Parietal antibodies and mitochondrial anti bodies

[Sarah263]

Hi there, I'm nearly 18 and about 10 years ago I have been suffering from severe stomach pain. It was mild when I was younger and I used to get given lansoprazole/ ranitidine as my dad used to get the similar pain and those medicines worked for him. However as years have gone by the pain has become worse. I get the pain every two weeks and become severely bloated (I feel like I have lots of trapped wind) the pain is much worse on the right side and is centred on my abdomen. The pain is so bad that I cannot go sleep and I even get two hot water bottles for my back and stomach and just cry. I've been to the doctors many many times, but they cannot do anything as my test results have come back normal. Last year I went for an endoscopy, lactose intolerant breath test, blood tests for coeliac (as I have two cousins who have coeliac) etc etc. I have also watched what I eat and have noticed that foods that contain gluten are a main trigger so i have completely eliminated them from my diet. My symptoms have gotten better however they're still there. If gluten is the culprit and I am not eating it anymore, why do I still get the pain? And also back in 2012 I was referred to the hospital for headaches and went through some tests, the paediatrician had told me that unintentionally on the bloods they found that I had a positive gastric parietal antibody result and a positive mitochondrial anti body result, and then she went on to tell me that I should be checked for coeliac. Can anyone tell me the link between these antibodies and coeliac. I have been tested for coeliac 3 times in total and all the results have come back normal. When looking at symptoms my symptoms are closely matched with that of coeliacs. The doctor has also mentioned IBS, yet when given tablets (mebeverine, busocpan, dysocloverine) they do not work. Please may someone help me as I cannot cope with the pain anymore and my surgery is on Medicare which means there's no one doctor so i see several, which means I have to repeat myself again again with no consistency of care. Thank you

[Zelda5]

Antimotocondrial antibodies (AMA) are related to Primary Billiary Cirrhosis (PBC) or as recently renamed Primary Billiary Cholangitis and it is liver related. If you have elevated liver enzymes and positive AMA's that can be enough to diagnose PBC. You might want to find a Hepatologist and have that investigated further. If you have one autoimmune disease you can be prone to get another, but Im not saying you will have another, so if you carry these antibodies its worth ruling out if you are still positive and what is causing it. I did find this about the gastric antibody scripps.org/articles/1269-a.... I am AMA positive also, but my biopsy didnt show PBC but confirmed a fatty liver. They are still watching my enzymes every 6 months. There is also a PBC forum on here you can join, but if you look up PBC online don't let it scare you some of the info can often times be outdated. Some people with PBC will also have celiacs they sometimes coexist together, but going by what you've said it seems that celiac has been ruled out, so the pain your having could be caused by something else. Hope this was helpful.

[Hidden]

Hello Sarah263,

Welcome to our forum and sorry to hear that you are feeling so unwell.

Do you have Hashimotos Thyroiditis? One autoimmune disease usually gives cause for others and gastric parietal antibodies and mitochondrial antibodies could be linked.

Parietal antibodies can interfere with absorbtion of B12 leading to PA.

Mitochondrial antibodies an effect your liver.

Whilst these autoimmune diseases need to be kept in check, remember a lot of people have them and don't even realise. It is helpful to eat a clean gluten free diet and practice a healthy life style to reduce a high antibody count.

I would recommend having your B12, Vit D, Folate and Ferritin blood tested and post results complete with ranges (numbers in brackets) for members to comment. Remember a doctors "normal" or " in range" may not be the optimal result that members advocate.

Celiac disease antibodies don't always show so you might have symptoms but difficulty in being diagnosed. A biopsy is more reliable.

Flower007

[MidnightBlue]

Completely eliminating gluten is harder than people think! you can be eating gluten by using the toaster or using the same butter as other family members (contaminated with bread crumbs). Gluten can even be in lipstick. if you have 2 family members who are celiac, and have other auto immune antibodies, I think you are wise to exclude gluten.

