Postive Test, Is This Serious

[tlcmel]

Hi,

THe secretary called me back today in regards to my antiglidian test last wed and said it was positive. Now, I couldn't talk too long cause i was shoppin and it was loud...she said something like, it's not too serious but it's posive and the doc said to increase my fiber, that's it! no saying, "eliminate gluten" or anything! I"m confused. My Igg test was 38 and I asked her, what's normal and she said 20. I'm waiting for the doc to call me back. Does anyone know about these tests. Is 38 serious?

I tred posting before, but I dont' think it went through.

thanks

Jess

[KaitiUSA]

What other tests did you have done in the celiac panel? Did you have the tTG test, EMA, or total serum IgA done?

You don't see many doctors diagnose celiac off of the IgG test alone because that test is not as reliable.

If you have celiac though yes its serious and you need to eliminate gluten immediately. Anything over normal is bad and indicates a gluten problem. Do not go gluten free until after all the testing though.

[tarnalberry]

Yes, positive means positive, and I'm rather shocked that the nurse would tell you that. I would call back and ask for some additional discussion on this one, but would also go gluten-free. ;-)

[tlcmel]

I don't know, but nobody has gotten back to me yet. All I know is that I got an antigliadian test done and here's exactly the conversation:

I was shopping and it was real loud by the way, the phone rang, it was the secretary and she said, one of your tests came up positve. (mind you, I got a thyroid test done also) and I said which one, and she said the antigliadin test. SHe said the Igg was 38(i wrote in down in the notebook in my purse). SHe said something like, "it's not too serious" or something like that. I asked her what normal was and she said 20, so to me that seems pretty high but all she said was the doc said to increase my fiber intake. I don't know which test it was, but I think it was a serum test (antigliadin). I'm waiting to talk to the doc directly and he's supposed to be calling me back. So what does 38 Igg mean??????

THANKS alot!

Jess

[skbird]

That's crazy. I hope that was a miscommunication. If you had high cholesterol, then by all means, increase your fiber. How on earth is that supposed to help the development of antibodies to gluten???

Stephanie

[tlcmel]

I just did some research on the internet about the IgG antibodies which are not a true diagnoisis of celiac. Positive IgA are more accurate. However, it said that positve IgG antibodies COULD be a possiblity of an association to celiac, but i'm so confused. It seems like my doc doesn't even care. I guess it's not serious because I didn't even tell the secretary i'd call her back i just decided to cause i was gonna investigate this positive IgG 38(the number that came up). She didn't even say that the doc wanted to see me or anything! So i'm guessing that it isn't too serious but I'm still waiting for somebody to call me back. Yeah, why would he say "increase your fiber." Doesn't make sense!

So could please somebody answer me, or relate, how did your test come up to verify that you were gluten intolorant? Is IGg 38 something related to it or what??

Thanks

Jess

[KaitiUSA]

You should get further testing. That is not something to overlook. First, I would find out what celiac tests they performed on you in the last blood tests.

If you haven't already you should get a full celiac panel done which includes the following and see what the results show:

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Total Serum IgA

The doctor sure had a weird response. I would say you may want to look for a different doctor who may know a bit more about celiac.

[Guest nini]

I agree with Kaiti, get a Dr. that is more knowledgeable about Celiac and gives you more of an answer than just "increase fiber" WTH???

[egardner]

Your experience sounds exactly like mine. My doctor's nurse called me and said the exact same thing,"one of your tests is high". I asked what I should do and she said stop eating wheat. She never even mentioned gluten, not to mention the fact that I was scheduled for more testing and eliminating wheat/gluten would have messed up those tests. In my experience, the nurses in many GI offices are not specialty nurses (and this is coming from a nursing student so I hate to knock any nurses) but instead basic trained nurses, and they often misinform over the phone. You need to get a hold of the DOCTOR, even if you have to go in for a visit to talk to him (which is what I had to do) My tests were messed up because I had been NPO (nothing to eat) for five days prior, and so the results she "described" were a moot point because they had to be redone. Be an advocate for your own health (good job looking stuff up, dont let them push you aside, they dont have to experience the symptoms!) and don't let anyone give you the runaround, remember, they work for YOU!

[tlcmel]

Thanks so much guys!

I found out although I didn't get a call from the doc yet,

It was a

antiendomysial antibody test (i think for IgG and IgA)And the piece of paper that I took to the lab said antgliadin(i'm assuming that's the IgG) so i think it was BOTH tests. So maybe the IgA was negative and the IgG was postive, what's that mean? Oh, and my initial complaints to the doctor was pains in my tummy, gas, fatigue, brain fog, and constipation. That's why he said to increase the fiber, so obviously this isn't anything to worry about.

