Gluten question

[Islander]

A quick question. I've been gluten-free for 10 months and noticed no change. No change in anything at all. I just trust that the ant-gliadin results were accurate. But I have cheated twice: once about 4 months ago when I had one biscotti, and once last week when I had a dozen corn chips that also contained a small amount of wheat flour. What I want to know: are little sins like this going to set me back? And how badly?

[Reesacat]

If the anti-gliadin showed up positive you do have some sensitivity to gluten unless the test was totally screwed I would think.
Pain and insomnia are signs of gluten intolerance-sometimes people have to give up corn to see a difference.
Don't hit me-I am on a diet even more restricted than you!

[Reesacat]

I did find one quote but the source had been changed-they said if the anti-gliadin antibody show up positive it is like a positive pregnancy test. No such thing as a little bit pregnant!

[Aaltrude]

Can anyone give me any idea of what these results would indicate:

Gliadin IgA: Equivocal
Gliadin IgG: Weak Positive
tissue Transglutaminase IgA: Equivocal
tissue Transglutaminase IgG: Equivocal
Suggest repeat.

Not my results but someone I know who has decided they are not gluten sensitive.

[Reesacat]

This is what I found on gluten-free works:
http://glutenfreeworks.com/gluten-di...s-and-testing/

2. Blood Testing
Your doctor will order the following blood tests to detect if you have specific autoantibodies for Celiac Disease circulating in your blood.
IgA Anti-Endomysium Antibody (EMA) tests for Immunoglobulin A type autoantibodies that attack endomysium (connective tissue).IgA Anti-tissue Transglutaminase Antibody (tTG-IgA, tTG-IgG) tests for Immunoglobulin A autoantibodies that attack transglutaminase (a tissue enzyme).

The IGA Anti-Endomysium Antibody (EMA) test can detect antibodies in excess of 90% of people. This test is the most costly because the actual lab work requires human evaluation.
The IGA Anti-tissue Transglutaminase Antibody (tTG-IgA, tTG-IgG) test is the newest antibody test. It can detect antibodies in 98% of adults and 96% of children. The tTG analysis is performed by a computer so that it is less costly than the EMA test.
Other blood testing involves the specific immune reaction to the gliadin component of gluten. These are inexpensive tests useful to screen for evidence of the abnormal presence of gliadin in the body.
IGA Anti-Gliadin Antibody (AGA-IgA) tests for Immunoglobulin A type antibodies that attack gliadin.IGG Anti-Gliadin Antibody (AGA-IgG) tests for Immunoglobulin G type antibodies that attack gliadin.

Antigliadin (AGA) tests have lower sensitivity for detecting celiac disease (70 to 85%) and distinguishing celiac disease (70 to 90%) than the EMA or tTG tests. However, they have a high sensitivity for gluten exposure resulting from increased intestinal permeability. Both IgA-AGA and IgG-AGA are advised.
Blood Results of Antibody Testing

Positive Antibody Results.
The presence of IgA antibodies for any antibody (tTG, EMA, AGA) demonstrate a short-term immune response, showing that gluten was ingested usually within two weeks preceding the test. The presence of IgG antibodies demonstrate long-term immune response, indicating ingestion of gluten in the six months to a year preceding the test.

Negative Antibody Results.
Blood tests that return negative results for both IgA and IgG antibodies would be considered
negative, provided you have been regularly eating food with gluten.

Negative Antibody Results and Suggestive Symptoms. Three scenarios are possible.
1. You may have selective IgA deficiency, meaning you do not make these antibodies so they will always be negative. A “Serum IGA” blood test would detect this condition.
2. The blood test itself may be a “false negative,” meaning the laboratory testing is defective. If this is suspected, the test could be repeated using a lab with better experience, an alternative blood test could be conducted, and/or a small intestinal biopsy could be performed.
3. You may not have Celiac Disease.

[Islander]

OK, here we go.
At the bottom of my adrenal fatigue test was the following information. Mellowsong saw a copy and told me it meant I was gluten-intolerant. My doc never commented on any of it. I honestly don't think she knew what it meant. After Mellow & I talked, I explained the antigliadin result to the doc at our next appointment.

