Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • 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

Is It Necessary To Have A Bone Density Test If Blood Work Is Normal?

BelleVie

Recommended Posts

BelleVie Enthusiast
BelleVie
Posted

My calcium and vitamin D levels were normal on my blood work last month, so my doctor said that I don't need to do any sort of bone density tests. What's been your experience with this? Do you think a bone density test is necessary? I'm 25. 

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Open Original Shared Link

moosemalibu Collaborator
moosemalibu
Posted

It is my understanding that your body will take from the bones in calcium in order to maintain a normal level of calcium in the blood, so your blood levels do not necessarily reflect what your bones are doing. 

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

(Conversation in Doctor's office)

 

GP (or PCP), "I see you're here for a follow-up visit after your hospital stay."

 

I say, "Before we get into that, I have this sheet of items that I should be tested on.  I belong to this Celiac forum.  One of the bloggers is a Pediatrician and has Celiac Disease.  She subscribes to a doctor's website that sends her the latest and greatest in the medical field.  I probably will need a bone density test......."

 

GP says, "I get the same news, but this is Celiac related.  You should follow-up with your Gastro."  

 

I say, "But you guys are in the same medical practice.  What difference does it make?"

 

GP says, "Let's look at your hospital chart.  Oh my, you have fractured your vertabrae.  Did you fall?"

 

I say, "Nope.  I did nothing except to try to get off my bathroom floor." 

 

GP says, "Oh, we should order a bone density scan."

 

I KID YOU NOT!  

 

My blood tests were all fine at diagnosis (March 2013) except for low Ferritin.  I strongly recommend a bone scan even though the pediatrician (Jebby's blog) on this forum said her own insurance refused to pay for it.  In my research there are plenty of celiac disease patients who have poor bone density and that includes children and young adults.  

nora-n Rookie
nora-n
Posted

over at a hyperparathyroid gb page, several are celiacs. They found some info and studies that also found some correlation. PTH draws the calcium out of your bones to keep blood calcium within tight ranges.

 

But sometimes the parathyroids get stuck somehow and send out PTH without stopping.

BelleVie Enthusiast
BelleVie
Posted
  • Author

Thank you, folks. 

TGK112 Contributor
TGK112
Posted

I went in reverse. My bone density problems were discovered before celiac. I was seeing a bone density specialist - because I was losing - and he ran blood tests on me ( "to rule things out") - which showed celiac, confirmed with an endoscopy. I was pretty asymptomatic and my other blood tests showed normal ranges of calcium, Vitamin D and iron. I posed the question to my doctor - If it does not appear that I have a malabsorption issue going on -  is celiac even contributing to the osteoporosis? His response was that ANY inflammation is bad for bones - and yes the inflammation of the small intestine can contribute to osteoporosis - even with normal Vitamin D levels.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

A question I have:  "What do you do about poor density when you find it? "

 

My thoughts about it: 

 

My answer " I would make sure that my nutrient levels were good.  "

 

self:  "Oh, I am doing that, so why do I need to test my bone density?" 

 

...If anyone has thoughts on my thoughts, or on my question go ahead. 

TGK112 Contributor
TGK112
Posted

A question I have:  "What do you do about poor density when you find it? "

 

My thoughts about it: 

 

My answer " I would make sure that my nutrient levels were good.  "

 

self:  "Oh, I am doing that, so why do I need to test my bone density?" 

 

...If anyone has thoughts on my thoughts, or on my question go ahead. 

I also do weight bearing exercises and I am on Alendronate (Fosamax) - to strengthen the bones.

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I also do weight bearing exercises and I am on Alendronate (Fosamax) - to strengthen the bones.

What's Fosamax?

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

A question I have:  "What do you do about poor density when you find it? "

 

My thoughts about it: 

 

My answer " I would make sure that my nutrient levels were good.  "

 

self:  "Oh, I am doing that, so why do I need to test my bone density?" 

 

...If anyone has thoughts on my thoughts, or on my question go ahead. 

