Celiac Test Done: High IGA and IGM Levels: Is This Precursor to ...

[Astrongtower]

Last year I went to a Doctor for Low Testosterone. Only because I thought I had low testosterone. I told him that I was not feeling on top of my game and that my dad had celiac.

Well he order a complete panel of like everything. The lab bill was like 1500.00 dollars. Covered by insurance thankfully.

Everything turned out fine and I did not have low testosterone.

Except I had an elevated IGA levels. He was perplexed by this and had me see a Hematologist immediately.

I did not know these Doctors usually work at the Cancer centers so when I called I kind of freaked out and started to think I had cancer.

In any rate the Hematologist looked at me after seeing my results and just look at me like I was dumb and why am I not all enjoying my life and why are you acting like all Hypochondriac like. I was kind of offended but I did not say anything.

So far I have had like 5 complete blood work tests done. I did not feel comfortable with this Doctor entirely so I went back to my primary doctor which I have two of them and they both ran complete tests.

All test come back fine except that I have elevated IGA mainly and a little elevated IGM.

I even went to an allergist certified doctor which told me that clinically that elevated IGA means nothing.

My primary doctor says that is what just makes you, you. That these results are based on a bell curve and that sometimes people are outliers. Is this true in my case?

Questions:

What does elevated IGA mean exactly?

What does elevated IGM mean exactly?

What does “An apparent polyclonal gammopathy: IgA and IgM. Kappa and lambda
typing appear increased.” mean exactly?

What does “The SPE pattern appears essentially unremarkable. Evidence of
monoclonal protein is not apparent.” mean exactly?

Is this anything I should worry about or do I just simply ignore this and move on with my life?

Does this have anything to with allergies or chronic sinusitis possibly? Because I have read up on this and have found that it might be do to that and I do have bad sinuses.

If everything is fine now, can everything stay fine or does this mean I can develop “Multiple Myeloma” or some form of “cancer” in the future based on these results? I mean I know everyone has a chance of getting cancer I am just wondering if I have an increased chance or something based on these results.

I am asking this because it just doesn’t seem like any of my Doctors either are not really concerned by this or just don’t really know what to make of it. I wish they could just tell me exactly what it is and what I should either prepare for or not prepare for.

I have seen the following Doctors:

Two primary doctors
One hematologist
Allergist
Endocrinologist

And have also had an ultra sound and a CT scan of my pelvis and stomach because I believe I have IBS instead of Celiac Disease like my Father.

So please let me know what I should do or what I should know.

Results:

2014 – March

Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum 710 High mg/dL 91 − 414 01
Endomysial Antibody IgA Negative Negative 01

2014 – April

Beta Globulin 1.4 High g/dL 0.6 − 1.3 01
Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum 721 High mg/dL 91 − 414 01
Immunoglobulin M, Qn, Serum 271 High mg/dL 40 − 230 01
THE SPE PATTERN APPEARS ESSENTIALLY UNREMARKABLE.EVIDENCE OF MONOCLONAL PROTEIN IS NOT APPARENT.

2014 – October

Beta Globulin 1.4 High g/dL 0.6 - 1.3 01
Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum 753 High mg/dL 91 - 414 01
Immunoglobulin M, Qn, Serum 270 High mg/dL 40 - 230 01
P E Interpretation, S 01 The SPE pattern appears essentially unremarkable. Evidence of
monoclonal protein is not apparent.

I have the two from my primary doctor but they just say elevated IGA and they are not worried about it.
All of these blood tests have much more information and tests on them but they are all normal so I didn’t bother putting them up here.

I am just wondering is my Doctors not telling me something because they do not want to get me down or depressed. By telling me that this can turn into something or is it truly something not to worry about?

I have seen many Doctors. Do any of you know of anyone else that I can go to that can truly tell me what these results mean?

Also can you explain to me where I can post these results to where I can get some answers and also do you know anything about these results?

Thank you for your time and I greatly appreciate your feedback.

---------- Post added at 17:16 ---------- Previous post was at 15:42 ----------


Now this I am VERY interested in, I tested high for serum igA level too, this was after testing high for Vitamin B12 on 3 different blood tests without supplementation..

I also saw a Hematologist about these readings because as I am sure you have read one immunoglobin being high might indicate multiple myeloma....however that is a fake high caused by paraprotein, I got informed that that was also tested with the other immunoglobins shortly after and was fine.

The hematologist found nothing wrong with me by the way, felt my nodes, spleen and tapped my whole body lol then ran lots of blood testing but all was clear and fine and I was discharged.

I also like you had a celiac panel done, but that was negative just the iga alone high.

