Confused About Blood Test!

[tickador]

Hello all! I've learned so much from browsing these forums--thanks for all the collective wisdom. The short version of my story is that I'm a 36-year-old mom of 2. My previously annoying digestive issues took a turn for the worse after the birth of my now 6.5-year-old daughter. My doctor at the time ran some blood tests, including a celiac panel, which came back "inconclusive" but I no longer have the results and can't remember which tests it included. I was diagnosed with IBS-D. Oh, and I also have exercise-induced anaphylaxis, which until recently was ONLY made tolerable by taking antihistamines, and I remain "allergic to running," not as amusing as it sounds to my friends.

Things got worse again last spring, and finally over the summer I cut out most wheat as an act of desperation. I started to feel significantly better, and, surprise!--I can run without my legs and waist swelling and itching so badly I want to throw up, for the first time EVER. For about 3 months I've been inconsistently gluten-free. A few times I've had a gluten meal, and I haven't been strict about foods being completely gluten-free. However, I've had WAY less gluten over the last 3 months than any other time in my life.

Soooo, I just had a physical with a new doctor, and she ran a bunch of blood tests including what she (and the lab, at Duke) called the celiac panel. It is clearly incomplete, and this is the result (pasted directly from my report):

CELIAC DISEASE PANEL

Reference

IMMUNOGLOBULIN A *301 mg/dL [46-287]

TISSUE TRANSGLUTAMINASE IgA 8 units

=============================

Negative: <20 units

Weak Positive: 20-30 units

Moderate to Strong Positive: >30 units

I haven't talked to my doctor yet. Can the high IgA just be caused by my allergies, or is it possible for that to be a celiac marker? My TTg is in the negative range. I thought I'd have to be completely gluten free to affect the results, but is it possible I messed them up by being mostly gluten-free, or can I be fairly confident I don't have celiac?

Oh, and one last question--is there any value in doing a homemade wheat patch test? Not for celiac, of course, but for allergies.

I am happy to be avoid gluten forever if it makes me feel better, but I really want something conclusive so that I can know whether I need to avoid it like total poison (celiac), or if it's ok to cheat every now and then if I'm willing to live with the results (allergy/intolerance).

Thanks for reading and thank you SO much for your help.

[Skylark]

It's possible you messed up celiac tests by being mostly gluten-free. I've read the high IgA can happen in celiac disease but it's far from diagnostic. You would have to go back to full gluten for a couple months to get an accurate test. It's also only a celiac screen and as you mentioned, there are other tests like deamidated gliadin that are more sensitive. False negatives on TTG are relatively common, at 20-30%.

Is there any possibility of tracking down your "inconclusive" test? Your records should still be on file at that doctor. I'd strongly suggest you get hold of them again.

My asthma has been considerably better after going on the GAPS diet. It's free of grains and starches and uses a lot of probiotics. I also went off dairy. Open Original Shared Link I've been able to "cheat" with a little rice and no ill effects but eating some gluten-free baked goods with a mix of other starches at Thanksgiving gave me an asthma flare-up.

Food allergies and skin testing don't always track. There is no harm in trying a patch test but I'm not sure it would really tell you much, other than to avoid putting wheat on your skin.