Celiac Test Price in Pakistan: PKR 1,820 at Marham Lab

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes a serious reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other grains. MedlinePlus explains that in coeliac disease the immune system makes antibodies whenever you eat gluten, and those antibodies attack the lining of the small intestine, damaging the villi that absorb nutrients from food. The tTG IgA test looks for those antibodies. At Marham Lab it costs PKR 1,820.

Keep Eating Gluten Before This Test

This is the single most important instruction on the page, and getting it wrong wastes the test entirely.

MedlinePlus states that if the test is being used to diagnose coeliac disease, you will need to continue eating foods with gluten for a few weeks before testing. Your provider will give specific instructions.

The reason is simple: the test detects the antibodies your body makes in response to gluten. Remove gluten and the antibodies fall, and the test can come back negative even though you have the disease.

This catches people constantly. Someone feels unwell, reads about gluten, cuts out roti and bread for a month, feels better, then asks for a test. That sequence produces an uninterpretable result. If you have already gone gluten free, tell your doctor before booking rather than after.

If the test is being used to monitor known coeliac disease, MedlinePlus notes no special preparation is needed.

Which Antibody Test

MedlinePlus lists the common types.

Marham Lab lists tTG IgA at PKR 1,820 and tTG IgG at PKR 1,820. Book what your doctor wrote. If they asked for both, that is usually because they want to cover the IgA deficiency possibility.

Coeliac Disease Is Not Gluten Sensitivity

MedlinePlus makes a distinction worth repeating, because the words get used interchangeably.

Digestive symptoms are common in gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy as well as coeliac disease, and they can look alike. But MedlinePlus states that coeliac disease is the only one of the three that damages the small intestine. That is why it needs diagnosing properly rather than self managing with a diet.

Symptoms

In children, MedlinePlus lists nausea and vomiting, abdominal bloating, constipation, chronic diarrhoea and foul smelling stool, weight loss or failure to gain weight, delayed puberty and irritable behaviour.

In adults, digestive symptoms include nausea and vomiting, chronic diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss, decreased appetite, abdominal pain, bloating and gas.

MedlinePlus also lists adult symptoms unrelated to digestion, and these are the ones most often missed: iron deficiency anaemia, an itchy rash called dermatitis herpetiformis, mouth sores, bone loss, depression or anxiety, fatigue, headaches, missed menstrual periods, and tingling in the hands or feet.

An unexplained [iron deficiency anaemia](/labs/tests/serum-ferritin-test-price) that keeps returning despite supplements is a recognised reason to think about coeliac disease.

Who Should Be Tested Without Symptoms

MedlinePlus notes you may need testing if you are at higher risk even without symptoms. Risk is higher if a close family member has coeliac disease, or if you have another autoimmune disorder such as type 1 diabetes.

Reading Your Result

MedlinePlus gives three outcomes: negative, meaning you probably do not have coeliac disease; positive, meaning you probably do; and uncertain or indeterminate, where it is unclear.

For a positive or uncertain result, MedlinePlus lists what may follow: a biopsy of the small intestine taken by endoscopy, or of the skin if there is a suspicious rash; capsule endoscopy, where you swallow a tiny camera; genetic testing; and tests for problems coeliac disease can cause, such as anaemia, osteoporosis or vitamin deficiencies.

Gluten also hides in places people do not expect. MedlinePlus notes it may be found in vitamins and supplements, hair and skin products, toothpaste and lip balm.

Treatment

MedlinePlus states most people with coeliac disease can reduce and often eliminate symptoms with a strict gluten free diet, while acknowledging that completely avoiding gluten remains challenging even with gluten free products available. It notes your provider may refer you to a dietician.

In Pakistan, where wheat is the staple in roti, naan and most everyday food, that referral matters more than it might elsewhere.

What Happens During the Test

A trained phlebotomist takes a small blood sample from a vein in your arm using a small needle. MedlinePlus notes it usually takes less than five minutes. In Lahore the sample can be collected at your home.

اردو میں

سیلیک ڈیزیز ایک خودکار مدافعتی بیماری ہے جس میں گلوٹن کھانے پر جسم کا مدافعتی نظام آنتوں کی اندرونی جھلی پر حملہ کر دیتا ہے۔ گلوٹن گندم، جو اور رائی میں پایا جاتا ہے، یعنی روٹی اور نان میں۔

سب سے اہم بات۔ اگر یہ ٹیسٹ تشخیص کے لیے کروا رہے ہیں تو ٹیسٹ سے پہلے چند ہفتے گلوٹن والی غذا کھاتے رہیں۔ اگر آپ نے پہلے ہی روٹی اور گندم چھوڑ دی ہے تو رپورٹ منفی آ سکتی ہے حالانکہ بیماری موجود ہو۔ یہ غلطی بہت عام ہے۔ اگر آپ گلوٹن چھوڑ چکے ہیں تو بکنگ سے پہلے ڈاکٹر کو بتائیں۔

دوسری بات۔ سیلیک ڈیزیز اور گلوٹن سے عام حساسیت ایک چیز نہیں۔ علامات ملتی جلتی ہوتی ہیں، لیکن آنتوں کو نقصان صرف سیلیک ڈیزیز میں پہنچتا ہے۔ اسی لیے اسے خود سے پرہیز کر کے نہیں، ٹیسٹ سے پہچاننا چاہیے۔

بچوں میں علامات میں قے، پیٹ پھولنا، دست، وزن نہ بڑھنا اور چڑچڑاپن شامل ہیں۔ بڑوں میں پیٹ کی شکایات کے علاوہ فولاد کی کمی، منہ کے چھالے، تھکن، ہڈیوں کی کمزوری اور ماہواری کا رک جانا بھی ہو سکتا ہے۔ بار بار فولاد کی کمی جو گولیوں سے ٹھیک نہ ہو، اس کی ایک وجہ سیلیک ڈیزیز بھی ہو سکتی ہے۔ مرہم لیب میں قیمت اٹھارہ سو بیس روپے ہے۔

Final Thoughts

The tTG IgA test works only if gluten is still in your diet, so the order matters: test first, change the diet afterwards. If you have already stopped eating wheat, say so before booking, because your doctor may want you to reintroduce it for a few weeks first. And if a stubborn iron deficiency is what brought you here, coeliac disease is a reasonable thing to rule out rather than a remote possibility.