Friday, June 3, 2016

Day 11 - Blood Test Results Are In

I've always been driven to achieve good grades & high scores - I guess that is my "Alpha" personality.  In reality, the blood test for Alpha Gal is a Pass / Fail scenario.  While I was hoping to fail, I have been anticipating that my test results would be positive.  Since I adopted the Alpha Gal Allergy Diet, I have had no further allergic reactions - therefore the elimination method is just being verified by the blood test.

Today, I received my results, and the test result number is 77.5 which is a Class 5 (Very High Positive).    In-Range results (as a "Negative") would be a value less than 0.35.

In reality, any number over 0.34 is a disappointment and I would have liked for my number to be lower, yet it is also a relief to know for sure that I do have Alpha Gal Allergy.  I'd rather have a label on my condition and have a diet plan than to live through the daily terror of wondering if an unknown food item is going to kill me 6 hours later while I sleep.

Information from The Mayo Clinic's Website regarding Alpha Gal testing values are shown below.  I am not a medical professional, so I don't want to speculate as how severe an allergic reaction could be based on a number.  I've read other blogs & websites that indicate the testing values do not directly correlate to an individual's condition, list of foods that should be avoided (such as dairy), or severity of allergic reaction.  I have also read that the numbers may reduce over time provided there are no further tick bites.   This topic is certainly on my list of questions for my upcoming appointment at Duke.


Class
IgE (kU/L)
Comment
0
<0.10
Negative
0/1
0.10-0.34
Equivocal
1
0.35-0.69
Low Positive
2
0.70-3.4
Moderate Positive
3
3.5-17.4
High Positive
4
17.5-49.9
Very High Positive
5
50.0-99.9
Very High Positive
6          > or = 100    Very High Positive

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post. I'm going through testing in a week but my Dr. is 90% sure I have alpha gal. It's so difficult to find information on the bloodwork results.

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  2. Best of luck to you and your test results. A friend of mine developed the same allergy this year. Interestingly, his test values were a lot lower than mine, but he still had significant allergic reactions - mostly digestive, versus hives or anaphylaxis. This is a strange allergy for sure.

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  5. Hi. A National expert on Alpha Gal is at UNC Clinic. Dr. Commins. You might want to check him out also. Go to the UNC medical website to get his contact information. I suspected it by my test result is .17. But it could explain some mild stomach issues I have had after eating red meat.

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  6. level was .11 do I need to stay away from beef etc?

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  7. My MD said I was positive with a .10 M allergist said no way, that it has to be .35 to be considered positive. Total confusion

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