[acunatang]

Even if not coeliac you can be gluten intolerant which does not show up in tests but can be just as debilitating! I would remove dairy products from your diet for a month, then re introduce to see if you have a reaction, you can be intolerant to the proteins in the milk/cheese etc not just the lactose! There are plenty of foods with calcium to have instead, all leafy green veg, almonds, sesame seeds, dried apricots, fortified soya milk! But you must eliminate dairy completely, as, if you have intolerance. a teaspoon of the suspected food will do the same damage as a bucket full!! If you want more info on dairy ingredients to avoid please send me private message! Good luck

[Marz]

healthunlocked.com/api/redi...

Hope you soon feel better....

[Hidden]

Ask for to see endocrinologist. Endo should understand what is going on. The parietal cell thing can be b12 unable to absorbe. The whole thing is about your immune system what has attacked your tissues and tissues cannot work anymore.

[Hidden]

If you have parietal antibodies has your serum gastrin and your antibodies against intrinsic factor been checked? The fact that you have parietal antiobdies suggests that you have autoimmune gastritis, which is the precursor disease to pernicious anemia, and can remain "chronic" for years. The antibodies are to cells in the lining of your stomach, which are gradually destroyed.

But the fact that you have such severe pain and that it is getting worse surely means that you need to be referred to a good gastroenterologist and have a full investigation. You probably have another condition in addition to AIG. Celiac has been ruled out, I would forget about gluten if getting rid of it has not improved anything. The first answer you got here sounded very promising.

[wedgewood]

Lanzoprazole inhibits absorbtion of vitamin B12 which has many symptoms.(google them) I had similar tummy symptoms to you. I have had huge success with a water-based liquid probiotic called SYMPROVE. It has eliminated my tummy problems. I have PERNICIOUS ANAEMIA which leads to the tummy problems Pain. bloating etc.Try a probiotic-It's harmless Don't know if you can get Symprove in the U.S. I am in U.K. But you must have something similar.over there. The very best of luck to you.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Sounds a bit like gall bladder problems, as well what everyone else has said. Have you spent a lot of time on a low fat diet?

[Chancery]

The antibodies mean you are very likely to have coeliac disease, so it will depend when you took your coeliac tests and if you were eating sufficient wheat beforehand. You need to be eating it at at least two meals a day for six weeks prior to the testing. If you had cut it back, or even stopped it, before testing then the test results stand a good chance of being false negatives. It is possible that because you are very young still, coeliac disease will not have done enough damage to show yet and might not show up in a biopsy, although that is the gold standard test.

The only other thing that strikes me is your pain sounds very like an attack of biliary colic caused by gallstones. Once these become symptomatic they will strike every couple of weeks, or even more often, usually triggered by a fatty meal, but not always (things like chocolate or coffee will trigger them too, if you are sensitive to those). The pain is severe and strikes in the breastbone, upper chest, right through to the back. It feels like a crushing pressure very similar to a heart attack or very bad wind, except it cannot be relieved by rubbing it. A hot water bottle will ease it providing it is not a full-blown attack. Nothing eases those!

If you have noticed you are burping more often or more violently and if you have greyish or pale floating poop, then you almost certainly have a gallbladder problem. Those things can sneak up on you and you just consider them normal, particularly if you are taking medication, but foamy, floaty, pale or fatty stools are a sure sign of gallbladder problems.

If you didn't have your gallbladder ultrasound scanned then you should. It's a simple exam and will tell you definitively if you have gallstones.

If it's not your gallbladder, I definitely wouldn't rule out coeliac. I think you need more extensive testing. You are in the US, I think?, so it would be easy for you to get full coeliac testing done by Cyrex, or a coeliac gene test, which would give you a better idea of whether you are likely to have it.

P.S. As you are on the thyroid forum, I take it you may have a thyroid problem? If so, you are much more likely to have gallstones than a 'normal' person - the two things almost go hand in hand!