Help With Celiac Panel Results

[HeatherC]

I am new to posting in the forum by have been reading for a few months.

I would like some help figuring out my Celiac Panel results since I have been playing phone tag with my nurse since yesterday. I will give you some background.

I am a 35 year old female. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in November 2011. Every Dr. appt. I complained of Fatigue, Indigestion, Acid Reflux and Stomach Pains. My Dr's only advice was to put me on more thyroid meds.

The symptoms didn't go away, so I turned to the internet. Everything I read was that after a diagnosis of Hashimoto's the first thing I should do is cut gluten from my diet. In March 2012 I went to another Dr. appt. and asked him about cutting gluten from my diet to help with the symptoms, and I didn't get much of a response other than, "Where did you read about that" and "Either cut it all or don't bother". So, I figured I was on my own and went gluten free at the end of March 2012. Surprisingly, within a week, all of my acid reflux and indigestion were gone, and the fatigue isn't nearly as bad.

Well, I went for my thyroid stimulus blood draw last week, and found out that the Dr. had also ordered a Celiac Blood Panel. Without letting me know he was doing it. So, the blood was drawn, but I have been gluten free about 2 months.

These are the test results that came back.

Gliadin Antibody IGA - 22

Gliadin Antibody IGG - 15

TTG IGA - 13

TTG IGG - 9

I have been trying to reach the nurse yesterday and today with no luck. And, have also made an appt. with an integrative Dr. in June to get away from this guy who seems to only be interested in throwing pills at me.

Any help on what the test results say would be great. And, any opinion on if they really mean anything since I have been gluten free for 2 months.

Thank You!

[HeatherC]

**Follow Up**

Just got a hold of the nurse. The conversation about my blood results included a lot of "I think", "Maybe", "Im not sure" and ended with her saying "More Power to You" when thanked her for her time and told her I would just continue to not eat gluten since I was feeling better.

[beachbirdie]

I am new to posting in the forum by have been reading for a few months.

Well, I went for my thyroid stimulus blood draw last week, and found out that the Dr. had also ordered a Celiac Blood Panel. Without letting me know he was doing it. So, the blood was drawn, but I have been gluten free about 2 months.

These are the test results that came back.

Gliadin Antibody IGA - 22

Gliadin Antibody IGG - 15

TTG IGA - 13

TTG IGG - 9

I have been trying to reach the nurse yesterday and today with no luck. And, have also made an appt. with an integrative Dr. in June to get away from this guy who seems to only be interested in throwing pills at me.

Any help on what the test results say would be great. And, any opinion on if they really mean anything since I have been gluten free for 2 months.

Thank You!

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry I can't answer your question straight up, but we need a little more information about your tests. Would you please post the reference ranges? Every lab that does blood testing will have it's own set of ranges for "normal" and it's impossible to say what a result means without having that!

Sorry you've been struggling so hard for answers, you've found a great place full of people who can help! Glad you found your way here.

[HeatherC]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry I can't answer your question straight up, but we need a little more information about your tests. Would you please post the reference ranges? Every lab that does blood testing will have it's own set of ranges for "normal" and it's impossible to say what a result means without having that!

Sorry you've been struggling so hard for answers, you've found a great place full of people who can help! Glad you found your way here.

Thank You for the Welcome!

My struggle has gone back years with different diagnosis all over the charts.

For all 4 tests it says the normal is <20

[beachbirdie]

Thank You for the Welcome!

My struggle has gone back years with different diagnosis all over the charts.

For all 4 tests it says the normal is <20

Ahhh! Thank you.

Well, you have one positive test, the anti-gliadin IgA. That says your body IS reacting to gluten. The only problem here is that you say you've been gluten-free for two months. If you have been totally free of gluten, you have altered the diagnostic accuracy of your tests because you have removed the substance to which your body reacts. You might have had stronger positives if you had been eating gluten at the time of your blood draw.

You can do a couple of things. You either have to get back on gluten, plenty of it, for a couple of months and then re-test. Or, accept that you need to be gluten-free and do it for life and don't look back. You have symptoms, and you feel better gluten-free. That speaks volumes!

Your body has told you gluten is a bad thing for you, and that one test confirms it. However there is no way to get a definite diagnosis for celiac at this point. Is there any reason you would need that?

Hopefully some of the real experts will be here to offer you more guidance!

[HeatherC]

Ahhh! Thank you.

Well, you have one positive test, the anti-gliadin IgA. That says your body IS reacting to gluten. The only problem here is that you say you've been gluten-free for two months. If you have been totally free of gluten, you have altered the diagnostic accuracy of your tests because you have removed the substance to which your body reacts. You might have had stronger positives if you had been eating gluten at the time of your blood draw.

You can do a couple of things. You either have to get back on gluten, plenty of it, for a couple of months and then re-test. Or, accept that you need to be gluten-free and do it for life and don't look back. You have symptoms, and you feel better gluten-free. That speaks volumes!

Your body has told you gluten is a bad thing for you, and that one test confirms it. However there is no way to get a definite diagnosis for celiac at this point. Is there any reason you would need that?

Hopefully some of the real experts will be here to offer you more guidance!

Thank You for the Advice. You pretty much confirmed exactly what I thought. If he was planning on testing me he should have done it back in March when I first presented the option of going gluten free to him, rather than waiting until last week to do it after I have been gluten free for 2 months. I have done my best to be 100% gluten free in these past two months. Reading every label, standing in the grocery store with my phone out, and being that person in the restaurant that asks a thousand questions (After I looked up the menu on line first).

I have felt better in the last few months, than I have in years, so there is no way I will be going back on gluten full time just for a more positive test result. That would just be silly

I am glad I found this forum and had the courage to actually post, after just reading for the past few months! I hope to learn a ton, and maybe even contribute in the future! I am finding great places around my city that have embraced the gluten free community. I have even started eating food that I would never have considered eating in the past.

Thanx again for the help!