Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Could You Help Me Interpret My Results?

langone7

By langone7
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

langone7 Apprentice
langone7
Posted

I had already been off gluten for a month and a half when this test was taken. What does this mean?

IGA= 40 H

IGG= 4

Nobody has explained what that actually means?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


langone7 Apprentice
langone7
Posted
  • Author

Is it possible for these tests to be done without a celiac panel, thereby making them void because they are measuring a different IGG IGA antibody? Or is there only one type?

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Those results in and of themselves are meaningless, because they do not state which kind of IgA and IgG antibody they are measuring. There are three possibilities that come to mind: could be AGA, tTG, or DGP. So the results would need to state AGA IgA, etc., and they would need the reference ranges that the lab uses when doing their assays to elucidate the numbers.

langone7 Apprentice
langone7
Posted
  • Author

Those results in and of themselves are meaningless, because they do not state which kind of IgA and IgG antibody they are measuring. There are three possibilities that come to mind: could be AGA, tTG, or DGP. So the results would need to state AGA IgA, etc., and they would need the reference ranges that the lab uses when doing their assays to elucidate the numbers.

It says AB (IGA, IGA)

langone7 Apprentice
langone7
Posted
  • Author

It says AB (IGA, IGA)

I apologize Gliadin AB (IGG, IGA)

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

If you had been off gluten for six weeks and AGA IgA came back that far over positive, it definitely warrants further investigation. How long altogether have you been off gluten now? Depending, it probably would not be worth running the full celiac panel at this point

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG

Total Serum IgA

which is what should have been done. But it might be worth doing the endoscopy with biopsy. Can you self refer to a GI or do you have an HMO?

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Can you contact the place or the doctor's office which issued the results, and get the rest of the missing numbers that should go along with what you have ? Each lab uses a different range to compare scores. For example, it should say something like "your score = 40, where 1 to 10 is negative, 11 to 20 is mild (maybe, or equivocal) , and over 40 (greater than, >, ) is positive."

I just totally made up those ranges for the purpose of illustration, by the way. What you have so far, is like saying you're driving 40mph in the gluten gliadin antibody zone.... what was the speed limit in Celiacville ?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


langone7 Apprentice
langone7
Posted
  • Author

I have been off gluten now for 4 months, and I am too afraid now to go back on it. The ranges for the IGA were less than 20 units. The ranges for the IGG was also less than 20 units.

He did not do the whole panel, he was a very weird alternative doctor that went farther than alternative to the point of scamming me for money. However, I do have copy from Quest of the blood test.

I can self refer, which I am considering since my regular doctor does not give me any direction. However, since my husband and I had been trying to get pregnant I am not sure if I could do a biopsy? Considering, I am not yet sure if I am pregnant. However, I suppose it might be useful to do other tests that do not require me to be put under.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

An endoscopy does not require general anesthesia. They give you a sedative, and a medication called Versed so that you do not remember the procedure. You wake right up after it - there is minimal recovery time. I think it is something you could do even if you were pregant but you would want to check.

cavernio Enthusiast
cavernio
Posted

Sorry to ask about this in your thread iangone, but I've been very confused about all this myself.

I never got my blood tests back myself (of course I didn't, I'm canadian, they keep you in the dark as much as they possibly can), however what they tested was positive. When I prodded the GI who did the biopsy about my IgA and if IgA specifically meant gluten antibodies, he said no it didn't and that he had no way of knowing for certain if my antibodies were towards gluten or something else. But that seems in contradiction to what you've posted, here and elsewhere.

I don't even have the results of my blood test, but I have the GI and my conversation with him regarding IgA and in my medical records I have someone saying my IgG is high which I thought I didn't even have tested as no one else has referred or talked about my IgG being high.

I know I have celiac disease because the biopsy came back positive too, but in terms of understanding literature and what tests are relevevant and how they work and what they mean, I'm very, very confused.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

cavernio, surely if you ask the doctor's office they will give you a copy of your blood test results? What possible reason could they have for denying them? I don't know if under Canadian law they are required to do so, but it is a pretty harmless request, especially since they are positive.

cavernio Enthusiast
cavernio
Posted

I got a copy of all the files my doctor had on him, but the blood tests weren't in them. It was probably because when I got tested he wasn't my doctor and it was just one I saw in a walk-in clinic. And it was a pain in the ass to get the copies too. They aren't allowed to just give you your files though, they have to give you copies.

You wouldn't believe the lack of healthcare I receive. I've been trying to get my vitamin levels checked since before I even asked for the celiac diagnosis. I still can't manage to do it, not beyond b12 and iron. And I STILL haven't managed to get my t4 and t3 checked along with tsh. One of my blood tests the LAB wrote down that it was unnecessary to test for t4 since there was no family history of thyroid issues.,Which is actually wrong, but it's beyond ridiculous that they have any sort of power over what I get tested for and that they can ignore what the doctor ordered. The other one I thought I just got a few months ago was ordered by my previous doctor and he said my thyroid was fine. But when I got my hands on my files since he's no longer my doctor, the results don't show any thyroid tests at all!

