Jump to content

  • 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

Positive Blood Test, Negative Biopsy

TheFuzz

Recommended Posts

TheFuzz Apprentice
TheFuzz
Posted

I had a "weakly positive" blood test in December, and a negative biopsy in January. Before the biopsy, I went 3 weeks on gluten, and I felt absolutely awful. I have been off gluten for a month, and still feel bloated, some diarrhea, and abdominal discomfort. The GI doc said the biopsy is the gold standard, so I probably don't have celiac, given the weak blood test result. I'm not sure what test it was. He suggests maybe I have lactose intolerance or fructose intolerance as well as gluten intolerance. He said to go off milk etc for a couple weeks and see if it helps. I'm at a loss now, as I don't want to keep guessing what the problem is after 5 months of discomfort! I also have had, for a good 10 years a rash on my chest that I suspect maybe DH.

So, can I safely rule out Celiac disease, and it is just an intolerance, combined with possible other in tolerances? Can I have other tests? He just wanted me to try the lactose thing and see how it goes.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


BabsV Enthusiast
BabsV
Posted

I had a "weakly positive" blood test in December, and a negative biopsy in January. Before the biopsy, I went 3 weeks on gluten, and I felt absolutely awful. I have been off gluten for a month, and still feel bloated, some diarrhea, and abdominal discomfort. The GI doc said the biopsy is the gold standard, so I probably don't have celiac, given the weak blood test result. I'm not sure what test it was. He suggests maybe I have lactose intolerance or fructose intolerance as well as gluten intolerance. He said to go off milk etc for a couple weeks and see if it helps. I'm at a loss now, as I don't want to keep guessing what the problem is after 5 months of discomfort! I also have had, for a good 10 years a rash on my chest that I suspect maybe DH.

So, can I safely rule out Celiac disease, and it is just an intolerance, combined with possible other in tolerances? Can I have other tests? He just wanted me to try the lactose thing and see how it goes.

Were you off gluten before the blood test? If so, for how long? That could impact the results. How many biopsies did they take? Don't they now say 8-11 samples are best yet a lot of doctors take only 3-5?

The diet doesn't always work immediately...I'm 6 months in and only in the last 2-3 weeks have I seen a decrease in my pain issues (on some days.) Also, have you cleaned out your kitchen, scrubbed all the pans, replaced your toaster and strainers, checked any medicines you take regularly for gluten, etc? There is gluten hidden EVERYWHERE.

Try giving up dairy AND gluten and see if it helps. When I went gluten free I cut out dairy also and it made a big difference.

Not sure about other tests. There are many more experienced and knowledgeable people on the forums who can probably address that.

As far as test results go, I had a negative biopsy in February 2011 (was being scoped for something else) but ended up getting progressively sicker and sicker...the doctors blamed it all on GERD. Finally, after a drastic weight loss and experiencing debilitating abdominal pain one doctor suggested the Celiac blood panel as a test of exclusion (this was when they were convinced it was all in my head -- they even sent me to a psychiatrist!) which came back positive to everyone's surprise. Was scoped again in August 2011 and yep, there was damage and positive biopsy results.

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

I had a "weakly positive" blood test in December, and a negative biopsy in January. Before the biopsy, I went 3 weeks on gluten, and I felt absolutely awful. I have been off gluten for a month, and still feel bloated, some diarrhea, and abdominal discomfort. The GI doc said the biopsy is the gold standard, so I probably don't have celiac, given the weak blood test result. I'm not sure what test it was. He suggests maybe I have lactose intolerance or fructose intolerance as well as gluten intolerance. He said to go off milk etc for a couple weeks and see if it helps. I'm at a loss now, as I don't want to keep guessing what the problem is after 5 months of discomfort! I also have had, for a good 10 years a rash on my chest that I suspect maybe DH.

So, can I safely rule out Celiac disease, and it is just an intolerance, combined with possible other in tolerances? Can I have other tests? He just wanted me to try the lactose thing and see how it goes.

How many samples were taken to biopsy? After your weak positive, it might not have been enough time to create significant damage, or affected areas might have been missed.

My suggestion would be to eliminate dairy products for three or four weeks, continue to eat gluten free...and I'd be willing to bet that you will see a vast improvement. :)

Positive blood work and positive dietary response is a diagnosis. And the current trend is to have multiple indicators in a diagnosis

TheFuzz Apprentice
TheFuzz
Posted
  • Author

I had been on gluten full time before the blood test, as there was no suspicion of celiac beforehand, so I wasn't gluten free. I went off gluten after I got the positive blood test for 2 weeks, then found out about the biopsy, so back on gluten for 3 weeks. I'm not sure how many biopsy samples were taken, the GI doc basically didn't want to discuss it as he was being pretty certain it wasn't celiac. He was the one who did the scope, so maybe he is arrogant or something? Dunno, I only met him briefly.

