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

Weak positive


lorishaw
Go to solution Solved by trents,

Recommended Posts

lorishaw Newbie

Hi all! I  am new here. Recently I had a celiac blood panel done. Everything was normal except for two things. My tgg-iga was a weak positive (I had a 4.6 where <4.0 is negative) and my Immunoglobulin A (IgA), S was low (I had 60 where 61-356 is normal). With these results I thought I was surely negative. The GI said that these results are indicative of celiacs. I have an endoscopy Monday. Does anyone else have experience with this? Is a weak positive truly a positive? Could it just be a fluke? Thank you!


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



  • Solution
trents Grand Master

Welcome to the forum, @lorishaw!

One factor you are likely not aware of is that your low Immunoglobulin A (IgA) (what we typically refer to as "total IGA") would cause the TTG-IGA test score to be artificially low. Low total IGA (or IGA deficiency) suppresses individual IGA test scores. It is not itself an antibody test for celiac disease but if it is low it will influence those that are. In other words, if your Immunoglobulin A (IGA) were within normal range your TTG-IGA score would likely have been more strongly positive. There are a number of antibody tests that can be run when diagnosing celiac disease and it is important to realize that it only takes one of them being positive in order to point to celiac disease. The TTG-IGA is the most popular test run by physicians and often the only one. Kudos to your doc for doing a more complete celiac panel. 

Celiac disease causes inflammation to the villous lining of the small bowel when gluten is consumed which eventually and over time damages the lining and inhibits nutrient absorption. The antibody tests are designed to detect the inflammation markers that show up in the blood. The endoscopy/biopsy is designed to visually (and microscopically) examine the damage to the villous lining and is used to confirm the results of a positive antibody test. Generous amounts of gluten should be consumed daily until both kinds of testing are complete. Beginning a gluten free diet weeks or months ahead of testing will sabotage the test results.

Scott Adams Grand Master

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. 

 

 

lorishaw Newbie
15 minutes ago, trents said:

Welcome to the forum, @lorishaw!

One factor you are likely not aware of is that your low Immunoglobulin A (IgA) (what we typically refer to as "total IGA") would cause the TTG-IGA test score to be artificially low. Low total IGA (or IGA deficiency) suppresses individual IGA test scores. It is not itself an antibody test for celiac disease but if it is low it will influence those that are. In other words, if your Immunoglobulin A (IGA) were within normal range your TTG-IGA score would likely have been more strongly positive. There are a number of antibody tests that can be run when diagnosing celiac disease and it is important to realize that it only takes one of them being positive in order to point to celiac disease. The TTG-IGA is the most popular test run by physicians and often the only one. Kudos to your doc for doing a more complete celiac panel. 

Celiac disease causes inflammation to the villous lining of the small bowel when gluten is consumed which eventually and over time damages the lining and inhibits nutrient absorption. The antibody tests are designed to detect the inflammation markers that show up in the blood. The endoscopy/biopsy is designed to visually (and microscopically) examine the damage to the villous lining and is used to confirm the results of a positive antibody test. Generous amounts of gluten should be consumed daily until both kinds of testing are complete. Beginning a gluten free diet weeks or months ahead of testing will sabotage the test results.

Thank you so much! This is actually really helpful. I was feeling as if maybe I was making it up in my head a little bit. I’m kind of a nervous Nancy so the sudden potential for something I have not considered is throwing me through a loop. I appreciate your response!

lorishaw Newbie
15 minutes ago, Scott Adams said:

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. 

 

 

It is! Thank you! I guess I’m still confused about why a weak positive is labeled as such. Does that mean it is less likely it is celiacs?

trents Grand Master

Lori, I suppose it is true that a weak positive antibody test score makes it less certain that it could be celiac disease and more likely something else. But because you are IGA deficient, the water is a little muddied in that regard. You will likely have some more definitive answers soon after your procedure on Monday, probably within a week or two. But let me ask you. What symptoms do you have? What prompted this testing for celiac disease in the first place?

Scott Adams Grand Master

In all honesty that designation is fairly recent, and very confusing--what I really think it means is that for patients OR doctors who really don't like the concept of a lifelong gluten-free diet it provides a way for either to "copout" on making an official diagnosis.

There isn't for example, a "strong-negative" designation, where you might score 19/20, for example, and you may actually have detected celiac disease early, before you have villi damage. I can't think of any reason for this designation, as there is no mild form of celiac disease. I suppose one possible reason for it might be that you could be catching the disease early, before serious villi damage, which is a good thing, however, this designation is being abused, which can be seen over and over in threads on this board. Many patients and doctors think they don't have it when they hear "weak positive."


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



lorishaw Newbie
1 hour ago, trents said:

Lori, I suppose it is true that a weak positive antibody test score makes it less certain that it could be celiac disease and more likely something else. But because you are IGA deficient, the water is a little muddied in that regard. You will likely have some more definitive answers soon after your procedure on Monday, probably within a week or two. But let me ask you. What symptoms do you have? What prompted this testing for celiac disease in the first place?

I’ve always had what I call ‘Tummy troubles’. But more specifically gas, bloating, issues in the bathroom, stomach aches, etc. The celiac panel was actually run by my GP as a way to better prepare me for my GI visit. We were not exactly suspecting celiacs, more so looking to cross it off the list and move towards a different diagnosis (we had though IBS). Which is why I’m so suprised after meeting with the GI. I guess, after reading much in this thread, I  am very thankful for my doctors to have taken the time to do a full celiac panel and ordered the endoscopy. It seems that many doctors do not take such steps.

lorishaw Newbie
1 hour ago, Scott Adams said:

In all honesty that designation is fairly recent, and very confusing--what I really think it means is that for patients OR doctors who really don't like the concept of a lifelong gluten-free diet it provides a way for either to "copout" on making an official diagnosis.