Back on track, regardless of my personal results, am I right in saying that it is very possible to test for gluten/gliadin specific antibodies in the blood, and that my GI was wrong? (Well he could be right in that the labs HERE don't use that test, but that's not what he said, he said that it was impossible.)

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

One of the tests is called AntiGliadin Antibodies (AGA IgA and IgG), but it is an older test and is not considered to be as sensitive as the newer DGP (deamidated gliadin peptide) test. But all the celiac tests are checking for those little antibodies - they just do it i different ways. Some ways work for some, others work for others. Why it is considered necessary to run the entire panel by most of us, but not by the docs, unfortunately.

Go back to that walk-in clinic you went to and get your copies from them :) As you have learned, if you don't have the results in your hand there is no evidence that they were actually done or what the results were :ph34r:

cavernio Enthusiast
cavernio
Posted

Last time I went to the walk-in clinic to get the results they acted like I was an idiot for going there for the results.

I have biopsy results. One of the 2 GI's I saw should have them.

thanks, didn't know what all the abbrev. stood for.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. suek54
      - suek54 replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      7

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      Wow KK, thank you so much for all your attached info. I had a very quick scan but will read more in depth later. The one concerning corticosteroid use is very interesting. That would relate to secondary adrenal insufficiency I think , ie AI caused by steroids such as taken long term for eg asthma. I have primary autoimmune AI, my adrenals are atrophied...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      7

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      Welcome to the forum, @suek54, I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis, too. I found taking Niacin B3 very helpful in clearing my skin from blisters as well as improving the itchies-without-rash (peripheral neuropathy). Niacin has been used since the 1950's to improve dermatitis herpetiformis. I try to balance my iodine intake (which will cause flairs...
    3. suek54
      - suek54 replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      7

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      Thank you all for your advice and the dermatitis herpetiformis article. The latter made me realise I had stopped taking my antihistamine, which I will restart today. The Dapsone has cleared the rash entirely but I still get quite a bit itching, absolutely nothing to see though. I know its notoriously hard to clear and its still relatively early days for me...
    4. trents
      - trents replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      So, essentially all of the nutrition in the food we eat is absorbed through the villous lining of the small bowel. This is the section of the intestinal track that is damaged by celiac disease. This villous lining is composed of billions of finger-like projections that create a huge amount of surface area for absorbing nutrients. For the celiac person, when...
    5. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      thank you so much for your detailed and extremely helpful reply!! I can say with absolute certainty that the less gluten containing products I've eaten over the past several years, the better I've felt. I wasn't avoiding gluten, I was avoiding refined grains (and most processed foods) as well as anything that made me feel bad when I ate it. It's the...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,258
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Tdodge
    Newest Member
    Tdodge
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • suek54
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By suek54 · Posted

      Wow KK, thank you so much for all your attached info. I had a very quick scan but will read more in depth later.  The one concerning corticosteroid use is very interesting. That would relate to secondary adrenal insufficiency I think , ie AI caused by steroids such as taken long term for eg asthma. I have primary autoimmune AI, my adrenals are atrophied, no chance if recovery there. But I am in touch with some secondaries, so something to bear in mind. .  Niacin B3 Very interesting too. Must have a good read about that.  Im sure lots of questions will arise as I progress with dermatitis herpetiformis. In the mean time, thanks for your help.
    • knitty kitty
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @suek54, I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis, too.  I found taking Niacin B3 very helpful in clearing my skin from blisters as well as improving the itchies-without-rash (peripheral neuropathy).  Niacin has been used since the 1950's to improve dermatitis herpetiformis.   I try to balance my iodine intake (which will cause flairs) with Selenium which improves thyroid function.   Interesting Reading: Dermatitis herpetiformis effectively treated with heparin, tetracycline and nicotinamide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10844495/   Experience with selenium used to recover adrenocortical function in patients taking glucocorticosteroids long https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24437222/   Two Cases of Dermatitis Herpetiformis Successfully Treated with Tetracycline and Niacinamide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30390734/   Steroid-Resistant Rash With Neuropsychiatric Deterioration and Weight Loss: A Modern-Day Case of Pellagra https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12532421/#:~:text=Figure 2.,(right panel) upper limbs.&text=The distribution of the rash,patient's substantial response to treatment.   Nicotinic acid therapy of dermatitis herpetiformis (1950) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15412276/
    • suek54
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By suek54 · Posted

      Thank you all for your advice and the dermatitis herpetiformis article. The latter made me realise I had stopped taking my antihistamine, which I will restart today. The Dapsone has cleared the rash entirely but I still get quite a bit itching, absolutely nothing to see though. I know its notoriously hard to clear and its still relatively early days for me.  The iodine issue is very interesting. I do eat quite a bit of salt because I have Addison's disease and sodium retention is an issue. I also have autoimmune hypothyroidism, not sure how a low iodine diet would play into that? Because of my Addison's I am totally steroid dependent, I take steroids 4 x daily and cannot mount any defence against inflammation. I need to increase my meds for that. Now that I know what is wrong I can do just that if Im having a bad day. Life is very sweet, just so damn complicated sometimes! Hey ho, onwards. Thank you again for your advice.  
    • trents
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By trents · Posted

