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Hi folks,

I wish to thank you all for responding to my post.  I'm so sorry it's taken
so long to respond with my summary.  I have two jobs, I have my own
upholstery business and I work in a health food store.  This was my busy
season for the upholstery business and on top of that I got sick through the
holidays from eating the gluten challenge.  I obviously work at the health
food store not only to help people but also for the discount!  You can all
sympathize with that.  Anyway, I've finally settled down and can think
straight so I am now summarizing.

I now realize that I need to have the test to see if I am IgG deficient.  Do
I have to be on the gluten challenge again to do this?  If I do I'm not sure
if I want to.  I'm feeling better just this week, and don't know if I can
work 2 jobs and do that again.

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>>>Try looking up this web site. Maybe it will help.
   http://dematel.com/ipr

>>>We do lots of antibody testing for a celiac genetics study I work on.  We
don't trust the gliadin tests they are positive in lots of people without
celiac disease.  We do trust the endomysial test.  It's main limitation is
that people who are deficient in IgA type antibodies (about 3 or 4% of
celiacs) don't test positive on this test.  Your gliadin IgG was positive,
but the gliadin IgA was normal (none detected) as well as the endomysial.
Our doctor would call these results negative for CD.  But the fact that you
have symptoms and a positive IgG gladin suggest that you should check to see
if you ate IgA deficient.

>>>It looks like your IgG value was high (47) as it was higher than 43.  Your
other values are normal it appears but since they are of the IgA type (both
the endomysial and antigliadin) you can still have Celiac if you are IgG
deficient, which you probably have no way of knowing as they didn't test for
this.Unfortunately this test can indicate food allergies lactose intolerance
or even nothing.  I would recommend you find a good gastro doctor, show him
your blood test and have your villi checked for damage.

>>>My son is IgA deficient which means that you have to be tested in a
different way to prove you are gluten intolerant.  Meanwhile if staying off
gluten helps you , that is very telling.

>>>I have CD and live in RI.  I have listed some sites below that have good
information about diagnosis and specifically the antibody tests that you have
had done.  I see a gastroenterologist in Providence- Thomas Denucci.

He practices out of RI Hospital. He is a good Dr.
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gi/celiac.html
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/celiac/index.htm#3

>>>Based on the lab results you printed, a negative antiendomysial antibody
while still on gluten seems to be a pretty strong evidence that you do not
have celiac disease.

>>>first of all you have to be eating gluten for the test to come up positive
if you are a celiac- if you have been on a gluten free diet for any length of
time, the antibodies may not show up.  Your doctor is a jerk- I am pretty
sure he is required by law to interpret your test for you...find out what lab
ran the test and call them

>>>The test results you reported are negative for IgA Gliadin antibodies and
endomysial antibodies but positive for IgG Gliadin antibodies.  This could
mean you have some other gastrointestinal disorder or if you have been on a
gluten free diet the results could be skewed by the diet.  It could also
indicate that you have some other autoimmune disorder.  Only a trained
physician skilled in interpreting these results and your clinical
presentation could say for sure.  The level of the IgA antibodies responds
fairly quickly to changes in the diet while the IgG tends to lag behind.  It
is generally consider that a minimum of 6 weeks challenge is required before
testing to assure accurate results.

>>>This is not meant as medical advice,only helpful information.  I am a
physician with family members with gluten intolerance.  I diagnose patients
in my practice with gluten intolerance based on blood testing, clinical
presentation, symptoms and confirm it with their positive response to gluten
free diet.  If you were my with the results you have the history you are
describing, I would tell you that you have gluten intolerance.My overall
experience has been that many folks with non-severe forms of gluten
intolerance test positive for only the anti-gliadin antibodies (IgG or IgA or
both), have negative endomysial antibody tests and do very nicely when gluten
is avoided.

>>> Perhaps your doctor need a little education--you may want to purchase the
new book "Coping with Celiac" It is a wonderful educational tool the web site
is http://home.att.net~GBENNETT1533/index.html Give it to your doctor to
read.  This was an accomplishment to further the cause for celiac awareness!!
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I have a very detailed post from Technical Service <[log in to unmask]>
if anyone would like a copy.

Diana in Rhode Island