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Hi - here was my original question:

After three months on a gf diet, I had my antibodies re-checked.  I just =
got a notice today that says my blood work was abnormal but improved =
from my pre-diagnosis levels.  Is this normal?  How long will it take to bring my antibody levels down to normal?

I got a handful of response - thank you to those who replied - I appreicate it.  Everyone said that my antibody test seems normal - it could take up to a year or more for antibody levels to get back down to a normal level.  Since they are headed down, it seems as if I am doing well on my gf diet.  I have pasted the responses below if anyone cares to read them.

I was rechecked after 9 month of a GF diet and I also showed improvement but a weak positive still.  I talked to my support group and they said it could take 1 to 2 years.  

Everybody is different but it should be no surprise that you aren't normal in 
three months. Most people don't retest for six months and some not for a year. 
I've heard of people taking as long as 18-24 months to get back to normal, 
even on a very strict diet. After one year I still had one number just barely 
(1 point) over, although the rest were good.

It took me a year to heal. 3 mos is nothing for a sensitive celiac. Have patience, time and no gluten heals.

Our daughter was diagnosed as celiac last April and her bloodwork at  
that time confirmed the results of the endoscopy -- showed high  
positive on all indicators.  In August, we had bloodwork done again and  
it showed great improvement but not in the normal range completely for  
all indicators.  Her gastroenterologist claimed that this was a very good sign and  
didn't seem concerned that some indicators were still positive or mild  
positive for celiac.  As for damage to your intestine due to accidental ingestion --  I  
cannot believe that a single ingestion of gluten would result in damage  
that would take 6 months to heal.  However, I am not a medical  
professional.

IgG antibodies are a measure of systemic involvement--takes longer to go up and takes longer to go down.  IgA happens in mucous membranes--the gut, with a more immediate response.  Goes up quicker, but then goes down quicker as well.  

Once the gluten is removed, many find that the body resets it's tolerance levels for gluten and it takes less gluten to cause a worse reaction.  One of the ladies in our group had higher antibody levels after she went on the g.f. diet, but was still going to communion ...not realizing it could be a problem.  Oops!  Anyway, response to the diet is very individual since the location, duration, and severity of the damage are all different.  Also, age & overall health make a difference with younger and/or healthier bodies healing quicker.  Can't heal without adequate nutrition but you can't absorb nutrients if you have lots of damage--Catch 22.  Since your antibodies are headed in the right direction, it sounds like you're doing great on your diet and the diagnosis is correct.  Accidents do happen and while they are a set back, the damage isn't as severe as years of daily ingestion.  An immune system reaction takes about 2 weeks to process through all the steps one it has triggered and it's important to stay as g.f. as possible to prevent working it unnecessarily.

Yes, your test results are "normal".  It does take time for the antibodies
to come down.  You are heading in the right direction.

That's it, folks.  Thanks so much!  I feel much better about my test results now.
Lori in Virginia

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