Have you found anything else out about your Elevated IGA?

Anyone else have any more or new information on this topic?

[nomorepanic]

I really don't think we are going to know the answers as we are not doctor's.

Why can't you go back with these questions to your doctor and ask them?

[Astrongtower]

I really don't think we are going to know the answers as we are not doctor's.

Why can't you go back with these questions to your doctor and ask them?

I ask them and all they say is:

that there is nothing to worry about.

that this means clinically nothing.

...

I just feel they should be able to give me better information.

I was hoping someone on here could point me to some better information that I could study or look at.

[PanchoGoz]

They just tell you that as it would take them a long time to explain it and you might still not get it if they did. You have to be pragmatic and accept that you don't have, and don't need all the answers. Your anxiety is making your probe into this more than you should and it is better for you to take their word on it. You risk people giving you incorrect information on here.

[Astrongtower]

They just tell you that as it would take them a long time to explain it and you might still not get it if they did. You have to be pragmatic and accept that you don't have, and don't need all the answers. Your anxiety is making your probe into this more than you should and it is better for you to take their word on it. You risk people giving you incorrect information on here.

But what if it is because I am allergic to Gluten or Dogs and Cats and this is creating a problem?

I also do not want it to turn into cancer ...

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

[Fishmanpa]

I ask them and all they say is:

that there is nothing to worry about.

that this means clinically nothing.

...

I just feel they should be able to give me better information.

I was hoping someone on here could point me to some better information that I could study or look at.


Then it means

"that there is nothing to worry about.

that this means clinically nothing."

End of story. What are you doing to treat your anxiety?

Positive thoughts

[PanchoGoz]

If I were in your situation I would forget all about it. But if I had health anxiety I would probably struggle to take my mind off it - which is the difference between this being and anxiety over healthy concern. You can get caught up in researching this and trying to work it out but you could come to any number of conclusions. The doctor would know if it had anything to do with cancer. And if you developed any sort of cancer you would know from symptoms.
When you have a lot tests done on your body, odd things will be found. They found polyps in my gallbladder a few years ago, and I forgot all about it and nothing has come of it, like they predicted. You have to leave this in the professionals' hands and focus on changing your anxious thought patterns.

[Astrongtower]

Then it means

"that there is nothing to worry about.

that this means clinically nothing."

End of story. What are you doing to treat your anxiety?

Positive thoughts

I agree. So you think this is leading into anxiety more so than an actually health concern?


If I were in your situation I would forget all about it. But if I had health anxiety I would probably struggle to take my mind off it - which is the difference between this being and anxiety over healthy concern. You can get caught up in researching this and trying to work it out but you could come to any number of conclusions. The doctor would know if it had anything to do with cancer. And if you developed any sort of cancer you would know from symptoms.
When you have a lot tests done on your body, odd things will be found. They found polyps in my gallbladder a few years ago, and I forgot all about it and nothing has come of it, like they predicted. You have to leave this in the professionals' hands and focus on changing your anxious thought patterns.

True. I think when I have my next appointment with the Hematologist and they say everything is fine I am going to forget all about it unless new symptoms arise.

Do you also think this is more an anxiety issue than a health issue?

[PanchoGoz]

That would be a good attitude.

Yes, I thought I'd said as much. You should notice that your mind strays to this more often than you would like and it lingers in the back of your mind throughout the day whereas people not suffering from anxiety could drop the issue as they see fit. Are you getting any help for your anxiety?

[Astrongtower]

That would be a good attitude.

Yes, I thought I'd said as much. You should notice that your mind strays to this more often than you would like and it lingers in the back of your mind throughout the day whereas people not suffering from anxiety could drop the issue as they see fit. Are you getting any help for your anxiety?

I will definitely check on my Anxiety ...

Also …

Do you think I have this:

MGUS: Monoclonal Gammopahty of Unknown Significance (MGSU)

http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/monoclonal-gammopathy-of-unknown-significance-mgus

Or has this been ruled out by my blood tests?

Or

Bacteria Sinusitis or some kind of infection or allergy that my body has been trying to fight off for over a year?

Here are a couple of links to where people having elevated IGA and the Doctors really have no idea what to make of it when no others symptoms are present.

http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/levated-IgA-with-no-explanation.aspx

http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/recurrent-respiratory-infection.aspx

Any other ideas or ways to go? I have a feeling when I see my Hematologist next week they are just going to say, looks like your results are fine, good luck be safe out there, will run a follow up next year.

That’s it with no explanation.

I just find it hard to believe that in 2014 that is the best we can do with Blood Tests.

