Jump to content

  • 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

Ttg Antigen Level 10

Nizzy

Recommended Posts

Nizzy Newbie
Nizzy
Posted

I just went to the GI doc on Friday (due to MANY symptoms of gluten intolerance/celiac disease for many years) and got my tests back on Tuesday. They took a blood and feces test. The nurse called me and told me everything was normal except for me tTg antibody test. She said the normal level was 5 and my level was a 10. She said that is very common for celiacs and told me the doc wants me to have an endoscopy.

Can anyone explain to me what this means? She didn't confirm or deny that had celiac disease...

I'm a college student and everyone knows what that means - I don't have much money to pay for medical expenses! I do have medical insurance but I will still get a bill that I'm not ready to pay.

I would like to do the biopsy but would good would it do?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


pain*in*my*gut Apprentice
pain*in*my*gut
Posted

I just went to the GI doc on Friday (due to MANY symptoms of gluten intolerance/celiac disease for many years) and got my tests back on Tuesday. They took a blood and feces test. The nurse called me and told me everything was normal except for me tTg antibody test. She said the normal level was 5 and my level was a 10. She said that is very common for celiacs and told me the doc wants me to have an endoscopy.

Can anyone explain to me what this means? She didn't confirm or deny that had celiac disease...

I'm a college student and everyone knows what that means - I don't have much money to pay for medical expenses! I do have medical insurance but I will still get a bill that I'm not ready to pay.

I would like to do the biopsy but would good would it do?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated!

Well, here is the thing....you have abnormal bloodwork that could indicate that you have a disease that is causing damage to your body which could result in some pretty serious complications down the road if it goes untreated. The way I see it you have two options:

1) You could follow thru with further testing now and bite the financial bullet, and find out if you have Celiac disease or not. If you do, the rest of your family should be tested as well (mom, dad, siblings, children), and you could be saving them a lifetime of illness as well if they have it and don't know it.

2) Assume that you do have Celiac disease, and commit to a lifetime of eating gluten free. If you think that you can do this without confirmation that you do have Celiac, then this would be the least expensive way to go. Keep in mind that if you do go gluten free now, and decide down the road that you want further testing, you will have to do a gluten challenge (eat gluten again) for 3-6 months to have the biopsy. This is NOT fun. :(

If it were me, I would do the biopsy. I personally would never be able to stick the diet if I didn't know "for sure". But that is just me. You have to decide what is best for you. Do some research on Celiac and the testing. Learn everything you can about it, and then decide what you want to do.

Good luck!

Nizzy Newbie
Nizzy
Posted
  • Author

Well, here is the thing....you have abnormal bloodwork that could indicate that you have a disease that is causing damage to your body which could result in some pretty serious complications down the road if it goes untreated. The way I see it you have two options:

1) You could follow thru with further testing now and bite the financial bullet, and find out if you have Celiac disease or not. If you do, the rest of your family should be tested as well (mom, dad, siblings, children), and you could be saving them a lifetime of illness as well if they have it and don't know it.

2) Assume that you do have Celiac disease, and commit to a lifetime of eating gluten free. If you think that you can do this without confirmation that you do have Celiac, then this would be the least expensive way to go. Keep in mind that if you do go gluten free now, and decide down the road that you want further testing, you will have to do a gluten challenge (eat gluten again) for 3-6 months to have the biopsy. This is NOT fun. :(

If it were me, I would do the biopsy. I personally would never be able to stick the diet if I didn't know "for sure". But that is just me. You have to decide what is best for you. Do some research on Celiac and the testing. Learn everything you can about it, and then decide what you want to do.

Good luck!

Thanks! I think I'm to follow through with the biopsy. I have it scheduled for the 31st of this month.

I got the official test results in the mail which further confused me. It said:

TTG Antibody, IgA: <1.0 Interpretation: Negative

TTG Antibody, IgG: 10.0 U/ml Interpretation: Positive

After doing some reading, I read that some people might not be able to produce the IgA antibody. And they also test for IgG.

If someone could explain this to me that would be great!

Roda Rising Star
Roda
Posted

Some people have IgA deficiency which would render IgA testing invalid. So yes it is possible to be negative on one and positive on another. Did they do a total IgA? As for the biopsy, a negative result doesn't necessarily mean you don't have celiac. Reasons: caught it early enough and you don't have any damage/little damage, improper biopsy/not enough samples taken, inexperienced pathologist in interperting biopsy samples, or the damage is patchy and the samples in a damaged area were missed(can not tell villi damage by the naked eye). When you go for your biopsy request a min. of 6-8 samples or 8-11 as new research is stating. If your biopsy should come back negative you can always try the diet strictly for three months. After you could reintroduce it to see how you do. Your body will give you the answer.

I had a positive IgA tTg and positive small bowel biopsy. My youngest son last year had an elevated IgA tTg and I opted out of biopsy (he was almost 6 at the time). I chose not to do the scope/biopsy since I already had a diagnosis and his positive blood work. Also to further confirm celiac we did a gluten challenge on him after 4 1/2 months and it only lasted three days. He reacted horible. My oldest son has had repeated negative blood work even with celiac symptoms. His allergist wants him gluten free even if he is not a celiac as he feels that he could be gluten intolerent. Same treatment anyway. I decided to have him scoped before putting him gluten free. I'm waiting on the results now.

Since you are in college, a diagnosis may help you to be able to opt out of any required meal plans.

Nizzy Newbie
Nizzy
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely tell them I would like 8-11 samples. I'm pretty eager/anxious to get this done. I would very much like the get to the bottom of my issues.

I have been staying on my regular diet but have been monitoring my reaction to things that I have been eating. On Friday I had a muffin and was running to bathroom for the rest of the day. And on Saturday, I had pita bread and felt incredibly tired and bloated the next day. It does seem that my symptoms are related to eating gluten.

If simply cutting out gluten will make me feel better, I will be one VERY happy girl!

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens. I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium. I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells. When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly. This is safe...
    2. Jane02
      - Jane02 replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency. I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hello, @Jane02, I take Naturewise D 3. It contains olive oil. Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets. Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking. Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the...
    4. Scott Adams
      0

      Penobscot Bay, Maine: Nurturing Gluten-Free Wellness Retreat with expert celiac dietitian, Melinda Dennis

      until
      Hello! Join me and treat yourself to a four-day, three-night restorative gluten-free retreat in a peaceful, private coastal retreat setting near Penobscot Bay in Maine. Dates: April 10-13, 2026 Enjoy engaging classes...
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,332
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Nicolah
    Newest Member
    Nicolah
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.