Preliminaries

Unfortunately I am not talking about a Miss America swim suit competition. I decided I would go ahead and start writing about the tests I've had. It's a bit of a process to be diagnosed with Celiac disease, and I'm not even talking about the years I and other people have gone through of random medical tests before the doctors even get around to Celiac disease.

When I finally went back to the doctor a few months ago, determined to figure out what was wrong with me, I knew I needed to at least be tested for Celiacs thanks to my mom's research and knowing a few people who had it. Thankfully after talking to my new doctor he agreed that I should be tested for Celiacs as well. (It's a good thing he agreed because there was NO WAY I was leaving that office without being tested, and I would have put up a BIG stink)

However, being the good doctor he is he wanted to test several other things as well. So, along with the Celiac panel he did blood tests for thyroid problems, hepatitis, and some other basic nutrients testing. Those tests are all pretty basic and should be done with the symptoms I was presenting. We've all had blood tests. They are easy and relatively pain less. Although I will admit that I have this fear of needles and turn into a four year old girl who wants her mommy when anyone comes at me with a needle.

He also wanted to rule out parasites and intesinal infections which meant a stool sample test. I'll say one thing about that test; some things in this life are just wrong, and that was one of them. Painless, but wrong.

Well, all of the tests came back negative, except the Celiac panel. I got a call from the doctor's office saying everything was fine but that the doctor wanted to talk to me about my Celiac test. I happened to be in the area the next day so I called to see if there was time that morning I could come in. All the nurse said was, "We'll make time. The doctor really wants to see you." So I went in and got taken back right away. Normally when the doctor walks in he is cheery and talkative, that was not the case that day. He was very quiet and solemn. He came in, pulled up a chair close to mine and sat down (he never sits down). Then he said to me in his Russian accent, "Unfortunately you were right, you definitely have Celiac Disease." I think he was expecting me to be sad or shocked or something. But I was actually relieved and happy. I had actually figured out what was wrong with me! Plus, with Celiac disease I could live a symptom-free life as long as I didn't eat gluten. This was a great day! He gave me the name and number of a gastrointestinal doctor so that I could go and get the next step of diagnosis done, an endoscopy. While the Celiac panel (blood test) is a good indication of whether or not you have Celiac disease it is only a starting point. The true diagnosis comes from an endoscopy with multiple biopsies of the small intestine. I'll get to that story later.

Here's some technical information about the Celiac Panel for those who want to know. The Celiac Panel tests for 3 anitbodies that are produced as a result of the autoimmune response that the consumption of gluten causes. These three antibodies are Ttg (Tissue Transglutaninase Ab, IgA), IgG (Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgG), and IgA (Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgA). The main one is the Ttg antibody, but the other ones are indicators as well. Some tests only test for one antibody but it is important to get all three tested or at least the Ttg. Normal levels for all three antibodies are <7;  >10 definitely has Celiac disease and will need to get an endoscopy to assess the damage. Just for reference here are my levels: Ttg >128 (The scale wouldn't go any higher they said.), IgG 84, IgA 60. Verdict is: 100% chance that I have Celiac Disease!!
 The other good thing about the Celiac Panel is that you can get the test redone after several months of being on a gluten-free diet. If the levels of the antibodies are decreasing you know that you are healing. If the levels are the same or increasing you know you are getting some gluten somewhere in you diet. This test is especially important for assessing improvement in patients who are asymptomatic (they don't have physical symptoms but do have intestinal damage). I will probably have to have this test done every few years once I get everything under control just to make sure that I am staying in the normal range. Even though I don't like needles I'd much rather get a blood test done every few years than an endoscopy every few years!!