Blood Test Results - Interpretation/next Steps?

[Tim86]

I just received my results from blood testing for Celiac. They are calling the results "negative for Celiac", since everything is within their reference limits. Do you see anything in here that might indicate differently than the doctor's opinion? Would any of these items hint at a gluten sensitivity, even if it isn't Celiac? What should I do next (request additional blood work or other tests, or just be happy I don't have Celiac)?

Results:

Tiss Transglutamin IgA - 1 U/mL (0-3 reference)

Tiss Transglutamin IgG - 1 U/mL (0-3 reference)

Anti-Gliadin IgG Ab - 2.4 U/mL (0-10 reference)

Anti-Gliadin IgA Ab - 3.3 U/mL (0-10 reference)

Endomysial IgA Ab - Negative

IgA - 247 MG/DL (70-400 reference)

[happygirl]

The good news is your doctor ran the full panel, so you were as thoroughly evaluated (via bloodwork). You are not IgA deficient, which increases the accuracy of your IgA based tests.

Keep in mind:

-some people with Celiac do not test positive on the bloodwork, and only test positive on the biopsy

-some people have a problem with gluten that does not show up on bloodwork

It may be worthwhile to try a gluten free diet for a few weeks to see if your symptoms improve, and keep pursuing other avenues.

[Tim86]

...It may be worthwhile to try a gluten free diet for a few weeks to see if your symptoms improve, and keep pursuing other avenues.

I tried a gluten-free diet for a month in March, but only had a moderate improvement in constipation/diarrhea symptoms. No improvement in sleep, acid reflux, fatigue, and headaches. It didn't feel like is worth the effort to stay on the gluten-free diet. Now that I have these test results, I'm even less inclined to stick with a gluten-free diet. Should I be more concerned, or do these test results give me a sufficient reason to not bother with the gluten-free diet?

[nora-n]

Your numbers are not 0....

Have you been eating enough gluten for the tests to be positive? The tests are calibrated to show positive only with significant damage, and usually one has to consume much gluten for significant damage.

Maybe you are just in the beginning of celiac.

It took me seven months off gluten to get rid of my fatigue.

You can go back on 0,3-0,5 mg gluten per kg for some months if you want to, and then get tested again. that would be 8-15 slices of bread a day or more, depending on weight.

nora

[Tim86]

Can anyone else offer some advice on this, please?

[leadmeastray88]

In my opinion, a month-long gluten free diet is not long enough to be able to determine that it isn't an issue for you.

I would suggest giving it another go, except for a good solid 3 months. You said you noticed mild improvement, that's still something!

It took 2 months for all of my symptoms to start going away, about 6 for them to be completely gone. I had every single symptom you listed. For 4 years I was on a double dose of Losec for my acid reflux, now I don't have to take anything. I also had chronic constipation, now I am completely regular. I used to have terrible mid-day fatigue, now I have so much energy. Maybe it'll be the same for you, maybe not. You won't know unless you try. Like you, I had negative bloodwork, yet the gluten free diet has obviously done wonders for my health.

What other avenues have you explored?

[tarnalberry]

I agree with happygirl. If you found that a month gluten free made some difference for the positive, then you should probably try it again. A month is hardly enough time to master the diet (no using old toasters, watch out for fries in shared friers, etc.) and even a month 100% gluten free is not enough time for many people to see full results.

Realize too, that positive results on the dietary challenge are positive results - your body is telling you that it's better off gluten. That doesn't mean gluten is the only thing your body is having an issue with. (Dairy is far more likely to give me constipation and headaches than gluten, for instance. But my headaches (chronic migraines) are actually primarily caused by poor neck posture creating constant tension. Dietary changes wouldn't do a thing for that.)

And there's no reason that fatigue would have cleared up in only a month if it was due to iron deficiency or B-vit deficiency from malabsorption. These things take months of heavy supplementation, on a healed gut, to remedy. If you haven't had your vitamin/mineral levels checked, it's well worth doing so.

A good way to test the diet is to go *100%* gluten free for three months, then load up on gluten for the next week. If you feel worse after eating gluten than you did when you were gluten free... well, if hitting yourself in the head with a hammer hurts, why would you?

[Tim86]

Good responses so far. Would anyone else like to add their knowledge on this topic? I'm still not confident what I should do next.