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

My Blood Tests And What To Do Next

RL2011

Recommended Posts

RL2011 Rookie
RL2011
Posted

Here are my blood tests results. Does showing positive for Deamidated Gliadin Peptide Antibody, IgA (DGP IgA) with 9.7 EU/ml and negative for the other tests suggests I should schedule a biopsy? What does this mean given your experiences?

I posted this comment yesterday on another discussion:

I do not understand why abiopsy is needed when this individual shows positive for celiac disease. I askthis because I have been suffering digestive issues for my entire life that areconsistent with gluten intolerance. I also had a rash last year for 4 monthsthat I now believe is/was dermatitis herpetiformis. A few weeks ago I was(blood) tested and it came back positive for Celiac Disease. I do not have acopy of the test with me at this moment to provide my numbers and I wonder nowis it really important to have a biopsy done to further confirm celiac diseaseor not.

Trying to understand what to do next...

PROMETHEUS Celiac Serology

_________AssayResult________________________________Value_____Reference Range

DeamidatedGliadin Peptide Antibody, IgG (DGP IgG)..............<0.4EU/ml.........< 1.3 EU/ml

DeamidatedGliadin Peptide Antibody, IgA (DGP IgA)................9.7 EU/ml.........< 2.9 EU/ml

Anti-HumanTissue Transglutaminase IgA ELISA (TTG IgA)........ .04 U/ml.........<10.3 U/ml

Anti-EndomysialIgA IFA (EMA IgA)...............................................Negative...........Negative

Total Serum IgA by Nephelometry (Total IgA).............................158mg/dl..........44-441 mg/dl

I am waiting for my Doctor tocall me back to discuss the merits of doing a biopsy.

I am not soliciting any medical advice; just your feedback is greatly appreciated about what you would do if this were your blood tests results given the above scenario.

Thanks,

Richard

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

The DGP is supposedly one of the most specific tests for celiac, according to Dr. Rodney Ford. Therefore, I would assume I had it. Whether or not you choose the biopsy is up to you. I don't know what your symptomatology is and whether there would be anything else that could be found by having the EGD, other than say a hiatal hernia or a duodenal ulcer. Doctors generally like to do the biopsy for confirmation as it is the so-called "gold standard" (how I hate that term :P ) of diagnosis, but it is your decision whether or not to have it. If your insurance would cover most of the cost, is is a relatively low-risk, painless procedure (you are sedated and given a medication to make you not remember it). Regardless of what it revealed, based on your blood test alone I would go on the gluten free diet for a good three-month trial to see if there was improvement/resolution of your symptoms.

Only you can determine if it is important to you to go ahead and have the procedure, which, if positive, will give you that piece of paper that says "celiac" on it. Remember, this can be a positive in convincing friends and family of your need for the gluten free diet, but we have heard of it being a negative when it comes to health and life insurance - not from all companies, but it has happened.

Good luck in your decision-making. :)

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

With the DGP and DH I don't think there is any doubt that you are celiac, no matter what the biopsy shows.

The biopsy would let you know the degree of damage and give you a benchmark if you decide to be re-biopsied later in life to confirm that the gluten-free diet is working. Some people find it difficult to stick to the diet without the proof provided by both blood and biopsy, but that's a double-edged sword. The biopsy can come back false negative because the damage can be patchy and it's missed by bad luck. Then you are left scratching your head.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Welcome to the board. I agree with the other posters. The choice to do the biopsy is up to you. No matter what the biopsy states you do need the diet. There can be false negatives on the biopsy. One of the reasons is that damage can be patchy and with 22 ft of small intestine a damaged spot can be missed. One other option is getting the rash checked to see if it is DH. They would need to biopsy the area next to the rash not the rash itself. A dermatologist would do that. They do need to be looking specifically for DH so bring your panel results with you if you go that route. A diagnosis of DH is a diagnosis of celiac even if folks don't have stomach or other celiac related problems.

If you do have DH you also want to avoid iodine until the rash has been cleared for a while.

RL2011 Rookie
RL2011
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the feedback.

Sticking to a gluten free diet for me will be a challenge. I have had some interesting digestive situations while traveling across country by motorcycle and hope that a proper diet will changethat.

