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

Antibodies Still High

Janerie

Recommended Posts

Janerie Newbie
Janerie
Posted

Hi all -

This is my first forum post, though I've been reading almost every day since being diagnosed via biopsy 6 months ago. I can't tell you how invaluable your insights have been!

At any rate, my question is this: I just recently had my 6-month follow-up. Since going gluten-free, I've felt SO much better . . . but my antibody levels still came back really high. In fact, they're almost as high as they were before I was scoped.

Has this happened to anyone else? Still being new to this, I'm sure I'm tripping up on some ingredients and getting accidentally glutened, but I'm really surprised by those results, especially considering how much better I feel. Could it be possible this is a cosmetic/shampoo/personal product issue? Man, what pain . . .

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


starrytrekchic Apprentice
starrytrekchic
Posted

It could be.

The first thing to check is cross-contamination in factory (assuming you already know all the labeling laws). I'd go through everything that's processed (and even things like trail mix) and check online or call the company to make sure they're gluten free and made on gluten-free lines.

Also check your vitamins, prescriptions, and herbal supplements. Nothing is automatically safe--meats can have wheat added to them, drinks like tea and instant coffee occasionally have gluten, etc. You really have to check everything.

You also might want to chuck gluten-free stuff that falls under the 20 ppm but is made on shared lines. The 20 ppm might be too high for you.

You might also react to distilled alcohols that were made from grains (like wheat vodka.) This isn't common, but it does happen.

Recheck everything you're eating outside the house, your cross contamination precautions inside the house, and then, yes, things like toiletries and pet food.

Good luck!

teresasupermom Rookie
teresasupermom
Posted

We are going through similar problems with my dd. Her antibody levels have progressively gone up her last 3 checks in spite of us being stricter and stricter with things. We at first were only having her meals gluten free, and then the whole house has gone gluten free. I would start looking at that. For us I believe her primary problems have been cross contamination. You may be missing things there. Do you go out to eat at all? Are there other people around you that you live with that still eat gluten?

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

You may be one who reacts to very low levels of gluten, even in gluten free foods, but without overt symptoms. I am symptomatic with a lot of them. You may need a whole foods diet like I do.

Gfreeatx Apprentice
Gfreeatx
Posted

I just had the same thing happen to me, my blood test still showed elevated levels despite the fact that I have been very careful with all the foods I have been eating and have been feeling better too. When I got the results I rechecked everything I was eating and also my toiletries. I figured out that my hand sanitizer, hand lotion, face moisturizer and foundation all had wheat or barley in them after calling the manufacturers. I was shocked since I did check the ingredients on each of them and didn't see anything that would have made me think that they contained gluten. Lesson learned, call the manufacturers to double check. Here I thought I was doing a great job and I was covering my face and hands with gluten. :)

Tigercat17 Enthusiast
Tigercat17
Posted

I totally agree with dilettantesteph. I've had high levels of antibodies every time I was tested for blood work since I've been diagnosed and I've been gluten free for 18 months. I was feeling a lot better after 5 months on the gluten free diet, but still not 100%. My reactions are so subtle I didn't even notice it. I know it's so frustrating. I did finally figure it out. I was getting cross contamination from supposedly "gluten free" vitamins and some gluten-free processed foods. I even have trouble with Glutino products which are supposed to be one of the better companies. This is the only gluten-free processed food company I buy from now, but I still can't eat it everyday. It seems like every once it a while I get a bad box of cereal.

What helped me is I just went completely on a whole food diet -all fresh meats, veggies & fruit. I didn't feel any better so I knew it was the vitamins. So I changed the vitamins and then I all my subtle reactions went away and I started to feel 100%. Then once a week I added one of the gluten-free processed foods to see if I reacted. I also keep a food journal and documented how I was feeling. I found out that I always react the next day when it comes to gluten. I also had to stop eating most of the gluten free cereal I was eating. :( But the food journal really helped me figure it out. When I started to see the pattern from my journal, I knew I must one of the sensitive ones & I just couldn't eat a lot of gluten free processed foods. It's a bummer, but we adjust. And these processed foods really aren't good for you anyway, so it's just not worth it.

