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Autoimmune Tests?

jasonD2

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jasonD2 Experienced
jasonD2
Posted

has anyone had tests for autoimmunity? i dont know if i have celiac but with all my food sensitivities im worried that i may develop autoimmunity if i havent already. My vit D levels were normal last year and basic blood, thyroid was all normal save for a slightly elevated liver ALT. there is a cytokine panel and CD4/CD8 test and wanted to see if anyone has had these done and if they are covered by insurance if you go thru a network doc.

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burdee Enthusiast
burdee
Posted

Hi Jason:

I never had any general autoimmune test, but I had a blood test for a specific autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis), which could have caused my low thyroid condition. I believe docs just test for individual conditions which they consider 'autoimmune' or "your body's antibodies are attacking itself, but we don't know why" (because they refuse to consider dietary causes for autoimmune conditions like gluten antibodies SIGH).

If you have reactions to eating gluten, you most likely have gluten intolerance. Many of those blood tests and biopsies yield false negatives, especially if didn't eat enough gluten long enough before the tests. If you have autoimmune conditions, I suspect those are caused by gluten antibodies, not some 'idiopathic' condition.

SUE

PS My 'alternative' naturopathic doc ordered the Hashi's antibodies blood test along with other thyroid tests, but my HMO covered the cost of those tests, because I took my doc's blood test order to my local HMO clinic.

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

jason, im not familiar with the tests u mentioned. Like above poster said, i assume the docs tackle each autoimmune condition seperately. There is the ANA test which i THINK is a general indicator pointing to any autoimmune disease. When i was 14, my ANA was elevated, and i had a face rash- they thought i had LUPUS. Then they checked for Sjorgens... Both negative. Why the docs just stopped there and left me a mystery is BEYOND annoying.

My Gi recently said to me that my high ANA was probably my celiac beginning.

Also, i believe your C-Reactive protein and Homocysteine levels are a good way to measure systemic inflammation

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

SUE: sorry, i would not have referred to u as "above poster" but i was on my phone and didnt see

Jason: was looking at your "signature"... you've had elevated fecal antigliadin, all the IBS symptoms, and you have a DQ8-> i really dont think you need an official Celiac diagnosis... i would just assume you do and call it a day. oh, and of course always check up on the rest of your health as Gluten can trigger a hell of a lot of things :(

Looking for answers Contributor
Looking for answers
Posted

jason, im not familiar with the tests u mentioned. Like above poster said, i assume the docs tackle each autoimmune condition seperately. There is the ANA test which i THINK is a general indicator pointing to any autoimmune disease. When i was 14, my ANA was elevated, and i had a face rash- they thought i had LUPUS. Then they checked for Sjorgens... Both negative. Why the docs just stopped there and left me a mystery is BEYOND annoying.

My Gi recently said to me that my high ANA was probably my celiac beginning.

Also, i believe your C-Reactive protein and Homocysteine levels are a good way to measure systemic inflammation

Hey, just curious...have you ever had your ANAs retested. They found mine elevated a few years ago and diagnosed me with sjogrens...but I've never had a symptom of the disease so I've also figured it had more to do with gluten intolerance. Never had it retested...

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

Hey, just curious...have you ever had your ANAs retested. They found mine elevated a few years ago and diagnosed me with sjogrens...but I've never had a symptom of the disease so I've also figured it had more to do with gluten intolerance. Never had it retested...

no, only had the ANA back in the 80's. it was elevated and speckled- so they tested for Sjorgens antibodies- but that was negative.

i havent had the ANA retested. did they dx u with Sjorgens based on a specific test- or were they guessing? it seems like a lot of these autoimmune diseases they diagnose by guessing or ruling out the others.

i THINK ANA could be indicative of ANY autoimmunity. ?? ive only been Gluten Free for 6 months, and now have Hashi- so im sure it's still elevated.

