Celiac Or Not? What Do My Test Results Mean?

[Kate129]

I got my celiac panel done after my cousin was diagnosed with celiac disease a couple months ago.. I have had a ton of the symptoms for a long time.. here are my results what does this mean?.. all the GI doctor said is that I need a biopsy so I will be having that in a couple weeks. I got confused since I was positive on 2 and negative on 2..

immunoglobulin A Serum 140 range 70-400

deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgG 36 range is 0-19 negative, 20-30 weak positve, greater than 30 moderate to strong positive

deamidated Gliadin Abs, IgG 46 range is 0-19 negative, 20-30 weak positve, greater than 30 moderate to strong positive

t-transglutaminace tTG IgA <1 range is 0-3 negative

t-transglutaminace tTG IgG 4 range is 0-5 negative, 6-9 weak positive, positive >9

I also had low vitamin D levels and was slightly anemic.. thanks for any feedback!

[mushroom]

Hello and welcome, Kate.

The Deamidated Gliadin Peptide test is the newest and most specific for celiac of all the tests in the celiac panel (your doc did not run them all but it's good that he did the DGP ). Even though your tTG tests were negative, I would trust the DGP and consider myself a diagnosed celiac. But doctors normally want to "confirm" the diagnosis with the biopsy. You do not have to test positive on all blood work to be considered celiac positive. Your low levels of D and your slight anemia are both highly suggestive of celiac.

Do keep eating gluten until after your biopsy because you can start healing as soon as you withdraw gluten, and affect the accuracy of the test. As soon as you have had the testing done you can start eating gluten free and hopefully start feeling better. Report back to us on how your results turn out and feel free to fire away with any questions you have.

[Kate129]

  On 10/14/2011 at 7:01 AM, mushroom said:

Hello and welcome, Kate.

The Deamidated Gliadin Peptide test is the newest and most specific for celiac of all the tests in the celiac panel (your doc did not run them all but it's good that he did the DGP ). Even though your tTG tests were negative, I would trust the DGP and consider myself a diagnosed celiac. But doctors normally want to "confirm" the diagnosis with the biopsy. You do not have to test positive on all blood work to be considered celiac positive. Your low levels of D and your slight anemia are both highly suggestive of celiac.

Do keep eating gluten until after your biopsy because you can start healing as soon as you withdraw gluten, and affect the accuracy of the test. As soon as you have had the testing done you can start eating gluten free and hopefully start feeling better. Report back to us on how your results turn out and feel free to fire away with any questions you have.

I am really confused because I had my endoscopy this morning and the gi doctor said my small intestines looked normal. He took 4 biopsies but told me He could tell by looking I didn't have celiac disease and the biopsies are not going to be back for up to 10 days.. He basically just said to eat gluten free or it will turn into celiacs disease.. Why is my blood work positive for 2 of the test I I don't have it ? Thanks for any feedback!

[mushroom]

Well, Kate, wait until your results come back before you (or he) decide they are negative. The reason they look at them under the microscope is because it is not always visible to the naked eye, especially if you are in early stages. And he reallly should have taken more samples because the distribution of the disease can be very patchy. Most of us here consider that with symptoms, positive blood tests, and good response to the diet, you are celiac regardless of what the biopsy says. I would consider myself celiac with positive DGP alone, but doctors have always pushed for the biopsy as the "gold standard" of diagnosis. This is starting to change, particularly if you add in positive genetic markers for celiac.

Now that your testing is done you can start eating gluten free, and maybe by the time the results are back you will be able to tell him that even if you don't test positive for celiac by biopsy you are most definitely gluten intolerant. Here's to feeling better.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 10/17/2011 at 5:30 PM, Kate129 said:

I am really confused because I had my endoscopy this morning and the gi doctor said my small intestines looked normal. He took 4 biopsies but told me He could tell by looking I didn't have celiac disease and the biopsies are not going to be back for up to 10 days.. He basically just said to eat gluten free or it will turn into celiacs disease.. Why is my blood work positive for 2 of the test I I don't have it ? Thanks for any feedback!

The villi are microscopic so a doctor can not tell if those are gone by just looking. Sometimes things will look fine and then the biopsy comes back and it is positive. No matter what the results of the biopsy you do need to get on and stay on the diet. False negatives on both blood and biopsy are all too common. Your blood tests that came back positive are very specific for celiac and you do need the diet. Read as much as you can here and ask any questions you need to ask. You don't need to wait for the results and should go ahead and get yourself gluten free starting today.

[peeptoad]

  On 10/14/2011 at 5:32 AM, Kate129 said:

t-transglutaminace tTG IgA <1 range is 0-3 negative

That range is interesting. I had this same test done and my result was <3 but the range was listed as 0-5, so my result was still considered negative.

[mushroom]

  On 10/17/2011 at 6:48 PM, peeptoad said:

That range is interesting. I had this same test done and my result was <3 but the range was listed as 0-5, so my result was still considered negative.

Different labs use different ranges in their testing, which DOES make it confusing.

[Kate129]

Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it!!! I will definitely update when the biopsy results come back... I thought it was funny that he said I didn't have celiacs disease just by looking... Because the are microscopic! I actually asked for more biopsies but he would do it.. I sure wish that they listened more to their patients! Oh well he told me to go gluten free for 3 months and see how I feel... So I have started today

[Kate129]

Just wanted to let you all know that the biopsies came back and were normal.. He just said that because of my family history of celiac disease and my positive bloodwork that I should remain gluten free or I could develop damage later on in life. I have been gluten free almost two weeks and feel so much better already!!! He said if I wanted I could have my rash biopsied to see if it is DH.. but really I feel tired of all this medical stuff and just want to move on and stop going to the doctor so much! Thanks for your advice along the way!