# Lab Result shows Immunoglobulin A - High , need help!



## vracing (Jan 26, 2011)

First off, this is my first post. I'd like to say hi and that I am very thankful that such a forum and community exists.I've been having occasional abdominal pains for years. Recently (about 2-3 months ago), I've started having lower abdominal pains every single day and for the first time I've been having constipation every day since 2-3 months ago with occasional diarrhea.I had a lab test done recently on H Pylori and Celiac disease which came back negative. I've aslo had a test done for Immunoglobulin A.Immunoglobulin A came back as HIGH with a result of "561". The normal reference interval is 70-400.My question is - what kind of tests can I order to follow up on this HIGH result? Googling it shows that it may be a food allergy. I recently stopped eating all dairy food and my abdominal pain cleared up 80%...but still have like 20% abdominal pain..so it hasn't cleared up completely.I'm not sure it is a food allergy, or maybe not solely a food allergy. So please if you know what tests I can do to eliminate some things that can go with a HIGH Immunoglobulin result I'd really appreciate it..Thank you..


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## everythingishorrible (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi,Welcome. I'm new myself too Immunoglobulin A in the high range could indicate a few things. Firstly, if your doc thinks it could be a food allergy, why don't you ask to see an allergy specialist for a full blood panel for food/environmental allergies? I had one done recently; they just took a few tubes of blood and I got a full-page print out of all my allergies. Easy as pie! They typically test for the most common food allergies (wheat, milk, nuts, soy, etc.) and I went originally because I'd had several reactions to avocados, so they tested for that too. It was a very helpful and easy test, and I discovered I am SEVERELY and dangerously allergic to olive trees (but not olives). Weird.Anyway, the other thing to test for would be autoimmune disease. I only mention this because IBS is a very common symptom of "larger" autoimmune problems. There are hundreds of autoimmune diseases though, so there isn't one specific test for them. I have an autoimmune thyroiditis, which I've had since age 14. I also have IBS which has worsened over the years, despite my thyroid being subdued with meds. But I've noticed a lot of people having IBS with other thyroid disorders, such as autoimmune thyroiditis like Hashimoto's or simply from being hyper/hypothyroid. Testing the thyroid is easy enough--a couple tubes of blood. But if you are having significant symptoms other than the GI stuff, this could be helpful to your doctor in finding another diagnosis. Or, it could simply be that your IBS is causing an immune reaction (which it often will do) and this is what is making your immunoglobulin high.Good luck with your follow-ups and keep us posted!


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## vracing (Jan 26, 2011)

Thanks for your response!I find doctors to be no help. Went through 3 of them so far for this issue and all dismissed me with either "you're young, it's nothing. go live your life and stop worrying" (I'm 22) or "ibs. high fiber diet".Either way, none are the answers I want to hear especially since IBS seems to be something doctors diagnose you with when they can't find anything else wrong. It's not an actual disease it seems but rather 3 fancy words with translate to "we don't know what's wrong with you".Since then I've been ordering my tests online myself, including the 3 I already mentioned. I just am not an expert and I don't know all the common GI diseases that exist out there and that's where I need help to make sure I am not leaving something out. Here's what I've ordered:1. Basic food allergy test that you've mentioned.2. Stool culture3. Giardia lamblia (got that from a different thread on this forum)4. Ova and parasites examination5. Comprehensive Wellness Profile plus (basically it's the typical blood work to make sure there's something else not wrong with me).6. Yeast allergyAn another lab site, I've also ordered 2 other great tests:1. Bacterial Overgrowth breath test.2. Gastrointestinal Function (a combination of about 30-40 tests that check for many GI issues).I am going all out here. I have no insurance but will use up all my life savings at this point to fix this issue. This pain is very uncomfortable. I have days where I cannot function. Mine doesn't sound as bad as some others here, but it is still mild or worse-than-mild and there are days where all I want to do is stay in bed and sleep the entire day.Another thing I have noticed - when I wake up in the morning I usually have no symptoms and feel great. As soon as I get out of bed and stand up on my feet, I start passing gas and my pain immediately comes back. What can this be?I also have an itchy feeling sometimes in the belly area.I've ordered myself a CT scan - that came back all negative with the exception of bowel in the colon even after 12 hours after fasting..everythingishorrible, I am going to pull a list of all GI auto immune diseases and see if I missed anything. Thanks!!!


