Tissue Transglutamase Number

[anna34]

My blood test came back and my tissue transglutamase number was 22.9 I'm going for the biopsy soon. With a number like that, what do you suppose are the odds that I have celiac?

[adab8ca]

My blood test came back and my tissue transglutamase number was 22.9 I'm going for the biopsy soon. With a number like that, what do you suppose are the odds that I have celiac?

Did they give you a range? Every lab is different...If it is outside the range, chances are pretty good. If you have symptoms, chances are even better...There are false positives but I think those are pretty rare and that false negatives seem to be more common.

[anna34]

Did they give you a range? Every lab is different...If it is outside the range, chances are pretty good. If you have symptoms, chances are even better...There are false positives but I think those are pretty rare and that false negatives seem to be more common.

I'm not sure what you mean by range (I'm very new to this) but they said 0-5 is normal, 5-8 is intermediate, and anything higher than 8 is high. I guess what I'm asking is, if they suggest you do the biopsy, are they already pretty sure you have celiac and they're just double checking? How often do people do the biopsy and get told they don't have celiac? Thank you in advance for any replies.

[ryebaby0]

I'm not sure what you mean by range (I'm very new to this) but they said 0-5 is normal, 5-8 is intermediate, and anything higher than 8 is high. I guess what I'm asking is, if they suggest you do the biopsy, are they already pretty sure you have celiac and they're just double checking? How often do people do the biopsy and get told they don't have celiac? Thank you in advance for any replies.

If you look at your lab report (always get a copy for yourself), there should be a range listed. A biopsy can always be falsely negative (say you aren't celiac, when you are) because a biopsy is just bitsy snippets from places the GI deems likely choices. It's not like hitting a mark on the pavement, more like throwing a dart at a board. Most GIs are not going to do a biopsy without a positive test. Some people never get a biopsy, having positive symptom change on a gluten-free diet. My husband's tTg was "borderline" but he was clearly much better on a gluten-free diet (after the bloodtest) so he stayed on it. Never biopsied. Our son's tTg was 145 and he was biopsied in order to rule out other complications. In the end, the definitive diagnosis is a positive blood test and/or biopsy, AND a positive reaction to a gluten-free diet.

[cassP]

I'm not sure what you mean by range (I'm very new to this) but they said 0-5 is normal, 5-8 is intermediate, and anything higher than 8 is high. I guess what I'm asking is, if they suggest you do the biopsy, are they already pretty sure you have celiac and they're just double checking? How often do people do the biopsy and get told they don't have celiac? Thank you in advance for any replies.

according to your lab range- i would say you're positive on your ttg. now if it was me- i would assume i had Celiac- i THINK a positive ttg can be attributed to other disorders- but sounds pretty suspect to me- especially if you have gluten symptoms that improve with a gluten free diet.

they suggest biopsies cause they feel they cant diagnose without a positive biopsy- but be prepared- biopsies run false negatives too... make sure they get like 6 biopsies from different areas of the small intestine- damage could be real spotty and they could miss it.

[SaraKat]

It sounds like you have it. I think my original number was 38 (with the same range you had) and my endoscopy was very positive.