 

 

What people have been trying to say is that, years of Celiac have caused you to either loose calcium from your bones or you have never been able to build "filled in" bones because you couldn't absorb calcium.  Your bones don't magically fill in if they start to get calcium.  It takes calcium, weight bearing exercises and sometimes medications like Fosamax to start to fix the damage.  Just having good calcium levels in your blood now, does not mean your bones have good density.  Your doctor should have discussed this with you, especially for you and I who are a little bit over 40.  ;)

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

A question I have:  "What do you do about poor density when you find it? "

 

My thoughts about it: 

 

My answer " I would make sure that my nutrient levels were good.  "

 

self:  "Oh, I am doing that, so why do I need to test my bone density?" 

 

...If anyone has thoughts on my thoughts, or on my question go ahead. 

That's fine, if you're going to take supplements, avoid gluten, and do weight bearing exercises.  That's exactly what my Gastro prescribed upon my diagnosis.  But what if you need to modify your activities to prevent fractures?   Like giving up gluten, it's easier to stick to it if you have been diagnosed with celiac disease or an intolerance.  If I'm going to stay off my bike, stop running or rollerskating at the rink I needed to know that it was medically necessary for my health.  

TGK112 Contributor
TGK112
Posted

What's Fosamax?

It is a prescription medication given to people with osteopenia or osteoporosis to strengthen bones in order to prevent fractures.

 

My celiac and osteoporosis go hand in hand - I am equally concerned about both of them

eers03 Explorer
eers03
Posted

I have taken my gluten-free diet quite seriously but need to be as aggressive with my bone density.  I'm taking a combo OTC supplement that contains both Vitamin D and Calcium.  Hope it does its job!  How much calcium should I be consuming per day?  

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

I have taken my gluten-free diet quite seriously but need to be as aggressive with my bone density.  I'm taking a combo OTC supplement that contains both Vitamin D and Calcium.  Hope it does its job!  How much calcium should I be consuming per day?  

My doctor prescribed 1500 mg of calcium.  I use the Costco brand (Calicum Citrate) that contains vitamin D, Magnesium  and few other minerals.  Ugh!  It's six pills a day!  

Piccolo Apprentice
Piccolo
Posted

I say yes to the bone scan.

 

Here is my story.  I was 50+ when I was at a health fair.  A heal scan already was -3.  I had done nothing to stop it.  I looked up an osteoporosis doctor.  My first scan confirmed I was a -3.  I was started on Forteo and began calcium and vitamin D.  I began to gain in bone density slowly.  The whole time I am having malabsorbtion issues as I did for 20 years prior.

 

I am currently on Prolia, probiotics, calcium and vitamin D and exercise (weight bearing) and I have finally stopped loosing bone.  I still have osteoporosis but it is better.

 

Susan

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

be careful of too much Ca++, my GYN doesn't recommend supplementing any more, r/t cardiac issues.  Vit D + K are big issues with bones.

read up on any  of the bone building meds, before you take!

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

When I was 25 the doctor prescribed calcium forever.  However, it hurt my tummy and made me feel sick.  my Functional Medicine nurse has since told me that it could make untreated celiac worse. That likely was my difficulty.  I redoubled my efforts to  take milk!  I had my calcium levels checked recently and I have enough calcium.  My absorption is now quite well, though.

 

I think it would be a good idea to have one's calcium level checked before supplementing much.

 

D

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

remember, the blood levels are the last place the def is going to show.  Homeostasis needs to be maintained or you will die.

Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,254
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    brigette
    Newest Member
    brigette
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      70.8k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • MI-Hoosier
      Test uncertainty

      By MI-Hoosier · Posted

      Thanks again. My mom was diagnosed over 50 years ago with celiac so grew up watching her deal with the challenges of food. I have been tested a few times prior due to this but these results have me a bit stunned. I have a liver disease that has advanced rapidly with no symptoms and an allergy that could be a contributing factor that had no symptoms. I guess I’ll call it lucky my Dr ordered a rescreen of a liver ultrasound from 5 years ago that triggered this or I would likely have tripped into cirrhosis. It’s all pretty jarring.
    • Heather Hill
      Does this definitely suggest Coeliac Disease?