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## scottyg354 (Jan 13, 2011)

vracing said:


> Thanks for your response!I find doctors to be no help. Went through 3 of them so far for this issue and all dismissed me with either "you're young, it's nothing. go live your life and stop worrying" (I'm 22) or "ibs. high fiber diet".Either way, none are the answers I want to hear especially since IBS seems to be something doctors diagnose you with when they can't find anything else wrong. It's not an actual disease it seems but rather 3 fancy words with translate to "we don't know what's wrong with you".Since then I've been ordering my tests online myself, including the 3 I already mentioned. I just am not an expert and I don't know all the common GI diseases that exist out there and that's where I need help to make sure I am not leaving something out. Here's what I've ordered:1. Basic food allergy test that you've mentioned.2. Stool culture3. Giardia lamblia (got that from a different thread on this forum)4. Ova and parasites examination5. Comprehensive Wellness Profile plus (basically it's the typical blood work to make sure there's something else not wrong with me).6. Yeast allergyAn another lab site, I've also ordered 2 other great tests:1. Bacterial Overgrowth breath test.2. Gastrointestinal Function (a combination of about 30-40 tests that check for many GI issues).I am going all out here. I have no insurance but will use up all my life savings at this point to fix this issue. This pain is very uncomfortable. I have days where I cannot function. Mine doesn't sound as bad as some others here, but it is still mild or worse-than-mild and there are days where all I want to do is stay in bed and sleep the entire day.Another thing I have noticed - when I wake up in the morning I usually have no symptoms and feel great. As soon as I get out of bed and stand up on my feet, I start passing gas and my pain immediately comes back. What can this be?I also have an itchy feeling sometimes in the belly area.I've ordered myself a CT scan - that came back all negative with the exception of bowel in the colon even after 12 hours after fasting..everythingishorrible, I am going to pull a list of all GI auto immune diseases and see if I missed anything. Thanks!!!


I'm in the same boat. My GP recently diagnosed me with IBS. Said I am definetely constipated. I was convinced I had colon cancer or something horrible. I was passing flat stools, small hard lumpy stools, occasionaly diarrhea. I also had all kinds of other symptoms as well. Since there were no red flags doc figured I didn't need a scope. Sent me for all my blood work, I cam back Hypothyroid with a TSH of 8 or 9 i forget. Symptoms still haven't gone away, and actually my C is worse these past couple of days. Since, I am only on the first round of upping my treatment, I can only hope it will get better.I've also noticed that in the morning I feel good too,I actually pass fairly decent bm's right after breakfast, but as my day progresses my symptoms start to get worse. I feel like I may have to go but strain and very little comes out. My stomach makes noises and I have gas and I just get annoyed, rectal fullness is at its worst and night, almost impossible to pass gas (but I can pass it almost all day long.)As far as your thyroid goes check this site out, I had so many of these symptoms and still do:http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/long-and-pathetic/


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## everythingishorrible (Jan 26, 2011)

vracing said:


> Thanks for your response!I find doctors to be no help. Went through 3 of them so far for this issue and all dismissed me with either "you're young, it's nothing. go live your life and stop worrying" (I'm 22) or "ibs. high fiber diet".Either way, none are the answers I want to hear especially since IBS seems to be something doctors diagnose you with when they can't find anything else wrong. It's not an actual disease it seems but rather 3 fancy words with translate to "we don't know what's wrong with you".Since then I've been ordering my tests online myself, including the 3 I already mentioned. I just am not an expert and I don't know all the common GI diseases that exist out there and that's where I need help to make sure I am not leaving something out. Here's what I've ordered:1. Basic food allergy test that you've mentioned.2. Stool culture3. Giardia lamblia (got that from a different thread on this forum)4. Ova and parasites examination5. Comprehensive Wellness Profile plus (basically it's the typical blood work to make sure there's something else not wrong with me).6. Yeast allergyAn another lab site, I've also ordered 2 other great tests:1. Bacterial Overgrowth breath test.2. Gastrointestinal Function (a combination of about 30-40 tests that check for many GI issues).I am going all out here. I have no insurance but will use up all my life savings at this point to fix this issue. This pain is very uncomfortable. I have days where I cannot function. Mine doesn't sound as bad as some others here, but it is still mild or worse-than-mild and there are days where all I want to do is stay in bed and sleep the entire day.Another thing I have noticed - when I wake up in the morning I usually have no symptoms and feel great. As soon as I get out of bed and stand up on my feet, I start passing gas and my pain immediately comes back. What can this be?I also have an itchy feeling sometimes in the belly area.I've ordered myself a CT scan - that came back all negative with the exception of bowel in the colon even after 12 hours after fasting..everythingishorrible, I am going to pull a list of all GI auto immune diseases and see if I missed anything. Thanks!!!


