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

Childrens Iga Levels, Whats Normal?

kenyonsmommy

Recommended Posts

kenyonsmommy Rookie
kenyonsmommy
Posted

My son just had his three year old check up, where they retested his blood for IgA. Its been 7 months since his diagnosis. The post card came back that his level was 1.0, which they marked with a big red smiley face and circled "were within normal limits". Does anyone know what normal limits are? I was surprised that they came back low, because recently he has developed a rash on his groin and now it is spreading to his upper thighs, tiny blisters that I suspect is DH. I'm glad they are saying its low, because that obviously means we are doing things right, which I worry about all the time.

Any one have any ideas??? Thanks!!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

My understanding is that DH might not show up in blood test results. You need to have a skin biopsy.

jayhawkmom Enthusiast
jayhawkmom
Posted

I don't know what normal is for a child... but I do know that the "norm" varies depending on the lab you use.

An example... at the lab we go through, the normal IgA (for total syrum) is 70-400. So, for us... a 1 would be, well... nonexistent.

If you are refering to the IgA to gliadin antibodies... again, that will vary by lab and you'd have to know their "reference ranges."

My 8 year old just had his panel run, and while his total syrum IgA was perfectly fine... his IgA AB's were 37 - and anything under 11 is considered "normal."

prinsessa Contributor
prinsessa
Posted

At the lab my son was tested at, anything under 5 was considered "normal". His tests were 3, so they said he wasn't gluten intolerant. I went through Enterolab and his tests came back positive. I agree that you should have a biopsy of the DH. I think that is more reliable than the blood tests. If the tests come back positive for DH then he is gluten intolerant.

janelyb Enthusiast
janelyb
Posted
My 8 year old just had his panel run, and while his total syrum IgA was perfectly fine... his IgA AB's were 37 - and anything under 11 is considered "normal."

Sounds like my son's results but I don't rmember which one was the under 11 was normal, my son's # for that was 36, but the doc said the celiac panel was negative...but the 36 # drew concern with my doc so we are running the test again Monday.

I too am confused with the #'s....and I am wondering if I should shell out $$$ to send the blood to a speciality lab or is my insurence lab good enough????

kenyonsmommy Rookie
kenyonsmommy
Posted
  • Author
At the lab my son was tested at, anything under 5 was considered "normal". His tests were 3, so they said he wasn't gluten intolerant. I went through Enterolab and his tests came back positive. I agree that you should have a biopsy of the DH. I think that is more reliable than the blood tests. If the tests come back positive for DH then he is gluten intolerant.

I already know he is gluten intolerant, he was diagnosed last year by blood and biopsy. I think he will have to have a biopsy of the DH. The rash has now gotten worse, the blisters are larger and are cover his groin, mostly on his testicles. He has not been itching them and does not complian about them, but they look awful. I asked for a referral to the dermatologist today, so hopefully we'll get in to see one soon. I have been putting antibiotic ointment on them for infection. I also thought about chicken pox, but arent they all over the body?

jayhawkmom Enthusiast
jayhawkmom
Posted
but the doc said the celiac panel was negative...but the 36 # drew concern with my doc so we are running the test again Monday.

I'm always amused when part of the test is positive, but the doctors say it's negative. Same thing with my daughter... only 1 of the 4 parts was positive. Our allergist said the panel was negative. Her GI disagreed.

With my older son's... 3 of the 4 were positive, and yet... I was told the panel was negative. He had a positive tTg, positive IgA and positive IgG. Negative?? I don't think so.

The doctor has not yet reviewed those results... it was a nurse practitioner who gave me the results as the doctor is out of town. Cracks me up that I know more than the nurse does.

Typical though... eh?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


kenyonsmommy Rookie
kenyonsmommy
Posted
  • Author

It concerns me that part of a test could come back positive yet they would still say negative results. I was tested last year, as was my father, after my son was diagnosed. Both came back as "negative". I have the same dr as my son, and since he was so proactive in diagnosing my son, I have to trust him on the bloodwork. He did find that I have selective IgA deficiency. My fathers doctor is an idiot, I am really going to bully him into having another test, from another Dr. His mother, my grandmother, died from Stomach cancer 7 years ago, she had problems all her life and I would not be surprised if she was celiac.

What I am realizing is that I do not know enough about my sons test to really know what it means, so I will have to ask some questions.

aikiducky Apprentice
aikiducky
Posted

Kenyonsmommy, if you are Iga deficient, how did your doctor decide that your blood test was negative? It's my understanding that an Iga deficient person would always test negative, and they need to be tested in some other way for celiac, by biopsy for example.

Pauliina

kenyonsmommy Rookie
kenyonsmommy
Posted
  • Author

I had to have another blood test, where he checked for other antibodies. I'm not sure what exactly, but he told me it was negative for celiac. He did alot of research to figure out what to do, as I was the first patient he has had with Selective IgA deficiency, and my son was his first pediatric celiac patient, he had some adults, but no children. He was very good about getting the info and contacting specialists. We live near Strong Hospital/University of Rochester, and they have some special projects going on in regards to these subjects, so I guess he was able to gather some good info.

aikiducky Apprentice
aikiducky
Posted

Sounds like a good thorough doc then! :)

Pauliina

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. Jess270
      - Jess270 replied to AnnaNZ's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      29

      Bitters for digestion?

