A Little Bit Confused...

[Georgia-guy]

Oh yeah, the A1C came back normal. :-/

[kareng]

Oh yeah, the A1C came back normal. :-/

A test for diabetes? Would be happy that came back normal. Not sure why this person with a 1 year degree is telling you you need to have diabetes before you should be tested for Celiac? Or is it some other test?

[nvsmom]

Oh yeah, the A1C came back normal. :-/

I'm glad your A1C came back normal. When it's elevated, it indicates a blood sugar problem - diabetes. You really don't want that. 

 

I hope you are able to get the celiac disease tests done. Good luck!

[Georgia-guy]

Karen, my health insurance is deciding that because there is no family history of celiac, it's impossible for me to have celiac, so that are not going to pay for the blood work or the scope. The A1C came back right in the middle of the normal range (which I am happy about) but if it had come back on either end of normal, the insurance had said (to me and the doc office) that they would pay for the celiac testing (what the correlation is idk). But if I can't get the insurance to approve the tests, it's gonna cost me about $1,000 to get the blood work and scope done. The insurance for some reason thinks they can play games because I come off the policy in September (my birthday).

[cyclinglady]

What is normal? A normal a1c is between 4 and 5.6%. Remember the Ha1c is just an average of over 3 months and does not track spikes. Spikes cause diabetic complications. The Ha1c is just one of the tests to help diagnose diabetes and it is relatively new (and cheap). You probably need a Oral Glucose Tolerance test. If your insurance will not pay, you can test at home with a cheap meter. Here is a link to how to test yourself if you are interested:

Open Original Shared Link

You had a random blood sugar of over 170. The ER doc/discharge instructions recommended more glucose testing. Normal people do not go over 140 no matter how much sugar or waffles they consume!

Regarding the celiac disease test. Ask how much it is to pay out of pocket. I think the cost is about $400, but labs vary and are usually willing to negotiate a cash discount. Think about it.....how much are you paying for that smart phone? Got an iPad? Nice TV? How much is it worth to feel well?

Gluten free food for thought!

[cyclinglady]

Oh! Correlation between celiac and diabetes is a shared gene. Not all diabetics (type 1) get celiac disease (approx. 10%) and not all celiacs develop type 1 diabetes. Both are autoimmune disorders. That is why so many of us have diabetes type 1, thyroiditis, RA, lupus, etc. which are all autoimmune disorders.

Your insurance would be more willing to pay if you already had at least one autoimmune disorder or documented illnesses like anemia, osteoporosis, etc. that often go hand-in-hand with celiac disease.

Correct me if I am wrong about stats etc., gang! I am getting tired!

[nvsmom]

That sounds right to me.  

 

I missed that your blood glucose spiked up to 170... that's not good. It sounds like you could be wading into type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. A glucometre might be a good investment to make just so you can check if that was unusual.

 

Type 2 diabetes is not linked to celiac disease - as far as I know.

[Georgia-guy]

Haha. I was misinformed by the assistant at the doc office. I pulled up the blood work online (patient portal is awesome, the doc doesn't even know when I check up on things) and my A1C came back at 5.3, range for diabetes is........5.7-6.4. That doesn't seem like it's the middle of normal to me.

As for the comment about the smart phone, TV, etc: I pay $50 a month for my phone service cuz I have to have calling, texting, and data for work. My tv is from the 1990's. I'm just starting to recover financially from my ex screwing me over when she got tired of me going to the doc too much when I "didn't look sick" (lesson learned there). It is funny you mention SLE because I have had several docs run an ANA test (can't tember numbers, but those did come back normal).

[Georgia-guy]

Below is a link to a site I found for a lab work place in Atlanta that offers celiac testing without a doctor's orders. Can someone tell me which of the tests listed I would need to get done?

Open Original Shared Link

[nvsmom]

Below is a link to a site I found for a lab work place in Atlanta that offers celiac testing without a doctor's orders. Can someone tell me which of the tests listed I would need to get done?

Open Original Shared Link

The Celiac Disease Complete Panel (second test) looks the best to me. Really all it is missing is the EMA IgA, and that one is rarely positive if the tTG IgA is not.

 

Good luck.

[Maggie07]

Hi I'm new here. I'm not diagnosed but the symptoms I have make me wonder more and more. The past 5 months have been hell on my health. I am hypothyroid but don't gain weight, I lose it. The skin issues:burning, itching, scratching on my legs and hands make me want to cry. I have been complaining for months about the tiredness, foggy-brain, and upset stomach/gut. We did B12 shots, checked the thyroid and my GP ran all the ususal bloodtests and everything showed up normal, aside from low iron. I had allergy-testing redone after two sudden reactions; with nothing new to add to my allergies. Went back to my GP because my lymphnodes are swollen and sore. Still nothing.  I started seeing a Naturopathic doctor who ordered IGG/IGE testing not covered by OHIP or my insurance, which I had done today. Before the tests I went on a vegan diet- I was starting to feel better; but this past weekend I had to eat a wide variety of foods (IE> everything) before the IGG/IGE bloodwork. I feel horrible today: bloating, cramping, upset stomach, nausea, my joints are sore and I can hardly concentrate to type this.

