tested for Celiac yet. But If I took a blood test would they be able to say what I am deficient in as far as vitamins and minerals so I can see what supplements to take or is it not that easy to figure out what is needed to balance out vitamins/minerals. 
    • trents
      All that is exactly why you should have an endoscopy with a biopsy of the small bowel lining done. It's a very simple procedure and in the US they put you under for it so there is no discomfort. You don't even have to do a cleanout like you do for a colonoscopy.  It might also be wise to wait a few months and get the tTG-IGA checked again if nothing else. If it elevated now due to some temporary infectious process, it should not remain elevated. But a biopsy would distinguish between IBD and celiac disease. And remember, the diagnosing of diseases is often not a black and white, cut and dry process. You often have to weigh all the evidence and just go with what is most likely the cause. When tTG-IGA is elevated, the most likely cause is celiac disease. And the gold standard test for diagnosing celiac disease is still the endoscopy with biopsy. But if you decide to go for further testing for celiac disease of any kind, you must not first embark on the gluten free diet.
    • knitty kitty
      I understand your exasperation.  My doctors were totally clueless.  Me?  I couldn't believe it was so simple.  I had studied nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology because I was curious about what the vitamins were doing inside the body.  It's about giving the body the nutrients it needs to heal.  Read my blog for more of my journey...  Do take the time now to make some changes.  It's a matter of putting on your own oxygen mask first before you do anything else.  I regret I didn't do more to take care of myself first.  It's amazing how quickly ones life can unravel if in poor health. Simple things you can do immediately that will help are: Stop consuming oats, dairy, and corn. Keep a food-mood-poo'd journal so pinpointing problematic foods is easier. No alcohol. Avoid nightshades.  Do cut back on or eliminate processed gluten free facsimile foods.  These are not nutritious.  They are not enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts.  They contain saturated fats and excess fiber that can be irritating to the digestive tract.   They are high in simple carbohydrates that promote Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Do focus on meat, veggies, fruit and healthy Omega 3 fats (olive oil, avocado oil).   Do make stews and roasts overnight in a crockpot.  Make small batches.  Leftovers increase in histamine the longer they are left.   Do talk to your doctor about supplementing with a B Complex and Benfotiamine (a form of thiamine shown to promote intestinal healing).  There are eight essential B vitamins.  They work in concert together like an orchestra, so they need to be supplemented together.  Taking extra thiamine and Benfotiamine have been shown to be beneficial.  Weight loss can be a symptom of insufficient thiamine. I believe you mentioned you were low in some vitamins. Can you tell me  which ones?  
    • Shining My Light
      @trents - sorry, I know that didn’t make sense. I need to get better at rereading the things I write.    The people I know of that have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance have tested negative for celiac. They can’t have gluten of any kind without having a reaction. That to me isn’t helpful. If I reacted to gluten I wouldn’t eat it regardless of it being celiac or not. I’ve come to learn the real issue with celiac is the damage, not the intolerance.    Gliadin Deamidated is another test I’ve seen that I wanted to get done. Also, the genetic testing. HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Although my liver levels are not elevated now, I went through a time when they were. I would say maybe 7 years ago. I also had major GI symptoms at that time. They had ordered a EGD then but I chickened out. This makes me even more confused. I would think that if celiac were the cause my liver numbers wouldn’t have improved. Which again makes me think more of IBD being the cause of my TTG levels being elevated.  One thing that would make me motivated above all else is the neurological aspect. I’m still trying to dive deeper into that which has me the most interested. I think GI issues are an obvious symptom, it’s the connection in the rest of the body, particularly brain function that is most intriguing.         
×
×
  • Create New...