---------- Post added at 17:24 ---------- Previous post was at 16:44 ----------

I apologize. I meant to also ask:

Do I have “polyclonal Gammopathy of Unknown Significance (MGUS)”? or is this even possible?

This is what my Blood Test says:

Immunofixation, Serum
01
Immunofixation Result, Serum
An apparent polyclonal gammopathy: IgA and IgM. Kappa and lambda typing appear increased.

Result:

P E Interpretation, S
01
The SPE pattern appears essentially unremarkable. Evidence of monoclonal protein is not apparent.

It doesn’t mention anything of “Monoclonal” just “Polyclonal”

That is why I was wondering if this possibly existed:

polyclonal Gammopathy of Unknown Significance (MGUS)

or when:

“The SPE pattern appears essentially unremarkable. Evidence of monoclonal protein is not apparent.”

Cancels all this out …

Do you understand what I am trying to say?

[nomorepanic]

There is no way anyone on here is qualified to answer your questions as I said before and you need to stop googling to be honest.

[PanchoGoz]

As Nick says.

[Fishmanpa]

Strong Tower,

With all due respect, look into getting some help with your anxiety. This same subject started your posting and there's nothing in the close to 5 months since that indicates you're physically ill. The mere complexity, length of your posts and the inordinate amount of time you're investing into researching every single aspect of your tests despite several medical professionals telling you're fine indicates an issue that's not of the physical.

Positive thoughts

[Astrongtower]

There is no way anyone on here is qualified to answer your questions as I said before and you need to stop googling to be honest.

I am not looking for direct answers but at least some information like websites or people that may be able to give me some insight. Because you keep telling me to go to my Doctors but they do not say anything to me because they do not know what IgA is. That is why I am on the internet looking for answers.

If my Doctor could say ...

This is why your IgA is high and this is what you can or cannot do about it. I would say thank you have a nice day. But they can't.

So what would you do if you where in my situation?


As Nick says.

I am not looking for direct answers but at least some information like websites or people that may be able to give me some insight. Because you keep telling me to go to my Doctors but they do not say anything to me because they do not know what IgA is. That is why I am on the internet looking for answers.

If my Doctor could say ...

This is why your IgA is high and this is what you can or cannot do about it. I would say thank you have a nice day. But they can't.

So what would you do if you where in my situation?


Strong Tower,

With all due respect, look into getting some help with your anxiety. This same subject started your posting and there's nothing in the close to 5 months since that indicates you're physically ill. The mere complexity, length of your posts and the inordinate amount of time you're investing into researching every single aspect of your tests despite several medical professionals telling you're fine indicates an issue that's not of the physical.

Positive thoughts

I do agree with this. I have no serious symptoms even since all of my posts on this site. All just minor annoyances I think everyone has in life.

I should probably figure out how to deal with my Anxiety above all else.

Thank You.

[nomorepanic]

Well you probably know more about it than anyone if you have been googling.

What I am saying is that no-one on this website can help you with that information.

What would I do - get on with living !

[PanchoGoz]

I haven't told you once to go to your doctors and you already asked me what I would do in your situation and my answer is still the same - absolutely nothing, I couldn't care less what IgA is and I wouldn't mind it being a bit high if it wants to be, as long as someone has said you're fine.

We seem to be going round in circles so I'll leave it there - let us know please when you decide to deal with your anxiety and how you are going about it. Best wishes.

[Fishmanpa]

IGA is a supermarket chain around here ;) To say that a medical professional does not know what IgA is? C'mon... 8+ years of school may not give them the entire encyclopedia of medical knowledge but they know enough to know it's of no concern and feel no need to elaborate. If it was, do you think you would be walking out of the office? Seriously, think about that.

I would really look into some counseling, CBT, meds or a combination thereof to get a handle of your anxiety issues. At 33, you should be out there living life.

Positive thoughts and good luck!

[Astrongtower]

Well you probably know more about it than anyone if you have been googling.

What I am saying is that no-one on this website can help you with that information.

What would I do - get on with living !


I haven't told you once to go to your doctors and you already asked me what I would do in your situation and my answer is still the same - absolutely nothing, I couldn't care less what IgA is and I wouldn't mind it being a bit high if it wants to be, as long as someone has said you're fine.

We seem to be going round in circles so I'll leave it there - let us know please when you decide to deal with your anxiety and how you are going about it. Best wishes.


IGA is a supermarket chain around here ;) To say that a medical professional does not know what IgA is? C'mon... 8+ years of school may not give them the entire encyclopedia of medical knowledge but they know enough to know it's of no concern and feel no need to elaborate. If it was, do you think you would be walking out of the office? Seriously, think about that.