Wish I could find a gluten free girlfriend who liked to take motorcycle adventures everywhere and ski, snowmobile, hike,and... I don't know anyone personally who has gluten issues. It was reassuring to find this forum.

Rich

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Thanks for the feedback.

Sticking to a gluten free diet for me will be a challenge. I have had some interesting digestive situations while traveling across country by motorcycle and hope that a proper diet will changethat.

Wish I could find a gluten free girlfriend who liked to take motorcycle adventures everywhere and ski, snowmobile, hike,and... I don't know anyone personally who has gluten issues. It was reassuring to find this forum.

Rich

You will get used to gluten free lifestyle. It does seem challenging at first but it is quite doable.

As to finding a gluten free gal who would like doing what you do, well we are out there. We don't unfortuately have gluten free tattooed on our foreheads but single gluten free gals do exist and many of us wish we could find a good gluten free guy. One thing you might consider is going to a few gluten-free support group meetings if there are any in your area. You might meet someone that way.

RL2011 Rookie
RL2011
Posted
  • Author

You will get used to gluten free lifestyle. It does seem challenging at first but it is quite doable.

As to finding a gluten free gal who would like doing what you do, well we are out there. We don't unfortuately have gluten free tattooed on our foreheads but single gluten free gals do exist and many of us wish we could find a good gluten free guy. One thing you might consider is going to a few gluten-free support group meetings if there are any in your area. You might meet someone that way.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. And for the idea of going to a local support group meeting. I will keep my eye out for those gluten-free tattoos.

Rich

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,171
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    kyle68j
    Newest Member
    kyle68j
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • DAR girl
      Celiac and allergic to common subs and adds in prepared foods

      By DAR girl · Posted

      Looking for help sourcing gluten-free products that do not contain potato or corn derived ingredients. I have other autoimmune conditions (Psoriatic Arthritis and Sjogrens) so I’m looking for prepared foods as I have fatigue and cannot devote a lot of time to baking my own treats. 
    • Scott Adams
      Disregarded

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I am so sorry you're going through this. It's completely understandable to feel frustrated, stressed, and disregarded after such a long and difficult health journey. It's exhausting to constantly advocate for yourself, especially when you're dealing with so many symptoms and positive diagnoses like SIBO, while still feeling unwell. The fact that you have been diligently following the diet without relief is a clear sign that something else is going on, and your doctors should be investigating other causes or complications, not dismissing your very real suffering. 
    • Oldturdle
      Paying for my own Celiac screening at WalkInLab so a positive result doesn’t become part of my medical history

      By Oldturdle · Posted

      It is just so sad that health care in the United States has come to this.  Health insurance should be available to everyone, not just the healthy or the rich.  My heart goes out to you.  I would not hesitate to have the test and pay for it myself.  My big concern would be how you could keep the results truly private.  I am sure that ultimately, you could not.  A.I. is getting more and more pervasive, and all data is available somewhere.  I don't know if you could give a fake name, or pay for your test with cash.  I certainly would not disclose any positive results on a private insurance application.  As I understand it, for an official diagnosis, an MD needs to review your labs and make the call.  If you end up in the ER, or some other situation, just request a gluten free diet, and say it is because you feel better when you don't eat gluten.      Hang in there, though.  Medicare is not that far away for you, and it will remove a lot of stress from your health care concerns.  You will even be able to "come out of the closet" about being Celiac!
    • plumbago
      Paying for my own Celiac screening at WalkInLab so a positive result doesn’t become part of my medical history

      By plumbago · Posted

      Yes, I've posted a few times about two companies: Request a Test and Ulta Labs. Also, pretty much we can all request any test we want (with the possible exception of the N protein Covid test and I'm sure a couple of others) with Lab Corp (or Pixel by Lab Corp) and Quest. I much prefer Lab Corp for their professionalism, ease of service and having it together administratively, at least in DC. And just so you know, Request a Test uses Lab Corp and Quest anyway, while Ulta Labs uses only Quest. Ulta Labs is cheaper than Request a Test, but I am tired of dealing with Quest, so I don't use them so much.
    • Scott Adams
      Does Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov site have filters for gluten?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      PS - I think you meant this site, but I don't believe it has been updated in years: http://glutenfreedrugs.com/ so it is best to use: You can search this site for prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
×
×
  • Create New...