There isn't for example, a "strong-negative" designation, where you might score 19/20, for example, and you may actually have detected celiac disease early, before you have villi damage. I can't think of any reason for this designation, as there is no mild form of celiac disease. I suppose one possible reason for it might be that you could be catching the disease early, before serious villi damage, which is a good thing, however, this designation is being abused, which can be seen over and over in threads on this board. Many patients and doctors think they don't have it when they hear "weak positive."

When you put it into the perspective of a strong/weak negative, that does make the ‘weak positive’ sound odd. I have scoured the internet and have been unable to find a statistic that will tell me who often a weak positive is a confirms case of celiacs after biopsy. I just assumed, as you have noted here, that I was likely fine. Interesting enough I had elevated liver enzymes in my blood work as well. My GP found it strange, but there was no indication why this would be. Upon further research, I have found that elevated liver enzymes can be correlated to celiacs. Very crazy. I’m nervous to see what the biopsy says.

trents Grand Master

Lori, elevated liver enzymes was what led eventually to my celiac diagnosis. This is experienced in about 20% of those with celiac disease but most general medicine doctors would not know that. It is not a "classic" celiac disease symptom and most GPs are not trained beyond an awareness of the classic GI symptoms along with maybe anemia and osteoporosis. There are over 200 symptoms and associated diseases that have now been associated with celiac disease but there is still a lot of ignorance in the medical community at large with regard to all this. That's what makes an online community like this one with a special focus so valuable.

Scott Adams Grand Master

There is definitely a connection between celiac disease and liver issues, and we have a category of research summaries on this topic:
https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/liver-disease-and-celiac-disease/

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,949
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Completely Curious
    Newest Member
    Completely Curious
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.5k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cookiesyum
      The easiest way to remember the difference between the cholesterol types is HDL;   H=healthy equals healthy (omega 3, 7, limit 6 & 9 MCFA'S =Medium Chain Fatty Acids. 3= coconut oil, 7= sunflower oil, avocado. The higher your HDL the healthier you are & less likely to experience strokes, clogged arteries Etc. You can even use cold expeller pressed coconut oil on your skin and that is the best kind of coconut oil to eat as well. You want your HDL much higher than your LDL, it will help you stay healthy.   LDL;    L=Lousy. Meat fats, processed fats.  The higher your LDL is the more likely you will have strokes, clogged artery is, heart disease, fatty liver.   Then there's lipids... they are the culprit to be blamed for many heart attacks and things like that they are very small round particles that transport fats. You can have a low overall cholesterol reading and most of it be healthy cholesterol and have a ton of lipids and there's nothing you can do to change the lipid count. High number of lipids is very dangerous.   I'm going on statins is extremely dangerous if you ask me it's just completely my opinion, because I have seen so many of my elderly friends bleed to death internally because of the statins. I mean you wouldn't take all the oil and grease out of your car or a motorcycle and then try to drive it that way would you? You see that's what statins do they remove all of your bodies fats and it doesn't matter whether it's healthy fats or a lousy fats. It removes all of them and then your body can't function properly. You have to have fats to keep your skin supple and to stay warm. Your body also needs fats to digest & process certain nutrients, amino acids & vitamins.   Your brain is composed of fat so is that something you really want to remove with a pill every morning and night?   The thing about statins is that they also make the blood vessels and capillaries permeable. So this is how my friends who were on cardiac medication for a long time and statins ended up bleeding internally to death.   If you want to make sure that your heart is healthy, take odorless garlic at night and magnesium, vitamin K & calcium.     
    • pdm1981
      It's also a symptom of EPI.
    • Wheatwacked
      Yes.  Proportionately a small piece to a toddler is like a whole slice to an adult.  This is an important clue.  She was doing well, accidentally ate gluten and later the old behavior returned. I remember reading posts here of people reacting to a kiss from someone who had just eaten gluten. Recent research indicates that 40% of first degree relatives of someone with Celiac have undiagnosed Celiac Disease.  Father, mother, siblings.  There is a whole list of symtoms of "silent celiac".  Here is an article of symptoms possibly mistaken for other causes than Celiac Disease.  When I finally stopped gluten at 63 years old, I counted 19 things that improved, including lifelong mouthbreathing.  I never smelled bad things, so I as a kid, I learned to respond to the other kid's response in order to not seem weird. I really recommend you pursue testing for all the family if you can, and the whole family following GFD.  It is difficult at first, but the benefits will be worth it.  
    • Visionaerie
      I get these but where we are, they are called chicken potstickers. I would obviously suggest that it is the ginger in the product that is causing a stimulative digestive effect! So you might want to do what I do, just cook one of them with the rest of your meal so you don't have the same effect. I love the Feel Good products but they are on the expensive side. (I also drink Reed's ginger brew so in general, ginger is a friend of mine..when delivered at the right dose). Hope this helps and have a warm healthy week!
    • ognam
      Has anyone had Steatorrhea (oily/fatty poop) as a temporary glutening symptom or should I be concerned I've introduced chronic gluten somewhere (like in meds)? I haven't gotten Steatorrhea since before I went gluten free. However, I moved in the past few weeks and haven't been as careful - I've eaten at restauraunts with cross contamination but only experienced minor symptoms like headache. The past week, I ate only gluten free food at home except I went to Red Robin and got fries (told them gluten-free; allergy). The next day I had Steatorrhea and the day after that.   I know it's a symptom of malabsorption so I was wondering if it was the kind of thing that could be caused by one event or if it was due to a more chronic issue. Of course I will speak to a GI but I recently moved and need to find one.   Thank you for any info
×
×
  • Create New...