I would really look into some counseling, CBT, meds or a combination thereof to get a handle of your anxiety issues. At 33, you should be out there living life.

Positive thoughts and good luck!

Hey Guys ...

I actually had someone post some really great stuff on another forum. I actually think I might have a way to go on getting closer to finding out what this is.

If anything I think it might be:

Connected Tissue Disease

I actually have hypo-tropic scar from an injury and some benign growths.

Here is the post, tell me what you think ...

Post:

Once you get into discussions of polyclonal gammopathies, you're getting into areas that aren't really the expertise of people here. MGUS, smoldering myeloma, and multiple myeloma are monoclonal gammopathies most of the time. When it comes to figuring out what the cause of polyclonal gammopathies might be, I suspect you're going to have to get advice somewhere else.

This is a good initial source to start understanding differences between monoclonal and polyclonal gammopathies:

treatment O'Connell et al., "Understanding and Interpreting Serum Protein Electrophoresis (http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0101/p105.html)," American Family Physician, Jan 1, 2005 (full text)

You'll see that it says the following:


It is extremely important to differentiate monoclonal from polyclonal gammopathies. Monoclonal gammopathies are associated with a clonal process that is malignant or potentially malignant. In contrast, polyclonal gammopathies may be caused by any reactive or inflammatory process, and they usually are associated with nonmalignant conditions."

This Mayo study discusses some of the usual diagnoses associated with polyclonal gammopathies:

A Dispenzieri et al., "Retrospective cohort study of 148 patients with polyclonal gammopathy (http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196%2811%2962913-3/fulltext)," Mayo Clinic Proceedings, May 2001 (abstract)

You can find summaries of the study at these two links:

http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/media/articles/communique/mar2002.pdf
http://www.wikilite.com/wiki/index.php/Classification_of_diseases_with_increased_immunogl obulins

and it's also discussed (along with some other insights) by a physician here:

http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/asymptomatic.aspx

In general, these sources suggest that either liver disease or a group of conditions known as "connective tissue diseases" seem like the most likely candidates. If the source of a problem is an infection, then it could resolve itself with time.

My sense is that you should discuss your blood test results some more with your primary care physician first, perhaps sharing with them some of the results of your research (in a way that is going to be easy for them to digest quickly). Since you don't seem to be showing symptoms that are sending up major warning flags, both of you may decide to wait 6 months and then run some blood tests again. That would seem a reasonable plan to me.

If you happen to track down the source of the polyclonal gammopathy at some point, I'd certain be interested to know what it is and how it was determined.

Good luck!

[MyNameIsTerry]

IGA & IGM are antibodies.

Go back to your original concern of coeliac. IGA can appear low in cases of this, which doesn't make sense for you as yours is higher than average. So, if you were coeliac this doesn't sounds connected but thats one for a medical professional as in a specialist not a so much a GP.

IGM is produced to tackle antigens so in having an elevated IGM it could indicate that they have been fighting something off. You said yourself that you have been under the weather so could this be because they had been fighting off some form of virus or infection?

Bell curves are all about scoring averages and seeing who or what is out of range and then to determine why. The only question in a medical context is whether by being an outlier you outside of an acceptable range of normality. I would expect the specialists you saw to have seen this in their tests and made a decision based on it.

I agree with you in terms of GP's, they can be vague and sometimes, despite what people may think, they do make mistakes and get things wrong. I've seen plenty of evidence of this. But what I would further say is that you have accessed far more qualified people who specialise in these fields and they would know exactly what all this meant.

You are right though, you are entitled to information. Gone are the days of blindly trusting doctors. You could press that issue over the elevation but I would suspect its more due to not being an expert in that field and received a report back that says everything is ok and a GP may not be qualified to discuss the finer points.

The question for me though is, how do you feel? Do you feel fine and you are chasing this regardless when the original reason has now gone?

Personally, I think I would give it more attention is my antibidies were low as opposed to higher or slightly higher, Just remember that its all averages and even as an outlier, as long as you are within an acceptable range, you are still ok like everyone else who is a spot on average...we will all likely be dots on or around that average.

[Vigilante]

Thanks for the link Terry.

I cannot agree with some posters on the thread or the gp's which say this result means nothing and I also believe we should not blind trust our gp either.

I do not have the results in front of me but I was tested again recently for Immunoglobulins as part of another investigation and again my igA was Elevated at around the same level as last time and has never been normal as yet.

my B12 is now almost double the upper reference range at 1150 (191-663) without taking any B12 and also knowing that diet cannot give levels that high.

