Got My Blood Test Back - Doctor Wasn't Very Clear

[joshf]

Hello,

I went to my doctor last week as I have been having stomach problems the past few months. He did a blood test and after getting the results he said I may have Celiacs but should have a biopsy to be sure.

My blood test results had the following Abnormal:

Gliadin IGG, ABS = 31 HI

and

ANA W/REFLEX TO IFA is Positive

Based on these results is it very likely I have Celiacs, 50/50, or like 10% chance? I'm not exactly sure how to interpret this and the nurse that gave me the results over the phone would not really answer my questions (she just kept saying wait for the biopsy results).

Thanks.

Josh

[mushroom]

Welcome to the board, Josh.

It is really hard to give a 'guess' as to what your odds are of having a positive biopsy, and thaat would be all it would be - a guess. Some people have positive bloods and negative biopsy, for others it is the reverse. The biopsy is said to trump the blood work results. However, once your testing is finished, even if the biopsy results are negative, you should give the diet a try because many people who do not test positive for celiac are helped by the diet.

Come back when you get your biopsy results and we will help you. Of course, feel free to ask other questions too.

[joshf]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick response.

I know there are errors with testing and nothing is certain, but i'm just trying to get an idea.

I'm not sure if it looks like celiacs or if its a hunch?

ie: with a pregnancy test, I know its not certain, but if it says your pregnant you are likely pregnant. But if you have a high temperature, and the doctor says to test for strep its still pretty unlikely you have strep - just the next step in testing. Thats sort of where I am with these test results. Is the doctor just guessing the next step but its still unlikely or do the blood test point to celiacs and the biopsy is simply to confirm?

Thanks.

Josh

Welcome to the board, Josh.

It is really hard to give a 'guess' as to what your odds are of having a positive biopsy, and thaat would be all it would be - a guess. Some people have positive bloods and negative biopsy, for others it is the reverse. The biopsy is said to trump the blood work results. However, once your testing is finished, even if the biopsy results are negative, you should give the diet a try because many people who do not test positive for celiac are helped by the diet.

Come back when you get your biopsy results and we will help you. Of course, feel free to ask other questions too.

[mushroom]

...do the blood test point to celiacs and the biopsy is simply to confirm?

This is the most common current medical thinking on the subject.

[ravenwoodglass]

It looks like your blood test was positive. False negatives are common but false positives are very uncommon if not nonexistant. You do have a chance of a false negative with the biopsy so if you are choosing to have it done wait until after the procedure is done and than start the diet. You don't have to wait for the results.

[Skylark]

Doctors don't usually test IgG unless you are low IgA, which is a risk factor for celiac. ANA is not a celiac test but it means you have autoimmunity, which is another risk factor for celiac.

An immune reaction to gliadin is a good reason to try the diet even if your biopsy comes back negative. You are almost certainly gluten intolerant, which can give a lot of GI trouble much like celiac.

[joshf]

Thank you all for your responses. It is greatly appreciated. What is the difference between gluton intolerant and celiacs?

Doctors don't usually test IgG unless you are low IgA, which is a risk factor for celiac. ANA is not a celiac test but it means you have autoimmunity, which is another risk factor for celiac.

An immune reaction to gliadin is a good reason to try the diet even if your biopsy comes back negative. You are almost certainly gluten intolerant, which can give a lot of GI trouble much like celiac.

[mushroom]

Thank you all for your responses. It is greatly appreciated. What is the difference between gluton intolerant and celiacs?

It goes something like this, Josh: All celiacs are gluten intolerant. Not all gluten intolerants are celiac. That is the long and the short of it.

The subject has been and is being debated endlessly, both here and amongst the medical community, and researchers, but we don't really know too much more than that now. In order to be celiac you must have damage to the small intestine, but some who are intolerant get no GI symptoms at all and no GI damage, but are struck with neurological symptoms or a host of other autoimmune diseases, some of which can occur with or without celiac. It's what makes diagnosis so difficult because so many doctors believe that if you don't have diagnosable celiac disease you are not gluten intolerant

[joshf]

got my biopsy results back and they came out negative...my doctor still isn't being clear and has told me to see a specialist, who has a three month wait.

So negative biopsy but positve ANA and Gliadin IGG, ABS = 31 HI - my understanding is this is an intolerance to gluten. Is that correct?

So basically I can eat gluten, but may get a stomach ache? Is there anything else I should be doing?

[ravenwoodglass]

got my biopsy results back and they came out negative...my doctor still isn't being clear and has told me to see a specialist, who has a three month wait.

So negative biopsy but positve ANA and Gliadin IGG, ABS = 31 HI - my understanding is this is an intolerance to gluten. Is that correct?

So basically I can eat gluten, but may get a stomach ache? Is there anything else I should be doing?

Biopsies can have false negatives. You have postive blood work. That means your body is making antibodies to gluten. Eventually, if not already, your brain, liver, gallbladder and other organs can be impacted. Antibodies are an equal opportunity destroyer and there is no way of knowing what system will be attacked. You need to be gluten free unless you someday want a signature like mine. It is easiest to go with whole unprocessed foods as much as you can. We are here to help you in any way needed.

The positive ANA should be looked into also. There are a number of different things that could cause a positive in that test.

You could also find that after three months on the diet that test has returned to normal levels but not certain about that.