Elevated IGA???

dd53 · Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 15 Location: PA

Hi
I haven't posted for a while but I read a lot of the food posts as my 8 yr old son was diagnosed last year with celiac. Well the kids just went for their physicals and he gained 10 lbs in 10 months and is on the growth chart for the first time since being a baby!!! Yeah!!! BUT now his twin sister is having belly discomfort and went from 15% last year in weight to 7% so they did blood work. They called today and said her celiac panel was normal and her cbc was normal but her IGA was elevated so she needs to go to GI. She has an appointment Monday. I thought IGA was related to celiac but the nurse said her celiac panel was okay--so what could this mean??? Any help out there??
Thanks!
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dd53

cruelshoes · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 2543 Location: Washington State

Which IGA was elevated? Total IgA? TtG IgA? Endomesial IgA? Sorry if this seems like nitpicking, but it really is important. Any chance you can get ahold of her bloodwork results?
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 8603 Location: WI, USA

or is it Anti-Gliadin Autobody IgA? The AGA tests have fallen out of favor and are given little weight [or are completely ignored] now...sadly. However, for docs and labs in the know, AGA tests are still used because they can give you clue if you are reacting to gluten. Some places still used them to test for dietary compliance.
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

dd53 · Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 15 Location: PA

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 8603 Location: WI, USA

Hi DD,

Glad to hear this is being explored further! Please let us know how it goes.
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

dd53 · Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 15 Location: PA

well the GI said the AGA is "old school" and she doesn't even usually run the test that she only runs the TTG. So she thinks my duaghter might have a small ulcer or something and put her on Zantac for 2 weeks... This Celiac thing is so frustrating because doctors can be so uninformed. When I told my own doctor at my physical that my son had been diagnosed with celiac and I was concerned because it is genetic looked in my file an d saw an old endoscopy which I had one biopsy taken 3 years ago and said well at least we know you don't have celiac!GRRRRR!!!
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dd53

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 8603 Location: WI, USA

Hi DD,

Yeah - it's frustrating to say the least.

With your family history, one would think they'd give a bit more weight to even "old school" tests. Considering the elevated AGA IgA, your family history, her current sx's, you'd think they'd do a scope to at least take a look.

It's already shown that one can have villi damage and still be tTG sero-negative. There's just too many things adding up here to ignored - IMHO [no, I'm not a doctor].

After all the testing is done, do you think you'll take her GF to see what happens?

Good luck!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

forinajoy · Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 203 Location: Texas

If it was my DD, I would try the 2 weeks of Zantac and if she still had ANY symptoms...then I would pull the "Mom needs peace of mind, would you please appease me and do the endo and biopsy....esp since her twin has a positive dx......I would just feel terrible if that is what it is and we miss it....thank you soo much"....some docs have such attitudes....However, I am lucky b/c my peditrician says "if a mom asks for it then I do it b/c mom's "know" if something is wrong and they are rarely wrong".....I sure wish you success...and i hope that your little girl gets to feeling better soon and I do hope that the Zantac fixes the problem for good.....but if it doesn't, keep fighting for your DD...your are her best advocate....and congrats on your son's growth....Ina did the same thing, it was sooo exciting, I was always like get on the scale honey...oh look you have gained another pound....she also began to sleep through the night and she had never done that before on a regular basis....I think the pain and discomfort kept her from resting well.....her quality of life greatly improved once on the diet....
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Connie, mom to Ina, 13 y/o with CD