Confuesed By The Blood Tests

[zapsmom]

I took my DD to see the GI specilist today. He came in and right away said, it seems like the endo dr may not understand celiac and after saying that he showed me her blood test results. I am not sure if I can explain correct what I saw but I will try. The Trans something IgA was negative but the one where the levels should be 20 and under were a 39. He asked if she had signs of celiac. I am not sure. I know she has consitpation, she has lose 12lbs, she has chronic sinus infections(the ENT specialist said that this can't be related to celaic?) and she has acid reflux. She does have moody swings which no one can expalin to me, and she does have problems focuing which I have been told by an OT that it could be Celaic related. All of this along with her diabetes(T1) and hpyothyroidism. He is still going to do the scope and biospy which is scheduled for April 11. So I guess I am wondering if the IgA is negative and the other level is slightly elevated, can it be celiac? If the boispy comes back negative, then why would the one blood test be elevated? She was sick with ears/sinus infection with a cold when I took her for the bloos test, could this elevated that one blood test? Sorry for my rambling, just trying to figure this all out! Any thoughts would be great.

Thank you

Shannon

[mushroom]

I took my DD to see the GI specilist today. He came in and right away said, it seems like the endo dr may not understand celiac and after saying that he showed me her blood test results. I am not sure if I can explain correct what I saw but I will try. The Trans something IgA was negative but the one where the levels should be 20 and under were a 39. He asked if she had signs of celiac. I am not sure. I know she has consitpation, she has lose 12lbs, she has chronic sinus infections(the ENT specialist said that this can't be related to celaic?) and she has acid reflux. She does have moody swings which no one can expalin to me, and she does have problems focuing which I have been told by an OT that it could be Celaic related. All of this along with her diabetes(T1) and hpyothyroidism. He is still going to do the scope and biospy which is scheduled for April 11. So I guess I am wondering if the IgA is negative and the other level is slightly elevated, can it be celiac? If the boispy comes back negative, then why would the one blood test be elevated? She was sick with ears/sinus infection with a cold when I took her for the bloos test, could this elevated that one blood test? Sorry for my rambling, just trying to figure this all out! Any thoughts would be great.

Thank you

Shannon

Hi Shannon. Yes, I would say that your daughter does have celiac symptoms. Everything you mention can be / has been associated with celiac disease. Constipation (or diarrhea) is common. Weight loss is very common (as is unexplained weight gain ). Celiac plays havoc with our immune systems and makes many of us prone to infection. Sorry, but your ENT was wrong - one of my primary symptoms because a respiratory virus would always turn into an infection abd I would catch any respiratory virus that was in the neighborhood. Acid reflux - a very common complaint that in most goes away on gluten free diet. Mood changes, attention deficit, both associated. Type 1 Diabetes - a verry common companion autoimmune disorder, likekwise hypothyroidism.

As for the testing, there are several tests which make up the celiac panel, tTG IgA being one of them (tissue transglutaminase). Not all of the tests have to be positive for a diagnosis of celiac disease. If even one is positive it is highly predictive but they often like to do the confirming endoscopy. It is possible that the test that was positive was the DGP (deamidated gliadin peptide). If that was the one, it is one of the best tests to use in children.

I am a bit confused about the GI's comment about the endo doctor. Did he refuse to do the endoscopy?? You really should get a copy of her results for your own information. It is always a good idea to get copies of all results because things do get overlooked, doctors do make mistakes, second opinions are often advisable.

The infection would not affect the levels of autoimmune antibodies in your daughter's blood, so the test is a valid result. And yes, it is possible to have negative biopsy with positive bloodwork, or the other way round, positive endoscopy with negative blood work. So even if her biopsy results turn out to be negative, I would put your daughter on a strict gluten free diet for at least three months and give it a good trial. Do keep her eating gluten until after the biopsy though. Here's hoping you get a definitve result.

[zapsmom]

Hi Shannon. Yes, I would say that your daughter does have celiac symptoms. Everything you mention can be / has been associated with celiac disease. Constipation (or diarrhea) is common. Weight loss is very common (as is unexplained weight gain ). Celiac plays havoc with our immune systems and makes many of us prone to infection. Sorry, but your ENT was wrong - one of my primary symptoms because a respiratory virus would always turn into an infection abd I would catch any respiratory virus that was in the neighborhood. Acid reflux - a very common complaint that in most goes away on gluten free diet. Mood changes, attention deficit, both associated. Type 1 Diabetes - a verry common companion autoimmune disorder, likekwise hypothyroidism.

As for the testing, there are several tests which make up the celiac panel, tTG IgA being one of them (tissue transglutaminase). Not all of the tests have to be positive for a diagnosis of celiac disease. If even one is positive it is highly predictive but they often like to do the confirming endoscopy. It is possible that the test that was positive was the DGP (deamidated gliadin peptide). If that was the one, it is one of the best tests to use in children.

I am a bit confused about the GI's comment about the endo doctor. Did he refuse to do the endoscopy?? You really should get a copy of her results for your own information. It is always a good idea to get copies of all results because things do get overlooked, doctors do make mistakes, second opinions are often advisable.

The infection would not affect the levels of autoimmune antibodies in your daughter's blood, so the test is a valid result. And yes, it is possible to have negative biopsy with positive bloodwork, or the other way round, positive endoscopy with negative blood work. So even if her biopsy results turn out to be negative, I would put your daughter on a strict gluten free diet for at least three months and give it a good trial. Do keep her eating gluten until after the biopsy though. Here's hoping you get a definitve result.

I am confused by the Dr's comment regarding the endo dr myself. I know that he was still going to do the scope b/c when the office called me with the appointment for the GI specialist, I was told about her scope/biospy appointment. After google celiac blood test, I realizes now that it was the peptide that was the postive but the ttg that was negative.