SOOOO my results were 38 for the IgG, which seems high because the norm is 20....So could this mean that even though the IgG was 38..that i may not be gluten intolorant??? The secretary told me the test was postive, and like I said, I couldn't talk any further....I"M GETTING IMPATIENT because I want to know if I should start to worry or whatver. If anyone can help me with this I'd appreciate it. Thanks for all of the advice so far.

Jess

Edgardner, we must have posted at the same time. Anyways, what did the "lab" results indicate. ANything similar to mine. Does this sound like a gluten intolorance, the lady didn't make it SEEM like it. ANd she didn't even say anything about further testing, because the doctor would have told her to tell me. SO this makes me believe that this isn't too serious. I'm real confused.

[egardner]

Initially, my IgG(not neccesarily specific for celia as you saw in your research but a VERY specific result of immune allergic responses, and it is rare that it be so high without a significant cause, in my experiences) was the only high (42, I think) result. I was told to take fiber as well before I pitched a fit, because of the same reasons you were told to, increase bulk, decrease diarrhea, decrease gas, blah blah blah. If you can't get results, move on to a new doctor. I had the runaround for weeks before i put my foot down and called every hour until they told me something worthwhile. I was suffering the ramifications and I let them know- every hour. My doctor did not take it seriously at first either, until I started the constant calling. Then he said there had just been an office miscommunication. The nurses juts get a little note to give you a call with your test results, and despite what they say, thats about all they know. Hope that helps some, I know what you are going through. I was you three months ago.

[KaitiUSA]

The problem is you may be IgA deficient so you can't rely on that test alone because if you are IgA deficient you may have a false negative. You need a panel done with the good tests like the tTG done.

Your symptoms are ones that can be associated with celiac.

[tlcmel]

So edgarner,

I guess YOU ARE celiac right? And did you have a positive IgA? I don't think I did although I wasn't educated enough to ask the lady that at the time. All she said was a positive IgG of 38. This means SOMETHING Is wrong right?

[egardner]

I am a big time Celiac. Undiagnosed my whole life until I was 21. (Now I am 22 ) My IgA was normal the first go round and high the second time. I am a firm believer in the medical system and from my nursing school experience, in general, whenever a lab result is high or low, something is going on. Nothing happens in isolation in the body, things always happen together. I can't tell you why it was high, but I can tell you I would be lighting up that phone tommorrow for more information. Normal is normal for a reason, because high and low aren't. Ever. It may not be a reason needing treatment, but if a value is high or low, something is "wrong". You just need to know what, and given your symptoms, I would be concerned about Celiac disease.

[tlcmel]

Okay, thank you sooo much everyone, I'll let you know as soon as I find out. This will be such a pain if it's positive.

Egarner, what were your symptoms if you don't mind me asking? I always thought that celiac was associated with weight loss, diahrea, acid reflex and the like.

[KaitiUSA]

There are over 200 symptoms with celiac and some people don't even get symptoms. Everyone also differs in symptoms. One of the most common symptoms is fatigue though.

[egardner]

My symptoms were : constipation as a child, lactose intolerance, soy allergies, diarrhea, weight gain, achy pains all the time, headaches, nausea, vomiting=(sometimes) constant rashes, mouth sores, anemia, brain fog and concentration problems, fatigue, acid reflux, and serious infections (nasal, sinus, strep, mono, you name it) I have had it all along and been misdiagnosed my whole life. Symptoms are changing with the times, and a wide. Weight gain used to not be associated, turns out loss/ gain ratio in patients is like 50-50. Symptoms can be random and are a little different in everyone, which is why it is so hard to diagnose. I fit is positive, embrace it, at least you know what causes the problems and dont need drugs to fix it. We will help you understand what you need to know and do, everyone helped me out when I was a newbie, and life is so much better now!

[tlcmel]

Thanks soooo much guys!

Is Barbara's corn puffs gluten free(health food store) it says wheat free on it? That's my last question for now, lol, thanks everyone!

[egardner]

Not sure if they are but make sure you check things that say wheat free, wheat is a common allergen, like eggs, and a lot of products are wheat free but NOT gluten free! Be careful, I learned the ahrd one on that one!

[tlcmel]

Okay thank you.

One more question, where do I find the at home test to know about this FOR SURE?? thank you