Weak Positive Results

[marielrn73]

So my 17 y/o daughter has an endoscopy scheduled in two weeks. These are her lab results, they seem confusing as to a clear diagnosis.

tTG IGA 5 - <4 normal

Gliadin (deamidated) AB (IGA) 7- normal <20

Immunoglobulin A 298 - 81-463 normal

Is this enough to call her celiac?

I'm not thrilled about a possible diagnosis as she will be moving away for college and I'm not sure how she's gonna deal w a limited diet when she's out w friends. She doesn't like pasta and doesn't really eat a lot of bread but I want an accurate endoscopy result, how much gluten is needed to get an accurate biopsy result?

[mushroom]

Welcome to the board, Marie. If your daughter has not been eating much gluten it could account for her relatively low (but still tTG positive) results. (You do not have to be positive on every test to be a celiac). I would give her as much gluten as she can tolerate in the next couple of weeks, although two weeks isn't long in the scheme of things for small intestinal damage (which is what they are looking for). However, if she has the antibodies in the blood she may have the damage already. The fact that she does not eat bread and pasta may be a reflection of their not agreeing with her??

Moving away to college, she does need a diagnosis, especially as I guess she will be living in the dorms the first year and on a food plan. Talk to her doctor about what it willl take for him to give her a diagnosis. You will need to check with the school about how they handle food for those who must eat gluten free. Some will allow fridge and microwave in the dorm, some will allow off-campus living, some insist on eating in the cafeteria. So you will need to explore this issue.

[marielrn73]

Thank you for your response. I am trying to get her to eat more full on gluten items but she is already seing that her body doesn't like them. When she was little she would tell me that some things would give her a stomachache and I thought it was because she was trying to get what she wanted instead.

I did look at the university she's seriously looking at and they claim to offer a gluten free menu. I will get more in depth into it if she's diagnosed. She has been having a lot of GI pain, bloating and nonstop burping when her pain is worse. Her stomachache seems to respond to Prilosec. At this point I want a definitive diagnosis so we can move ahead and stop her suffering. She's going to children's in Los Angeles so I hope they have a better grasp on this diagnosis than your local GI.

[mushroom]

Bloating and non-stop burping/belching was my major presentation. On, and on, and on..... I was quite the windbag You are making all the right moves. Good luck and best wishes for an accurate diagnosis.