DHEAS - saliva (noon - pm) average 1.4, reference limits 1.1 - 5.8

Secretory IgA - Saliva
Secretory IgA - 309, reference limits 27-321
Antigliadin IgA - 43.1, Class +2, moderate
...followed by this table:
Class 0 <=17.0
Class 1 17.01 - 25
Class 2 25.01 - 45
Class 3 >=45.01

No other medical professional has seen this information. I'm supposed to be changing docs; I ought to call tomorrow and see what the status is on that. Meanwhile, anybody got any input?

[Aaltrude]

I would enterprete that result as a positive Islander. It is much more clear cut than the results I gave above. Gliadin must be causing a reaction in your body for it to produce a detectable level of antibodies.
My enterpratation of the results I gave earlier is that this is also a case of gluten sensitivity but would be interested to hear what others think.

[Reesacat]

I would enterprete that result as a positive Islander. It is much more clear cut than the results I gave above. Gliadin must be causing a reaction in your body for it to produce a detectable level of antibodies.
My enterpratation of the results I gave earlier is that this is also a case of gluten sensitivity but would be interested to hear what others think.

I think your friend does have gluten sensitivity-one thing if they had not been eating gluten and got tested maybe this is what you would have seen? According to the info I posted above, IgA shows last 2 weeks, where IgG shows exposure over last 6 months.
If your friend had not eaten gluten recently but within the last 6 months and was gluten-sensitive I wonder if that is what we are seeing.

[Aaltrude]

My friend had been eating gluten regularly.
IgA anti gliadin has high specificty but low sensitivity whereas IgG anti gliadin has low specifity and high sensitivity. That means IgA tests are less sensitive but more specific. In this result the IgA is equivocal. IgG are more sensitive but not as specific and this result was a weak positive, slightly stronger than the IgA. To me this suggests the test is picking up a low level of anti gliadin which is giving a slighty stronger result in the more sensitive test. The fact that there is some reaction in the less sensitive but more specific IgA suggests that the less specific IgG test is picking up the anti gliadin as a stronger result due to the higher sensitivity of the test. What a mouthful - I hope this makes sense. I would be interested to know if the other medically trained people on the forum see this the same way.

[Islander]

I'm wondering what the "classes" indicate on my numbers. At 43.1, I'm bordering on the highest class. Does this indicate a higher level of severity? Funny I have no symptoms....

[Reesacat]

Several progressive docs have stated if you have the anti-body you are damaging the gut even without symptoms. And don't forget insomnia is a symptom. I was over at neighbor's taking care of cats, had a drop in blood sugar, ate some of her candy with corn starch, and couldn't get to sleep until 3 am last night. Corn gluten is gluten.

[Maurya]

Corn gluten is gluten.

Thanks, Reesacat, I really needed that! Denial is not just a river in Egypt! Wheat, rye, barley I have stayed away from for decades; corn has been just a "don't want to deal with it" subject for me. Time to wake up!

[Aaltrude]

I'm wondering what the "classes" indicate on my numbers. At 43.1, I'm bordering on the highest class. Does this indicate a higher level of severity? Funny I have no symptoms....

Your results certainly indicate you should be avoiding gluten. It is often the case that people who arre coeliac have no obvious symptoms and it is not unknown for coeliac patients to be overweight or obese. In fact Dr Rodney Ford indicates one of the more common symptoms of Coeliac Disease and Gluten Intolerance is feeling grumpy. Gluten is known to be a trigger for auto immune diseases such as arthritis. You would probably find it interesting to explore Dr Ford's (also known as Dr Gluten) website. Here is a link to the section about symptoms.
http://www.drrodneyford.com/index.ph...toms&Itemid=57

[Islander]

Your results certainly indicate you should be avoiding gluten.

But I HAVE been avoiding gluten — for almost a year. I'd like to know whether my number makes me borderline Celiac, or just highly gluten-sensitive.

I have to leave home, will check out the link when I get back! Thank you!

[Aaltrude]

But I HAVE been avoiding gluten — for almost a year. I'd like to know whether my number makes me borderline Celiac, or just highly gluten-sensitive.

Only an endoscopy would answer that question and for that you would have to go back to eating gluten for a minimum of six weeks beforehand. My advice would be - DON'T. You will only undo any repair your body has been doing while you have been gluten free and your body would have to go through that recovery again and it can take months. I don't consider it worth it. You have the answer that you need to avoid gluten in the results of that test. Go with that knowing you are doing the right thing for your body.