Hi,Sounds like you are very proactive about figuring things out yourself. I think it's really important to be persistent about all of this... About two years ago, I started fainting constantly, feeling SUPER weak and tired, dizzy, etc. My doc kept telling me it was anxiety and even drug tested me and sent me to a psychiatrist. This went on for over 6 months, where I started fainting more and more, to the point where I'd faint lying down. Multiple times per day. FINALLY, he ordered a bunch of labwork and discovered I had a severe, almost-deadly vitamin deficiency from malabsorption from my IBS. My level was low enough to cause permanent brain damage, heart failure, or death. He put me on supplements and I felt better by the next day. Just like that, I was better. It was amazing but a good example of how doctors jump to easy conclusions (i.e. "you're nuts") instead of searching for the answer.As for your blood tests, it is hard to know what to order. When I was first diagnosed with thyroid disease, we usually tested my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), T4 (or "Free T4") and T3, which are both indicators of how much thyroid hormone you are making. Then we'd test TPO (an antibody which shows autoimmune thyroiditis) and CBC (complete blood count). CBC is a common test used for all sorts of things--high levels of WBC (white blood cell count) indicate an infection of some sort, or mean that your immune system is in overdrive. Anyway, good luck with all those tests you ordered!


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## everythingishorrible (Jan 26, 2011)

oh, and by the way! i went through SO many doctors to find ones that were good. i'm 26 now and have been seeing GI docs since i was about 8 years old for stomach pain and lower GI problems. i finally went outside of my insurance and paid cash to see GI specialists who SPECIALIZE in IBS only. this has been extremely helpful. you may want to try finding someone in your area who is like this. they should easily be able to tell you if in fact you don't have IBS, but something else. the GI specialist i see was finishing my sentences in my initial consult. she could predict all sorts of strange symptoms i have that none of my other docs had heard of. it was truly an eye-opening experience. her course of treatment was also completely different than anything all my other docs had suggested. and so far, so good!


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## vracing (Jan 26, 2011)

Thanks both for the good and long replies. I got the full panel of tests done and went on a vacation as well at the same time. Vacation seems to have cleared up my problems since day 1 (started eating all sorts of foods there and didn't have an issue). But, luckily, I got my lab results back while I was on vacation. Here's what came back:1. High immunogloblin A2. High count of white blood cells3. High Thyroid (TSH) level.4. High level of Monocytes5. Low level of Vitamin D.Since I started eating all sorts and moving around on vacation, it immediately cleared up. I'm back my second day and still no issues. Going to doctor on Monday.Thanks to the person that recommended the test for Thyroid!Thanks to both for the details. I've gained a lot of hope and am feeling a bit happier now knowing that at least the doctors will have 5 pages of results in front of them with the exact issue, rather than having to guess and tell me that it's just IBS and to go home.I researched these a bit, and seems like the monocytes/immunogloblin/white blood cells are all related to some inflammation. Anyway, it was sure as hell worth the few hundred dollars for these tests.If anyone wants to know the websites and tests I got I'll be more than happy to pass it on.I will keep you all posted! Thank YOU!!


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## scottyg354 (Jan 13, 2011)

vracing said:


> Thanks both for the good and long replies. I got the full panel of tests done and went on a vacation as well at the same time. Vacation seems to have cleared up my problems since day 1 (started eating all sorts of foods there and didn't have an issue). But, luckily, I got my lab results back while I was on vacation. Here's what came back:1. High immunogloblin A2. High count of white blood cells3. High Thyroid (TSH) level.4. High level of Monocytes5. Low level of Vitamin D.Since I started eating all sorts and moving around on vacation, it immediately cleared up. I'm back my second day and still no issues. Going to doctor on Monday.Thanks to the person that recommended the test for Thyroid!Thanks to both for the details. I've gained a lot of hope and am feeling a bit happier now knowing that at least the doctors will have 5 pages of results in front of them with the exact issue, rather than having to guess and tell me that it's just IBS and to go home.I researched these a bit, and seems like the monocytes/immunogloblin/white blood cells are all related to some inflammation. Anyway, it was sure as hell worth the few hundred dollars for these tests.If anyone wants to know the websites and tests I got I'll be more than happy to pass it on.I will keep you all posted! Thank YOU!!


Your thyroid can really put you out. Can cause all kinds of issues. I'm still not 100% sure mine is straightened out even though the doc says it is.


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