I had my most recent test in Dec. It was 29 - which is the lowest it has ever been. My GI doctor wants me to have it tested again soon. He said it should be down to normal by now. He thought I was getting gluten in my diet still for the last year. I really had no idea. It was getting so frustrated, because I'm so super careful. I have a gluten free home (everyone eats gluten-free), I wasn't eating out at all, all my beauty products are as gluten free as far as the companies know, so I know it had to be food that I was buying for my home.

I hope this helps! I'll have to let you know what my blood work results are next time. I'm really hoping they are down to normal. :)

Janerie Newbie
Janerie
Posted
  • Author

Wow - so much to think about, but thanks for all the useful information! I really have tried to avoid most processed food since going gluten-free, but I certainly haven't eliminated 100% of them. And my household isn't gluten-free; my partner's good about eating gluten-free most of the time, but he still keeps his own bread, cereal, etc. in the house. We just finally started using separate butter, but I bet I've been getting CC'd from simple things like that. And we do eat out a lot. I know right away when I've been glutened at a high level - my borborygmi (sp?) kicks in within 10 minutes - but it makes a lot of sense that I could be reacting to even small amounts of CC. And while I always ask for the gluten-free menu, and/or ask wait staff to check with the kitchen before I order, I guess I really can't trust the options or the answers.

BTW, my level when I was first tested was around 120. Six months after going gluten-free, it's 90.

But, I guess practice makes perfect, right? :-)

Thanks again for all the suggestions . . . I still have a lot of work to do!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


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. trents
      - trents replied to Atl222's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes after 10 yrs gluten-free

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @Atl222! Yes, your increased lymphocytes could be in response to oats or it could possibly be cross contamination from gluten that is getting into your diet from some unexpected source but not enough to damage the villi. And I'm certain that increased lymphocytes can be caused by other things besides celiac disease...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Aretaeus Cappadocia's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      1

      Brown Rice Vinegar (organic) from Eden Foods is likely gluten free

      This is a solid, well-reasoned approach. You’re right that “koji” by itself doesn’t indicate gluten status, and the risk really does come down to which grain is used to culture it. The fact that you directly contacted Eden Foods and received a clear statement that their koji is made from rice only, with no wheat or barley, is meaningful due diligence—especia...
    3. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to wellthatsfun's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      nothing has changed

      Seven months can still be early in celiac healing, especially if you were mostly asymptomatic to begin with—symptoms like low iron, vitamin D deficiency, nail changes, and hair issues often take much longer to improve because the gut needs time to recover before absorption normalizes. A tTG-IgA of 69 is not “low” in terms of immune activity, and it can t...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams commented on knitty kitty's blog entry in Thiamine Thiamine Thiamine
      1

      About Celiac Remission

      This idea comes up often, but it’s important to separate theory from what’s actually supported by evidence. In celiac disease, the immune system does not “forget” gluten in a permanent or reliable way, even after long periods of avoidance, and the celiac genes do not turn off. While antibody levels (like tTG IgA) can normalize on a strict gluten-free diet an...
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to TheDHhurts's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      need help understanding testing result for Naked Nutrition Creatine please

      Gluten testing is normally reported in ppm (parts per million), which is equivalent to mg/kg, not micrograms by itself. A result of <0.025 mcg only becomes meaningful if you know the sample size tested (for example, mcg per gram or per kg). If that value represents <0.025 mcg per gram, that would equal <25 ppm, which is above the gluten-free threshold...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,190
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Atl222
    Newest Member
    Atl222
    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

    • trents
      Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes after 10 yrs gluten-free