I have cleaned the kitchen pretty well, new toaster, utensils etc. I haven't eaten out in a month, though in the first 2 weeks I had some chicken broth that I don't think was gluten free. Everything else should be safe food wise. Oh I have also had GERD for a long time, about a year and half ago started pantaloc.

faithforlife Apprentice
faithforlife
Posted

Yes my son had a positive blood test and only inflamed intestine but had so much improvement going gluten-free we'd never go back.

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. suek54
      - suek54 replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      7

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      Wow KK, thank you so much for all your attached info. I had a very quick scan but will read more in depth later. The one concerning corticosteroid use is very interesting. That would relate to secondary adrenal insufficiency I think , ie AI caused by steroids such as taken long term for eg asthma. I have primary autoimmune AI, my adrenals are atrophied...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      7

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      Welcome to the forum, @suek54, I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis, too. I found taking Niacin B3 very helpful in clearing my skin from blisters as well as improving the itchies-without-rash (peripheral neuropathy). Niacin has been used since the 1950's to improve dermatitis herpetiformis. I try to balance my iodine intake (which will cause flairs...
    3. suek54
      - suek54 replied to suek54's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      7

      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      Thank you all for your advice and the dermatitis herpetiformis article. The latter made me realise I had stopped taking my antihistamine, which I will restart today. The Dapsone has cleared the rash entirely but I still get quite a bit itching, absolutely nothing to see though. I know its notoriously hard to clear and its still relatively early days for me...
    4. trents
      - trents replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      So, essentially all of the nutrition in the food we eat is absorbed through the villous lining of the small bowel. This is the section of the intestinal track that is damaged by celiac disease. This villous lining is composed of billions of finger-like projections that create a huge amount of surface area for absorbing nutrients. For the celiac person, when...
    5. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      thank you so much for your detailed and extremely helpful reply!! I can say with absolute certainty that the less gluten containing products I've eaten over the past several years, the better I've felt. I wasn't avoiding gluten, I was avoiding refined grains (and most processed foods) as well as anything that made me feel bad when I ate it. It's the...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,259
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Hidden Peacock
    Newest Member
    Hidden Peacock
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • suek54
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By suek54 · Posted

      Wow KK, thank you so much for all your attached info. I had a very quick scan but will read more in depth later.  The one concerning corticosteroid use is very interesting. That would relate to secondary adrenal insufficiency I think , ie AI caused by steroids such as taken long term for eg asthma. I have primary autoimmune AI, my adrenals are atrophied, no chance if recovery there. But I am in touch with some secondaries, so something to bear in mind. .  Niacin B3 Very interesting too. Must have a good read about that.  Im sure lots of questions will arise as I progress with dermatitis herpetiformis. In the mean time, thanks for your help.
    • knitty kitty
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @suek54, I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis, too.  I found taking Niacin B3 very helpful in clearing my skin from blisters as well as improving the itchies-without-rash (peripheral neuropathy).  Niacin has been used since the 1950's to improve dermatitis herpetiformis.   I try to balance my iodine intake (which will cause flairs) with Selenium which improves thyroid function.   Interesting Reading: Dermatitis herpetiformis effectively treated with heparin, tetracycline and nicotinamide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10844495/   Experience with selenium used to recover adrenocortical function in patients taking glucocorticosteroids long https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24437222/   Two Cases of Dermatitis Herpetiformis Successfully Treated with Tetracycline and Niacinamide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30390734/   Steroid-Resistant Rash With Neuropsychiatric Deterioration and Weight Loss: A Modern-Day Case of Pellagra https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12532421/#:~:text=Figure 2.,(right panel) upper limbs.&text=The distribution of the rash,patient's substantial response to treatment.   Nicotinic acid therapy of dermatitis herpetiformis (1950) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15412276/
    • suek54
      Awaiting dermatitis herpetiformis confirmation following biopsy

      By suek54 · Posted

      Thank you all for your advice and the dermatitis herpetiformis article. The latter made me realise I had stopped taking my antihistamine, which I will restart today. The Dapsone has cleared the rash entirely but I still get quite a bit itching, absolutely nothing to see though. I know its notoriously hard to clear and its still relatively early days for me.  The iodine issue is very interesting. I do eat quite a bit of salt because I have Addison's disease and sodium retention is an issue. I also have autoimmune hypothyroidism, not sure how a low iodine diet would play into that? Because of my Addison's I am totally steroid dependent, I take steroids 4 x daily and cannot mount any defence against inflammation. I need to increase my meds for that. Now that I know what is wrong I can do just that if Im having a bad day. Life is very sweet, just so damn complicated sometimes! Hey ho, onwards. Thank you again for your advice.  
    • trents
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By trents · Posted