Looking for answers Contributor
Looking for answers
Posted

no, only had the ANA back in the 80's. it was elevated and speckled- so they tested for Sjorgens antibodies- but that was negative.

i havent had the ANA retested. did they dx u with Sjorgens based on a specific test- or were they guessing? it seems like a lot of these autoimmune diseases they diagnose by guessing or ruling out the others.

i THINK ANA could be indicative of ANY autoimmunity. ?? ive only been Gluten Free for 6 months, and now have Hashi- so im sure it's still elevated.

Sjogren's was diagnosed based only on the elevated ANAs...I don't have any symptoms (had tests ran on my eyes for dryness and no problems were found), and have always been a bit pissed that it's on my medical record. The doctor said that despite me not have any symptoms now, they will come in the future. Sounds speculative to me. I think now that I'm gluten free, I will not have onset of symptoms. I had a weird thing happened that spurred the tests. I went for a hike one afternoon and came back to find what looked like an invisible rubbber band tied around my leg (some sort of temporary and rare fat loss). I flipped out, found some obsecure research online that said it was indicative of automimmune problems and asked my doctor to run the tests. First, they said it was probably Lupus so I was sent to the Rheumy who ruled out Lupus but said I have Sjogrens. Still remains a mystery... :ph34r:

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cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

they cant diagnose u with Sjorgens JUST based on the ANA test. i think that's ridiculous. i think your signature says u had a Speckled Elevated ANA.. i did as well... when i looked at my test results over this last year, as i was piecing together my Celiac-> i saw that i had a Speckled Elevated ANA too- and that is why they tested me for Sjorgens - because the SPECKLED elevated ANA is indicative of Sjorgens- but it's not diagnostic.

i bet u dont have it.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

From what I've read a speckled ANA pattern is not a specific indicator at all. It is a general indicator of possible autoimmune issues. There are a number of different autoimmune conditions that can cause that pattern.

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cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

From what I've read a speckled ANA pattern is not a specific indicator at all. It is a general indicator of possible autoimmune issues. There are a number of different autoimmune conditions that can cause that pattern.

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oh, im not expert at all... all i know is that i was being tested for Lupus. and when my pattern came back "speckled", they decided to test me for Sjorgens. so then i googled ANA Speckled and up came Sjorgens and Celiac... so that was my laymans presumption

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

oh, im not expert at all... all i know is that i was being tested for Lupus. and when my pattern came back "speckled", they decided to test me for Sjorgens. so then i googled ANA Speckled and up came Sjorgens and Celiac... so that was my laymans presumption

Hey, I am no expert either CassP. :D I totally agree with your thinking that the ANA is not a good indicator of Sjogren's or lupus or any specific condition. Seems it is just a general indicator of some "possible " autoimmune condition. Although they also say some people have elevated ANA but no autoimmune condition. Hmmm, so again a not exactly perfect test, like the celiac tests. I guess it's better than nothing though. :D

Looking for answers Contributor
Looking for answers
Posted

Thanks guys for the replies. Jason, as you can see the testing can be tricky. A rheumatalogist (sp?) is the place to start...be sure to go to one highly recommended...I didn't and I've come to regret it.

burdee Enthusiast
burdee
Posted

Thanks guys for the replies. Jason, as you can see the testing can be tricky. A rheumatalogist (sp?) is the place to start...be sure to go to one highly recommended...I didn't and I've come to regret it.

A rheumatologist will look for rheumatoid arthritis, which is autoimmune, and some other autoimmune diseases, which involve joints, etc. However, other autoimmune conditions which are highly correlated with celiac disease and gluten intolerance include: type 1 diabetes, Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Lupus, autoimmune chronic hepatitis, Addison's disease, Scleroderma, Myasthenia Gravis and others. So I suspect the best approach is to consider what symptoms you have and go to a doc who specializes in that organ or body system and get tested for antibodies attacking that area or whatever test they use to diagnosed the autoimmune condition.

However, the best way to decrease autoimmune damage in conditions, which are highly correlated with gluten intolerance, is to obsessively abstain from gluten. People who were diagnosed with autoimmune conditions before they abstained from gluten often discover that their autoimmune symptoms decrease after they stop eating gluten.

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