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @Atl222! Yes, your increased lymphocytes could be in response to oats or it could possibly be cross contamination from gluten that is getting into your diet from some unexpected source but not enough to damage the villi. And I'm certain that increased lymphocytes can be caused by other things besides celiac disease or gluten/oats exposure. See attachment. But you might try eliminating oats to start with and possibly dairy for a few months and then seek another endoscopy/biopsy to see if there was a reduction in lymphocyte counts. 
    • Scott Adams
      Brown Rice Vinegar (organic) from Eden Foods is likely gluten free

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This is a solid, well-reasoned approach. You’re right that “koji” by itself doesn’t indicate gluten status, and the risk really does come down to which grain is used to culture it. The fact that you directly contacted Eden Foods and received a clear statement that their koji is made from rice only, with no wheat or barley, is meaningful due diligence—especially since Eden has a long-standing reputation for transparency. While the lack of gluten labeling can understandably give pause, manufacturer confirmation like this is often what people rely on for traditionally fermented products. As always, trusting your body after trying it is reasonable, but based on the information you gathered, your conclusion makes sense.
    • Scott Adams
      nothing has changed

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Seven months can still be early in celiac healing, especially if you were mostly asymptomatic to begin with—symptoms like low iron, vitamin D deficiency, nail changes, and hair issues often take much longer to improve because the gut needs time to recover before absorption normalizes. A tTG-IgA of 69 is not “low” in terms of immune activity, and it can take 12–24 months (sometimes longer) for antibodies and the intestinal lining to fully heal, particularly in teens and young adults. Eating gluten again to “test” things isn’t recommended and won’t give you clear answers—it’s far more likely to cause harm than clarity. Weight not changing is also very common in celiac and doesn’t rule anything out. Please know that your frustration and sadness matter; this adjustment is hard, and feeling stuck can really affect mental health. You deserve support, and if you can, reaching out to a GI dietitian or mental health professional familiar with chronic illness could really help you through this phase. This study indicates that a majority of celiacs don't recover until 5 years after diagnosis and starting a gluten-free diet: Mucosal recovery and mortality in adults with celiac disease after treatment with a gluten-free diet However, it's also possible that what the study really shows is the difficulty in maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet. I suspect that if you looked closely at the diets of those who did not recover within 2 years might be that their diets were not 100% gluten-free. Perhaps they ate out more often, or didn't understand all of the hidden ingredients where gluten can hide. Either way, it shows how difficult recovery from celiac disease can be for most people. According to this study: This article explores other causes of flattened villi:    
    • Scott Adams
      need help understanding testing result for Naked Nutrition Creatine please

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Gluten testing is normally reported in ppm (parts per million), which is equivalent to mg/kg, not micrograms by itself. A result of <0.025 mcg only becomes meaningful if you know the sample size tested (for example, mcg per gram or per kg). If that value represents <0.025 mcg per gram, that would equal <25 ppm, which is above the gluten-free threshold; if it’s <0.025 mcg per kilogram, it would be extremely low and well within GF limits. Without the denominator, the result is incomplete. It’s reasonable to follow up with the company and ask them to confirm the result in ppm using a validated method (like ELISA R5)—that’s the standard used to assess gluten safety.
    • Scott Adams
      Medications

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Medication sensitivity is very real for many people with celiac and other autoimmune conditions, and it’s frustrating when that’s brushed off. Even when a medication is technically gluten-free, fillers, dose changes, or how your nervous system reacts—especially with things like gabapentin—can cause paradoxical effects like feeling wired but exhausted. The fact that it helped bloating suggests it may be affecting gut–nerve signaling, which makes sense in the context of SIBO, but that doesn’t mean the side effects should be ignored. You’re carrying a heavy load right now with ongoing skin, eye, and neurological uncertainty, and living in that kind of limbo is exhausting on its own. It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed and discouraged when systems and providers don’t meet you where you are—your experience is valid, and continuing to advocate for yourself, even when it’s hard, really does matter. You can search this site for prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
×
×
  • 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.