Celiac testing result question

[Alvenchrst]

Hi everyone,

A few months back I was experiencing depression so I saw a naturopath and I responded VERY well to high doses of vitamin D and a multivitamin.  They also did some testing and I'm a little confused about my results specifically to the Celiac testing.  I've already been back in to the naturopath twice and I don't want to go in a third time to talk about the results.  Truth is it's very expensive, time consuming, and I really actually disliked the "bedside manner" of the Dr.  I'm hoping some of you with experience might be able to help me out. 

My anti-glandin IgA and IgG both came back very low (negative)  and my tTg-IgA which is supposed to be the most sensitive came back with a mild positive at 17.  (positive is anything above 15.) 

I know naturopath's set their markers for what's "normal" in testing much more conservatively then medical doctors do.  I'm wondering if anyone knows what the "normal range" for the tTg-IgA is according to a medical doctor.  Since cutting out gluten when I actually don't have hardly any of the symptoms is such a huge commitment, I really want to know where I stand.  Do I have a more mild intolerance, or true celiac's disease?

Any help or input would be much appreciated, thank you!!

[SundayCrepes]

My understanding is you can only truly diagnose celiacs with an intestinal biopsy. The blood tests just show which people are more likely to have the disease. Also, that is only for actual celiacs. I believe it is estimated that as many as 30% of the population are gluten sensitive.

We put our 2 year old on a gluten free diet when we heard it might help her speech. Three weeks later he language took off. Because we feel the diet is healthier (as long as you stay away from the processed, packaged foods) and not that big a deal, we decided to stay on it. Since then we have eliminated dairy, cane sugar, and tomatoes from her life and she stopped having diarrhea.

Anyway, I like the gluten free diet and am happy to share info with you. What I've read is if you are uncertain of your status is to go gluten free for two months and see if you feel any different. Or in two months you reintroduce gluten and see if you feel worse.

Here are some resources for gluten free recipes:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

http://spiceandmore.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/an-exciting-discovery/

[luckiest]

Why not go g-free for a month or two and see how you feel? As long as you don't replace with GF versions of crap foods (like pretzels and cookies) and you don't replace the calories with sugar (eat more protein and fat instead), it's a healthier diet even if you aren't truly celiac. 

[Namaste Amma]

If I were you I'd head to the celiac.com forums and post your story, symptoms, and test results including the ranges of each, and see what they come up with. Many of the regulars there have a lot of experience and information. Gluten intolerance and celiac are nothing to mess with. If you have either, eating gluten is a danger to your health regardless of whether you experience symptoms now. IAlternatively, you could do a 3 month trial (typically it's recommended to give it 3 months) and see how you feel.