Hi
Im convinced my daughter has celiac, her symptoms are exactly the same as mine before I was diagnosed and she's so ill now. Her Dr has done a anti ttg blood test which was negative. On the celiec website it says a total Iga and Iga ttg blood test should be carried out. Are these different, should I ask for more tests? Hate seeing her so unwell.
Some people will have lower results of immunoglobulin A, and this will give a false result to quantitative tests for antibodies. That is hereditary, though, if memory serves.
In any case, the only definitive test is the biopsy. Ask for that test next.
Also, she might have an intolerance (which I have) as the symptoms are very similar. It just takes longer to develop in the case of non-celiac gluten intolerance, and the only test for that is to exclude gluten for a month and see whether the symptoms go away.
Uggh, I meant lower overall amount of IgA, not results.
Hi Sharon,
Your doctor is on the right track. Keep in mind the tests only are valid if the patient is eating a normal gluten-containing diet. Although EMA and TTG are very good screening tests, neither has 100% reliability. Therefore, if there is a very high suspicion that an individual has Celiac Sprue and the antibody tests are negative, biopsy should still be considered.
Laurie