      So, essentially all of the nutrition in the food we eat is absorbed through the villous lining of the small bowel. This is the section of the intestinal track that is damaged by celiac disease. This villous lining is composed of billions of finger-like projections that create a huge amount of surface area for absorbing nutrients. For the celiac person, when gluten is consumed, it triggers an autoimmune reaction in this area which, of course, generates inflammation. The antibodies connected with this inflammation is what the celiac blood tests are designed to detect but this inflammation, over time, wears down the finger-like projections of the villous lining. Of course, when this proceeds for an extended period of time, greatly reduces the absorption efficiency of the villous lining and often results in many and various nutrient deficiency-related health issues. Classic examples would be osteoporosis and iron deficiency. But there are many more. Low D3 levels is a well-known celiac-caused nutritional deficiency. So is low B12. All the B vitamins in fact. Magnesium, zinc, etc.  Celiac disease can also cause liver inflammation. You mention elevated ALP levels. Elevated liver enzymes over a period of 13 years was what led to my celiac diagnosis. Within three months of going gluten free my liver enzymes normalized. I had elevated AST and ALT. The development of sensitivities to other food proteins is very common in the celiac population. Most common cross reactive foods are dairy and oats but eggs, soy and corn are also relatively common offenders. Lactose intolerance is also common in the celiac population because of damage to the SB lining.  Eggs when they are scrambled or fried give me a gut ache. But when I poach them, they do not. The steam and heat of poaching causes a hydrolysis process that alters the protein in the egg. They don't bother me in baked goods either so I assume the same process is at work. I bought a plastic poacher on Amazon to make poaching very easy. All this to say that many of the issues you describe could be caused by celiac disease. 
    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      thank you so much for your detailed and extremely helpful reply!! I can say with absolute certainty that the less gluten containing products I've eaten over the past several years, the better I've felt.   I wasn't avoiding gluten, I was avoiding refined grains (and most processed foods) as well as anything that made me feel bad when I ate it. It's the same reason I gave up dairy and eggs- they make me feel ill.  I do have a bit of a sugar addiction lol so a lot of times I wasn't sure if it was the refined grains that I was eating - or the sugar. So from time to time I might have a cookie or something but I've learned how to make wonderful cookies and golden brownies with BEANS!! and no refined sugar - I use date paste instead. Pizza made me so ill- but I thought it was probably the cheese. I gave up pizza and haven't missed it. the one time I tried a slice I felt so bad I knew I'd never touch it again. I stopped eating wheat pasta at least 3 yrs ago- just didn't feel well after eating it. I tried chick pea pasta and a few others and discovered I like the brown rice pasta. I still don't eat a lot of pasta but it's nice for a change when I want something easy. TBH over the years I've wondered sometimes if I might be gluten intolerant but really believed it was not possible for me to have celiac disease. NOW I need to know for sure- because I'm in the middle of a long process of trying to find out why I have a high parathyroid level (NOT the thyroid- but rather the 4 glands that control the calcium balance in your body) I have had a hard time getting my vit D level up, my serum calcium has run on the low side of normal for many years... and now I am losing calcium from my bones and excreting it in my urine (some sort of renal calcium leak) Also have a high ALP since 2014. And now rapidly worsening bone density.  I still do not have a firm diagnosis. Could be secondary HPT (but secondary to what? we need to know) It could be early primary HPT. I am spilling calcium in my urine but is that caused by the high parathyroid hormone or is it the reason my PTH is high>? there are multiple feedback loops for this condition.    so I will keep eating the bread and some wheat germ that does not seem to bother me too much (it hasn't got enough gluten to use just wheat germ)    but I'm curious- if you don't have a strong reaction to a product- like me and wheat germ- does that mean it's ok to eat or is it still causing harm even if you don't have any obvious symptoms? I guess what you are saying about silent celiac makes it likely that you can have no symptoms and still have the harm... but geez! you'd think they'd come up with a way to test for this that didn't require you to consume something that makes you sick! I worry about the complications I've been reading about- different kinds of cancers etc. also wondering- are there degrees of celiac disease?  is there any correlation between symptoms and the amnt of damage to your intestines? I also need a firm diagnosis because I have an identical twin sister ... so if I have celiac, she has it too- or at least the genetic make up for having it. I did have a VERY major stress to my body in 2014-2016 time frame .. lost 50lbs in a short period of time and had severe symptoms from acute protracted withdrawal off an SSRI drug (that I'd been given an unethically high dose of, by a dr who has since lost his license)  Going off the drug was a good thing and in many ways my health improved dramatically- just losing 50lbs was helpful but I also went  off almost a dozen different medications, totally changed my diet and have been doing pretty well except for the past 3-4 yrs when the symptoms related to the parathyroid issue cropped up. It is likely that I had low vit D for some time and that caused me a lot of symptoms. The endo now tells me that low vit D can be caused by celiac disease so I need to know for sure! thank you for all that great and useful information!!! 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.