      So, essentially all of the nutrition in the food we eat is absorbed through the villous lining of the small bowel. This is the section of the intestinal track that is damaged by celiac disease. This villous lining is composed of billions of finger-like projections that create a huge amount of surface area for absorbing nutrients. For the celiac person, when gluten is consumed, it triggers an autoimmune reaction in this area which, of course, generates inflammation. The antibodies connected with this inflammation is what the celiac blood tests are designed to detect but this inflammation, over time, wears down the finger-like projections of the villous lining. Of course, when this proceeds for an extended period of time, greatly reduces the absorption efficiency of the villous lining and often results in many and various nutrient deficiency-related health issues. Classic examples would be osteoporosis and iron deficiency. But there are many more. Low D3 levels is a well-known celiac-caused nutritional deficiency. So is low B12. All the B vitamins in fact. Magnesium, zinc, etc.  Celiac disease can also cause liver inflammation. You mention elevated ALP levels. Elevated liver enzymes over a period of 13 years was what led to my celiac diagnosis. Within three months of going gluten free my liver enzymes normalized. I had elevated AST and ALT. The development of sensitivities to other food proteins is very common in the celiac population. Most common cross reactive foods are dairy and oats but eggs, soy and corn are also relatively common offenders. Lactose intolerance is also common in the celiac population because of damage to the SB lining.  Eggs when they are scrambled or fried give me a gut ache. But when I poach them, they do not. The steam and heat of poaching causes a hydrolysis process that alters the protein in the egg. They don't bother me in baked goods either so I assume the same process is at work. I bought a plastic poacher on Amazon to make poaching very easy. All this to say that many of the issues you describe could be caused by celiac disease. 
    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      thank you so much for your detailed and extremely helpful reply!! I can say with absolute certainty that the less gluten containing products I've eaten over the past several years, the better I've felt.   I wasn't avoiding gluten, I was avoiding refined grains (and most processed foods) as well as anything that made me feel bad when I ate it. It's the same reason I gave up dairy and eggs- they make me feel ill.  I do have a bit of a sugar addiction lol so a lot of times I wasn't sure if it was the refined grains that I was eating - or the sugar. So from time to time I might have a cookie or something but I've learned how to make wonderful cookies and golden brownies with BEANS!! and no refined sugar - I use date paste instead. Pizza made me so ill- but I thought it was probably the cheese. I gave up pizza and haven't missed it. the one time I tried a slice I felt so bad I knew I'd never touch it again. I stopped eating wheat pasta at least 3 yrs ago- just didn't feel well after eating it. I tried chick pea pasta and a few others and discovered I like the brown rice pasta. I still don't eat a lot of pasta but it's nice for a change when I want something easy. TBH over the years I've wondered sometimes if I might be gluten intolerant but really believed it was not possible for me to have celiac disease. NOW I need to know for sure- because I'm in the middle of a long process of trying to find out why I have a high parathyroid level (NOT the thyroid- but rather the 4 glands that control the calcium balance in your body) I have had a hard time getting my vit D level up, my serum calcium has run on the low side of normal for many years... and now I am losing calcium from my bones and excreting it in my urine (some sort of renal calcium leak) Also have a high ALP since 2014. And now rapidly worsening bone density.  I still do not have a firm diagnosis. Could be secondary HPT (but secondary to what? we need to know) It could be early primary HPT. I am spilling calcium in my urine but is that caused by the high parathyroid hormone or is it the reason my PTH is high>? there are multiple feedback loops for this condition.    so I will keep eating the bread and some wheat germ that does not seem to bother me too much (it hasn't got enough gluten to use just wheat germ)    but I'm curious- if you don't have a strong reaction to a product- like me and wheat germ- does that mean it's ok to eat or is it still causing harm even if you don't have any obvious symptoms? I guess what you are saying about silent celiac makes it likely that you can have no symptoms and still have the harm... but geez! you'd think they'd come up with a way to test for this that didn't require you to consume something that makes you sick! I worry about the complications I've been reading about- different kinds of cancers etc. also wondering- are there degrees of celiac disease?  is there any correlation between symptoms and the amnt of damage to your intestines? I also need a firm diagnosis because I have an identical twin sister ... so if I have celiac, she has it too- or at least the genetic make up for having it. I did have a VERY major stress to my body in 2014-2016 time frame .. lost 50lbs in a short period of time and had severe symptoms from acute protracted withdrawal off an SSRI drug (that I'd been given an unethically high dose of, by a dr who has since lost his license)  Going off the drug was a good thing and in many ways my health improved dramatically- just losing 50lbs was helpful but I also went  off almost a dozen different medications, totally changed my diet and have been doing pretty well except for the past 3-4 yrs when the symptoms related to the parathyroid issue cropped up. It is likely that I had low vit D for some time and that caused me a lot of symptoms. The endo now tells me that low vit D can be caused by celiac disease so I need to know for sure! thank you for all that great and useful information!!! 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.