I got sent a letter from my gp surgery asking me to make an appointment to discuss this, upon discussing it they are doing a big fat ziltch again.

I was tested for the blood cancers, bone marrow cancers as I said before and do not have those, I do however have symptoms and sensations of something, which right now I suspect may well be an autoimmune disease of some type, however I am being refused a referal to a Rheumatologist.

Autoimmune falls into connective tissue diseases?

One of my more bothersome symptoms is tingling/burning of hands and feet (neuropathy) which comes and goes over long periods of time. the nhs web site suggests possible causes of this condition I am negative for most of those to my knowledge but there are two on the list, blood cancers and autoimmine conditions like lupus which can potentially cause this symptom, anxiety however is not listed on there.

[Astrongtower]

Hello Everyone!

I’m back and I’m still here. However, I have some questions.

My Doctor said I was on the borderline now. So I pressed him harder and asked him what did he mean and he said since I am on the max level of 20 on my Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgA that I should go Gluten Free now. As all of you know this is a big life changing thing. No more bread, pizza, sub way sandwiches, pasty, Italian food, etc. etc. The list goes on forever. I know I can make adjustments and I am prepared to, however I want to make sure I am reading all this correctly.

I am just still unsure if I will have celiac or have it now just the precursor, or do I just have an insensitivity to gluten. Keep it light but I can manage it.

I am little confused.

Do I go gluten free because I will get Celiac Disease if I don’t?

Questions…

1-Do I have Celiac Disease or not?
2-If I don’t, does it looking like I am getting it?
3-What should I do?
4-Can you be in between it? Meaning can I be sensitive to gluten but yet eat it a little bit in moderation?
5-If I went 1 year off gluten, repaired my bloodwork numbers, and had little bits of bread here and there with gluten would I be okay?
6-My dad had celiac or thinks that he does, he never officially did the biopsy, however, he had lying on the floor pain to where he wanted to kill himself. Now that he is gluten free he never has that pain again. I have never experienced anything close to this. Will I?
7-Am I missing anything else from these results, does high iga or Ab, iga mean anything else with no other symptoms?

Note:

I have ibs out bursts, low intestine problems for sure off and on. Headaches sometimes. I am thinking that if I go off gluten anyway I am probably going to feel 1000 percent better. So I am thinking about trying it anyway, however its not the end of the world and I could keep eating loads of gluten, if everything stayed the same. However, if this blood work looks like I am heading for a on the floor screaming in pain session later in life, I mine as well take care of it now.

All my other full comp labs came back normal besides my slightly high bad cholesterol.

PLEASE HELP ME BECAUSE I AM SO CONFUSED. ANYTHING YOU CAN DO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. PLEASE SEE ALL MY RESULTS BELOW RELATING TO CELIAC.

History of results:

2011

HDL Cholesterol = 32 L

Should be >39

2013

IgA = 682 H / Should be 68 - 379

Endo = Negative

tTg Ab, IgA = 8.3 / Should be <20

Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgG = 9.2 / should be <20

Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgA = 10.0 / should be <20

tTG Ab, IgG = 6.5 / Should be <20

2014

IgA = 608 / Should be 68 - 379

Endo = Negative

tTg Ab, IgA = 11.9 / Should be <20

Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgG = 9.7 / should be <20

Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgA = 12.1 / should be <20

tTG Ab, IgG = 10.1 / Should be <20

2014 – Different Test

CCP Antibodies IgG/IgA = 12 / should be 0 – 19

2014 – Different Test

Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum = 710 / should be 91 – 414

2014 – Different Test

Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum = 721 / should be 91 – 414

Immunoglobulin M, Qn, Serum = 271 / should be 40 - 230

2014 – Different Test [Later in the year]

Immunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum = 753 / should be 91 – 441

Immunoglobulin M, Qn, Serum = 270 / should be 40 – 230

2017

Immunoglobulin A = 690 / should be 68 – 379

Endomysial Screen = Negative

tTG Ab, IgA = 2 / should be <4

Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgG = 2 / should be <20

Gliadin Peptide Ab, IgA = 20 / should be <20

tTG Ab, IgG = 1 / should be <6

Cholesterol = 123 / should be 125 – 200

HDL Cholesterol = 29 / should be >40

[bcox1776]

Hi all,

I have also have an elecared IgA. I am also worried about multiple myeloma (I'm only 28, I don't know how likely this is). My first results was an IgA of 622. I asked my doctor she said we can retest it, but not to worry it's only bad if it's low. They retested it and it had reduced to 581, with IgG and IgM both normal. Also my ANA panel was negative. So is this something I should worry about?