Ttg Iga Vs Ttg Igg Results?

[rgeelan]

Ok when my son was diagnosed with celiac disease a year ago it was the TTG IgA that came back pos at 40 (a very strong pos) The IgG were neg though. The specialist we saw for the biopsy said with just the blood tests alone he was 99% positive William had Celiac because the one he was pos to was the most accurate for it. Well we had our DD tested at the start of this month because she has similar symptoms and the doctors only ran the IgG! This came back neg but I am wondering if this is the same situation as my DS where the IgA may have shown a pos if they had ran it.

Is it worth the pain for my DD to put her back on Gluten and have her blood drawn again for the IgA test to see if it is pos? She does improve on a gluten-free diet this makes me really suspect that she is following in our DS's footsteps...

[KaitiUSA]

It all depends if you want a diagnosis or not. It's an all or nothing diet though so if you only plan on taking her "mostly" off of gluten then you should get tested reason being if it is celiac you don't want to be doing that damage.

If her body is doing well on the diet though it tells me there is a problem with gluten and you could always go with that. I mean does it really matter whether she has an official doctors diagnosis? I would just go with how she is reacting to the diet which is obviously good for a reason plus she has a brother with celiac so you know it is in the family.

The tTG IgA is a better test.

[bluelotus]

I only had the IgA test and scored 40 as well. My mother was diagnosed with celiac disease by a positive biopsy several years before, and I had a positive response to the gluten-free diet. Enough evidence for me. It was too dangerous for me to go back to eating gluten for a biopsy or whatever....I'm out of commission for weeks after consumption. Not fun.

[rgeelan]

See I would like to have some sort of official diagnosis largly so we know if she can occasionally cheat (if it is just an intollerance) or if she has to be as strict as my DS. She does not have the severe immediate reaction he has, but then again he didn't have it when he was her age either! Now he can lick a cookie and will throw up, she has to eat gluten foods for a few days before the diarhea comes back. I think this might just be because if she does have Celiac it hasn't progressed as far yet with her being younger. But it would be nice to know if she can have a piece of cake at a birthday party when she is older and that she won't have any major damage, or if she needs me to send a cupcake like I do for William.

It would also help keep my DH and our familes from feeding her gluten containing foods just because 'she doesn't have an official diagnosis'... My DH thinks that since she came back neg to everything that she can eat whatever she wants. Of course he isn't the one constantly changing the diarrhea diapers and spending all day with her moaning and crying that her tummy aches either!

I just don't know if it is worth the pain to have her with diarrhea and constantly complaining that her tummy hurts so we can go through a needle poke and blood drain again. But they did RAST tests at the same time to rule out possible food allergies and those all came back neg also! She has an obvious reaction to something she is eating though I just have to figure out what it is! I'm pretty sure on the gluten though because if I take it out of her diet the diarrhea goes away, put it back and it comes back! She has mucus in her stool even on a gluten-free diet though which makes me think there is more in play.

[KaitiUSA]

Well celiac is not an allergy so she may have a reaction to gluten but it may not be an allergy. Allergies are IgE reactions and the gluten reactions from celiac are not.

If you want to get her tested then you need to get her eating alot of gluten(equal to 2-3 pieces of bread a day) for about 3 months prior to testing. The longer you wait the harder it will be so if you want to test now is the time.

How old is your daughter?

[rgeelan]

How old is your daughter?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

She is 2 years 2 months... Ugh that much gluten would be hard because she does not like bread and wont even eat regular cereal! That would mean lots of cookies and crackers. lol... And 3 months before testing would put us in the middle of moving which would mean another month or more after we get to our next base to get the Ped there to realize they need to order the test! Just not going to be 'easy' any way I look at it...

[KaitiUSA]

Testing under 2 years of age can be inaccurate and give false negatives. Was she tested after 2 years?

I am sure you will find out what to do and what will be best for your situation.

[tarnalberry]

See I would like to have some sort of official diagnosis largly so we know if she can occasionally cheat (if it is just an intollerance) or if she has to be as strict as my DS.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem with that theory is that an intolerance could be an early sign of celiac, before sufficient damage has been done to the intestines to show up as "celiac". So cheating, even if it's "just an intolerance" at this point, could lead to larger problems in the future. Perhaps keep her gluten-free until after the move, and then try the challenge later?

[rgeelan]

kaiti she was tested at 25 mo, so over 2 yes but not by much. lol

[Indea88]

My son is 2 yr 2 months as well and at 26 months he tested negative for the Celiac Panel but had positive genetic testing. The pediatric GI Dr. said the only way to know is to repeat the panel after 2 months on gluten. No way, this is the first formed stools he has ever had. I dont need anymore testing. the positive dietary response is enough for us. I cant ever imagine putting him through having gluten again. He was sick, pale and malnourished. Thank God I have an answer now and I decided not to have the biopsy or any further bloodwork. Good Luck and you should be commended for your quick response and help youve given your child, some moms miss this and alot of kids arent diagnosed or helped for many years. At least our toddlers are getting help early. Kuddos to you!!

[rgeelan]

The problem with that theory is that an intolerance could be an early sign of celiac, before sufficient damage has been done to the intestines to show up as "celiac".  So cheating, even if it's "just an intolerance" at this point, could lead to larger problems in the future.  Perhaps keep her gluten-free until after the move, and then try the challenge later?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok that is a point I had not thought about till just now. I think keeping her gluten-free is just the best idea anyway. Really I see the difference when we take it out of her diet so I know it has some sort of effect... My DH refuses to believe me though!

My son is 2 yr 2 months as well and at 26 months he tested negative for the Celiac Panel but had positive genetic testing. The pediatric GI Dr. said the only way to know is to repeat the panel after 2 months on gluten. No way, this is the first formed stools he has ever had. I dont need anymore testing. the positive dietary response is enough for us. I cant ever imagine putting him through having gluten again. He was sick, pale and malnourished. Thank God I have an answer now and I decided not to have the biopsy or any further bloodwork. Good Luck and you should be commended for your quick response and help youve given your child, some moms miss this and alot of kids arent diagnosed or helped for many years. At least our toddlers are getting help early. Kuddos to you!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks. See I figured age may still have a play in the testing but knowing that they did the wrong test makes me a little mad. I had to put her back on Gluten for them to do the wrong test! I really think for now at least I will not retest her. I see the change and that is enough for me...

Kind of along the same lines as why I will not be introducing gluten foods to our baby either. She seemed bothered by it when I would eat too many gluten foods so why even take the chance... She has a severe dairy allergy though so we are being really cautious and going through an allergist to start her on solids for fear of any major reactions.

[Merika]

From the words of Dr. Michelle Pietzak, celiac expert and researcher at Children's Hospital LA,

"The recommended dose is 10g of gluten per day for at least 6 months. A slice of bread per day is enough. Some may make antibodiese as soon as three months."

My ds is gluten-free, and I'm not sure he's celiac. I'm celiac, so it's easy for me to keep him on the diet. He's 3 1/2 yrs. I do intend on testing him, likely when he is 5. I want to wait to do the gluten challenge until his brain/body is done with the super-intense growing part of early childhood, and also his immune system is functioning more like an adult's.

Hth,

Merika