      By Heather Hill · Posted

      Many thanks for your responses, much appreciated.  The tests did include tTg IgA and all the other markers mentioned.  I also had sufficient total IgA so if I'm reading the Mayo clinic thing correctly, I didn't really need the anti-deaminated gliadin marker? So, if I am reading the information correctly do I conclude that as all the other markers including tTg IgA and DGP IgG and tTg IgG and EMA IgA are all negative, then the positive result for the immune response to gliadin, on it's own, is more likely to suggest some other problem in the gut rather than Coeliac disease? Until I have a view from the medics (NHS UK) then I think I will concentrate on trying to lower chronic inflammation and mend leaky gut, using L glutamine and maybe collagen powder. Thank you for your help so far.  I will get back in touch once I have a response, which sadly can take quite a long time.   Kindest Heather Hill 
    • trents
      Test uncertainty

      By trents · Posted

      To put this in perspective, most recent pretest "gluten challenge" guidelines for those having already been eating reduced gluten or gluten free for a significant time period is the daily consumption of 10g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for a minimum of two weeks leading up to the day of testing (antibody or biopsy). And I would certainly give it more than two weeks to ensure a valid test experience. Short answer: If it were me, yes, I would assume I have celiac disease and launch full bore into gluten-free eating. I think the tTG-IGA is reliable enough and your score is solid enough to make that a reasonable conclusion. Here is an article to help you get off to a good start. It's easy to achieve a reduced gluten free state but much more difficult to achieve consistency in truly gluten-free eating. Gluten is hidden in so many ways and found in so many food products where you would never expect to find it. For example, soy sauce and canned tomato soup (most canned soups, actually), pills, medications, health supplements. It can be disguised in terminology. And then there is the whole issue of cross contamination where foods that are naturally gluten free become contaminated with gluten incidentally in agricultural activities and manufacturing processes: Eating out at restaurants is a mine field for those with celiac disease because you don't know how food is handled back in the kitchen. Gluten free noodles boiled in the same water that was used for wheat noodles, eggs cooked on the same griddle that French toast was, etc.  
    • MI-Hoosier
      Test uncertainty

      By MI-Hoosier · Posted

      Thank you for the response and article. I was placed on the Mediterranean diet and been on that now for about 3 weeks. While not gluten free I am eating very little bread or anything with gluten ie a slice of whole wheat bread every couple days so assume that would cause issues now with a biopsy.  With the condition my liver is in I am unsure moving back to higher bread consumption is ideal.  In this scenario would my test results be enough to assume positive Celiac and just move forward gluten free?
    • trents
      Test uncertainty

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @MI-Hoosier! You are operating on a misconception about your "mixed" test results. You only had two celiac disease diagnostic tests run out of six that could have been ordered if your doctor had opted for a complete celiac panel. It is perfectly normal to not test positive for all possible celiac disease diagnostic tests. That is why there is more than one test option. It is the same way with other diagnostic testing procedures for many or most other diseases. Generally, when diagnosing a condition, a number of different tests are run and a diagnosis is arrived at by looking at the total body of evidence. The tTG-IGA test is the centerpiece of celiac disease blood antibody testing and the one most commonly ordered by doctors. You were strongly positive for that test. It was not an unequivocal result, IMO.  Having said that, it is standard procedure to confirm a positive celiac disease blood antibody test result with an endoscopy/biopsy which is still considered the gold standard of celiac disease diagnosis. Had your tTG-IGA been 150 or greater, your doctor many have opted out of the endoscopy/biopsy. The absence of GI distress in the celiac disease population is very common. We call them "silent celiacs". That can change as damage to the lining of the small bowel worsens. Elevated liver enzymes/liver stress is very common in the celiac population. About 18% of celiacs experience it. I was one of them. Persistently elevated liver enzymes over a period of years in the absence of other typical causes such as hepatitis and alcohol abuse was what eventually led to my celiac disease diagnosis. But it took thirteen years to get that figured out. Within three months of going gluten free my liver enzymes were back into normal range. Thank goodness, there is more awareness these days about the many long fingers of celiac disease that are not found in the classic category of GI distress. Today, there have been over 200 symptoms/medical conditions identified as connected to celiac disease. It is critical that you not begin a gluten free diet until your endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel is over. Doing so before that procedure will invalidate it because it will allow healing of the small bowel lining to begin. Here is a link to an article covering celiac disease blood antibody testing:  
×
×
  • Create New...