What do I need to get my doctor to do? He's scheduled me with a dermatologist next week about my skin.

 I am so frustrated, exhausted and depressed. It's affecting my work and home life to the point i'm considering stress-leave.

[Georgia-guy]

...I am hypothyroid but don't gain weight, I lose it. The skin issues:burning, itching, scratching on my legs and hands make me want to cry. I have been complaining for months about the tiredness, foggy-brain, and upset stomach/gut. We did B12 shots, checked the thyroid and my GP ran all the ususal bloodtests and everything showed up normal, aside from low iron...

Went back to my GP because my lymphnodes are swollen and sore. Still nothing...

Before the tests I went on a vegan diet- I was starting to feel better

but this past weekend I had to eat a wide variety of foods (IE> everything) before the IGG/IGE bloodwork. I feel horrible today: bloating, cramping, upset stomach, nausea, my joints are sore and I can hardly concentrate to type this.

What do I need to get my doctor to do? He's scheduled me with a dermatologist next week about my skin.

I am so frustrated, exhausted and depressed. It's affecting my work and home life to the point i'm considering stress-leave.

Maggie, welcome! I am fairly new as well, and have been having issues as far back as I can remember. From what I've read reading about celiac (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) thyroid and nutrient deficiency problems are often connected to celiac, in particular on nutrients is low iron. Pretty much all the symptoms you list are things I have found connected to celiac. Here is a link to the University of chicago's celiac website showing the 300+ symptoms that can be associated with celiac:

Open Original Shared Link

I do not have in front of me a list of the tests that are recommended (nvsmom, can you provide that?). But I will say, you mentioned you started a vegan diet...keeping gluten in your diet until testing is complete (results back in and diagnosis made) is vital. If a doctor tells you that you can stop eating gluten and get tested, tell them to do some research. The celiac tests look for your body's reaction to gluten, just like if a car cuts you off, you're gonna hit the brakes, but if there is no car cutting you off, there is no hitting the brakes reaction.

(As a side not, I noticed 07 in your name, is that referencing the year 2007? I ask because that's the year I graduated high school.)

[Georgia-guy]

The Celiac Disease Complete Panel (second test) looks the best to me. Really all it is missing is the EMA IgA, and that one is rarely positive if the tTG IgA is not.

Good luck.

If I were to just get one or two of those tests done, then bring results to the doc to do the full panel at my insutance's expense, which one or two would be the best (most likely to provide an accurate positive)

[Georgia-guy]

The Celiac Disease Complete Panel (second test) looks the best to me. Really all it is missing is the EMA IgA, and that one is rarely positive if the tTG IgA is not.

Good luck.

If I were to just get one or two of those tests done, then bring results to the doc to do the full panel at my insutance's expense, which one or two would be the best (most likely to provide an accurate positive)?

[BlessedMommy]

That site looks great! I might eventually order the nutrient test. Looks like they use labs all over the U.S. Thanks for sharing the link!

[Maggie07]

Maggie, welcome! I am fairly new as well, and have been having issues as far back as I can remember. From what I've read reading about celiac (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) thyroid and nutrient deficiency problems are often connected to celiac, in particular on nutrients is low iron. Pretty much all the symptoms you list are things I have found connected to celiac. Here is a link to the University of chicago's celiac website showing the 300+ symptoms that can be associated with celiac:

Open Original Shared Link

I do not have in front of me a list of the tests that are recommended (nvsmom, can you provide that?). But I will say, you mentioned you started a vegan diet...keeping gluten in your diet until testing is complete (results back in and diagnosis made) is vital. If a doctor tells you that you can stop eating gluten and get tested, tell them to do some research. The celiac tests look for your body's reaction to gluten, just like if a car cuts you off, you're gonna hit the brakes, but if there is no car cutting you off, there is no hitting the brakes reaction.

(As a side not, I noticed 07 in your name, is that referencing the year 2007? I ask because that's the year I graduated high school.)

Thank you for the information all. I have reintroduced gluten (bread, bagel, cookies, cereal) for 5 days now and last night I had a horrible reaction to a veggie burger on a bun? (I suspect.) Woke up to a swollen face, hands and legs. Went back to the doctor (two days in a row) and he ordered celiac blood testing, thyroid (because my throat feels swollen but not in a hurts to swallow-way) and referral to an endocrinologist. I am scared to eat anything now! The allergist tests showed no allergies to foods. Waiting for all my bloodwork results now...I am drained.

Georgia_guy: Maggie was the name of my black lab/setter who died in 2007