      This sounds to me like histamine intolerance. Some foods have more or less histamine. processed or aged meats, fermented food like yoghurt or kimchi and bread (yeast), spinach, eggplant and mushroom are high in histamine. Other foods like tomatoes are histamine liberators, they encourage your mast cells to release histamine, which can also trigger the reactions...
    2. cristiana
      - cristiana commented on Jefferson Adams's article in Origins of Celiac Disease
      7

      Why Bananas No Longer Cure Celiac Disease

      I missed this article when it was first put up. It is interesting to read, as my old neighbour who sadly passed away a few years ago was a trainee midwife during WWII. Bananas disappeared from the shops in Britain during the war, but she told me that those that did get to the UK were kept back for infants with coeliac disease. I didn't realise that...
    3. trents
      - trents replied to Dawn Meyers's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      23

      Vaccines

      @GeoPeanut, milk is one of the better sources of iodine. Iodine is known to exacerbate dermatitis herpetiformis. Many people find that a low iodine diet helps them avoid dermatitis herpetiformis outbreaks. So, maybe the fact that you have limited your dairy intake of late is helping with that.
    4. GeoPeanut
      - GeoPeanut replied to Dawn Meyers's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      23

      Vaccines

      Hi, I'm new here. Sorry for your troubles.herenis a thought to mull over. I recently was diagnosed with celiac disease, and hashimoto's and dermatitis herpetiformis after getting covid 19. I eat butter, and 1/2 cup of Nancy's yogurt daily. I stopped all other dairy and dermatitis herpetiformis is gone! I also make grass fed beef bone broth to help with...
    5. trents
      - trents replied to KRipple's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      Welcome to the forum, @KRipple! Sorry to hear of all your husband's health problems. I can only imagine how anxious this makes you as when our spouse suffers we hurt right along with them. Can you post the results from the Celiac blood testing for us to look at? We would need the names of the tests run, the numeric results and (this is important...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,059
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Jessica A
    Newest Member
    Jessica A
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.6k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Jess270
      Bitters for digestion?

      By Jess270 · Posted

      This sounds to me like histamine intolerance. Some foods have more or less histamine. processed or aged meats, fermented food like yoghurt or kimchi and bread (yeast), spinach, eggplant and mushroom are high in histamine. Other foods like tomatoes are histamine liberators, they encourage your mast cells to release histamine, which can also trigger the reactions you describe, flu like symptoms, joint pain, urinary tract irritation, rash, stomach upset, nausea, diarrhoea & fatigue. I had liver pain like you describe, as part of the intolerance is usually a sluggish liver that makes processing all the histamine difficult. There are multiple possible root causes of histamine intolerance, usually it’s a symptom of something else. In my case, leaky gut (damaged gut wall)caused by undiagnosed celiac, but for others it’s leaky gut caused by other things like dysbiosis. Some people also experience histamine intolerance due to mould exposure or low levels of DAO (the enzyme that breaks down histamine in the gut). I’d try a low histamine diet & if that doesn’t improve symptoms fully, try low oxalate too. As others have suggested, supplements like vitamin d, b, l-glutamine to support a healthy gut & a good liver support supplement too. If you’re in a histamine flare take vitamin c to bowel tolerance & your symptoms will calm down (avoid if you find you have oxalate intolerance though). Best of luck 
    • trents
      Vaccines

      By trents · Posted

      @GeoPeanut, milk is one of the better sources of iodine. Iodine is known to exacerbate dermatitis herpetiformis. Many people find that a low iodine diet helps them avoid dermatitis herpetiformis outbreaks. So, maybe the fact that you have limited your dairy intake of late is helping with that.
    • GeoPeanut
      Vaccines

      By GeoPeanut · Posted

      Hi, I'm new here. Sorry for your troubles.herenis a thought to mull over. I recently was diagnosed with celiac disease,  and hashimoto's and dermatitis herpetiformis after getting covid 19. I eat butter, and 1/2 cup of Nancy's yogurt daily. I stopped all other dairy and  dermatitis herpetiformis is gone! I also make grass fed beef bone broth to help with myopathy that has occurred. 
    • trents
      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @KRipple! Sorry to hear of all your husband's health problems. I can only imagine how anxious this makes you as when our spouse suffers we hurt right along with them. Can you post the results from the Celiac blood testing for us to look at? We would need the names of the tests run, the numeric results and (this is important) the reference ranges for each test used to establish high/low/negative/positive. Different labs use different rating scales so this is why I ask for this. There aren't industry standards. Has your husband seen any improvement from eliminating gluten from his diet? If your husband had any positive results from his celiac blood antibody testing, this is likely what triggered the consult with a  GI doc for an endoscopy. During the endoscopy, the GI doc will likely biopsy the lining of the small bowel lining to check for the damage caused by celiac disease. This would be for confirmation of the results of the blood tests and is considered the gold standard of celiac disease diagnosis. But here is some difficult information I have for you. If your husband has been gluten free already for months leading up to the endoscopy/biopsy, it will likely invalidate the biopsy and result in a false negative. Starting the gluten free diet now will allow the lining of the small bowel to begin healing and if enough healing takes place before the biopsy happens, there will be no damage to see. How far out is the endoscopy scheduled for? There still may be time for your husband to go back on gluten, what we call a "gluten challenge" to ensure valid test results.
    • kate g
      Are they close to a drug that will help celiacs with cross contamination

      By kate g · Posted

      Ive read articles that there is stage 2 research being conducted for drugs that will limit damage to celiacs through cross contamination- how close are they to this will there be enough funding to create a mainstream drug? 
×
×
  • Create New...