Help with t-Transglutaminase Ab, IgA blood results please

[tmoxon]

Hi Just looking at my blood results, they were 11 with the range at 0 - 15.

I have tried to search for what this means on the web but I am still confused, do these mean I am still getting gluten from somewhere as I am very strict, don't have it in the house.

When I search on the internet the only thing that I can see the test relating to is in the diagnosis of CD but I have diagnosis so I am unsure why the doctor took this test. Thanks for any help

[Regalbirdy]

Hi tmoxon.

My understanding is that it takes some time for these results to revert back to normal. 12 months on from going GF, mine are still above the desired range.

I can't remember what is considered normal for IgA (maybe someone else would know that) but I seem to remember that my endochronologist told me that normal for Ttg is 10 and under.

Hope this helps.

Have a happy New Year.

[tmoxon in reply to Regalbirdy]

Thank you Regalbirdy, I will have been totally GF for 3 years in March but am not sure whether the range is what everyone ( general population without CD) would have or whether these tests only have a score if you have CD and your antibodies are still reacting to gluten, I still have the dreadful DH. Thanks for replying and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year.

[sassyl in reply to tmoxon]

Hi TMoxon, The doc continues to take these tests yearly to check if you are still compliant with a GF diet. A range of 0-15 is normal, anything over this is not good and shows that you are not fully GF. So your score of 11 shows that you are gluten free, but possibly have some gluten in your diet. The fact you still have DH would confirm that. I would check for some cross-contamination, unless you can put it down to a recent glutening.

[tmoxon in reply to sassyl]

Thanks for clarifying this for me sassyl, not sure where I am getting any gluten in my diet from, my husband has stopped eating it now, he may have been eating small amounts when I had the bloods done, but it would be very rarely. I havent felt well since I was diagnosed so dont have any oats, codex or anything made in factory from wheat, I also dont have some things that coeliac uk say are ok such as bisto best gravy. My bread is from lifestyle who advised that it was less than 4ppm. Only other things I have regularly which are processed are wine and chocolate ( normally cadburys twirl). Thanks again

[sallydogsmum in reply to tmoxon]

Try cutting out wine..........it's processed with wheat! I can't drink it myself - nor Kopperberg cider as it's 4ppm (I'm really sad about this as it's sooooooo lovely) - , it causes problems pretty quickly, but I can drink white rum as it's made from sugar. I can't tolerate any of the 'GF' products either as they often contain gluten above the level I'm comfortable with (it's about less then 3ppm, sadly). We're all different. Hope this helps.

[KathrynS_UK in reply to sallydogsmum]

My Mom cannot tolerate wine anymore, but Lambrini seems to cause no effects

[tmoxon in reply to sallydogsmum]

Thanks Sallydogsmum, I read your post after I had a glass of red last night, we tend to have a glass with the evening meal. Just bought loads in the special offers. I will cut it out and see if it makes any difference. Blisters on knees last night and I was up at 6.30 am this morning as they irritated me I couldn't lie in bed any longer. I do enjoy a drink and have made a sherry trifle for New Years day which I will still eat as its my favourite. Just hope the sherry is ok ( Harvey's). I know that CUK say that wine is fine but then they say that malt vinegar and cereals with barley in them are ok as well so I started looking at the Australian site. I wondered about wine before but when I saw on the Australian CD site ( they seem to be stricter than the UK one) that they also said it was GF I continued to drink it. I have to say I will miss it but think of the money we will save. Thanks again for the help

[sallydogsmum in reply to tmoxon]

I'm having wine tonight! I know I'll regret it and set myself back months, but it's New Year!!

[freelancer in reply to tmoxon]

Wine isn't always a problem though. I understand the main gluten-related problems are with oaked wines like Chardonnay, where wheat paste is apparently used to seal the oak barrels, though it can also be used in the clarifying process.

I hadn't thought about this until now but I used to drink Australian Chardonnay a few years ago (pre-GF) and always used to feel very dehydrated, so I now wonder if that was at the root of it. Now I drink NZ Sauvignon blanc regularly with no ill effects (and I'm pretty reactive). So it might just be a case of changing types.

[tmoxon in reply to freelancer]

Thanks Freelancer, I remembered this morning that I had suspected wine as making me feel ill before, then have gone away on holiday and drunk red wine every night ( only in small amounts) and have not had any ill effects so therefore discounted it. Think I might need to contact the supermarkets where I get my wine from to see if they can advise me about their wines. We have just stocked up on it with the discounts being offered so probably have enough to last till next Christmas, or longer if I cant drink it. Unfortunately I haven't kept any records about the ones which have effected me. Seen this morning that there is an organic South African red at 5.99 a bottle which is labelled as GF. I am having some white sparkling wine with my New Year day dinner so will see how I feel afterwards. Thanks for your help

[urbangirl in reply to tmoxon]

I used to love red wine and still do but over the last year don't fancy it at as much and sometimes prefer white wine which I used to dislike. Sometimes red wine seems to hurt me - could be the grape I suppose. This change synchronizes with going GF, or getting older. However, last night I drank shed loads of the stuff ....bit fragile today! but I think that is over indulgence! Was good fun - Happy New Year everyone!

[KathrynS_UK in reply to tmoxon]

I'd try and steer clear of anything with any ppm. Surely there would be a cumulative affect the more you eat? i.e. 1 piece of bread at 4ppm, then a biscuit at 5ppm, followed by a cracker at 10ppm

[tmoxon in reply to KathrynS_UK]

Hi Kathryn thanks for the advice, never thought the fact that if you have lots of different things all with a bit of gluten in then that means you are getting more gluten than you had thought. I don't buy a lot of processed goods, other than pasta products, flour and prescription non codex bread. I make all of my own pastries and biscuits etc. But then does the flour have gluten in it? My dermatologist said that getting rid of gluten is like trying to rid the world of black ink, virtually impossible. I suppose that I should give up my bread and have fruit for breakfast and give up grains, but it would be very difficult for me. I will definitely give up the wine for a month and then have a glass to see if I am affected, bit sad about it especially since its New Years eve. Thanks and have a Happy New Year