IgE levels of 0.0

[Wufflebear]

WHen I was seventeen and at National Jewish in Dever a Dr. Jones found I had an IgE level of 0.0, he had only seen one other patient with this. He did not know what it meant. I am still curious. Anyone know what this means??? Is it anything???

[Sunfish]

hi -

first i just wanted to say "welcome" as i don't think i've had a chance to do so thus far. i'm sorry that you have reason to be here but am glad you found the forum & hope that you find it to be a helpful place to be .

re: the IgE level of 0, a few things. first of all, the test was done some time ago so i wouldn't go off of anything completely that is that many years old. meds you were on could have influenced the test results, it could have been misread, or it could have been exactly right then but not be the same now. that said, however, it may be something to ask your doc in terms of that it may provide a direction for current testing/investigation.

i found this info: http://arpa.allenpress.com/arpaonline/?req...IE%3E2.0.CO%3B2 re: IgE and it seems to say that while levels of IgE are always fairly low, a deficiency may or may not mean something. my understanding is that alone it doesn't mean anything but can be part of a diagnostic picture or trail to follow per se. just my interpretation after reading it through; i'm not a doc.

good luck & again, welcome.

melissa

[Millie Halp]

Dear hmichel;

What does IgE stand for? What purpose or function does it have in the body?

[Sunfish]

bestill -

the intro from the link i posted above gives the brief definition as follows:

"Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is one of the body's 5 classes (isotypes) of immunoglobulins (antibodies). Like other immunoglobulins, IgE is produced by B cells and plasma cells.1,2 In contrast to other immunoglobulins, the concentration of IgE in the circulation is very low."

hope this helps,

melissa

[Millie Halp]

Hello Sunfish;

I am sorry but I did not understand your reply at all. Are the questions here answered by doctors? I am sorry, I may be in the wrong place. I need to talk to others who have the same problems as I do. I do not have any medical experience. So needless to say, I need things explained in layman's terms.

I have heard of "gammaglobulin" when my daughter contracted chickenpox at 2 weeks old, but do not have a clue about what this is.

My doctor directed me here to aquaint myself with other sufferers of dysautonomia and POTS to see if I could get suggests and if I can find other treatments for my doctor and I to try. He is very familiar with dysautonomia but says that we have to find the right treatment that works for me.

If I logged on to the wrong place, can you please lead me in the right direction. I don't need a doctor right now. I do have a very good one. I just need to find people like me. Sorry for any inconvenience.

[Sunfish]

bestill -

i saw your post on the other thread so am glad you're feeling better about being here as you most certainly are in the right place. everyone here either has dysautonomia themselves or is the friend/family member of one who does so we certainly can empathize. and i think it's great that your doctor directed you to this site...that's always encouraging to hear.

the posts here are not answered by doctors (though we have one or two members who are both doctors & patients, and a good number of others who have other experience in the medical field.) we have doctors that review info posted on the main website but not the forum itself.

for the most part responses/info is very layman-friendly but every so often more technical threads appear b/c a member is hoping to get info/input from others. and some of us - even if not in the medical field - have read so much in trying to educate ourselves that we know the "medical jargon" when it comes to certain topics. unfortunately one of the first threads you came across happened to be one of those threads. that said, do not EVER hesitate to ask for further explanation of things. most times (aka if anyone else understands) people will be glad to help explain.

honestly i do not have much knowledge about the IgE antibody and thus don't know if i can offer much more than what i posted. the reason i "cut & pasted" the medical jargon was b/c i don't know much other than that it is one of the antibodies that is normal for all to have and that it is often higher in the case of certain allergies. what i did post above was from an internet search that i did briefly to try to give the original poster some info.

i can tell you, however, that at this point in time, IgE does not have any known relationship to POTS and/or any other form of dysautonomia. that does not mean that a connection is impossible for some (as many things are unknown in the land of dysautonomias) but to date there is no direct relationship.

hope this helps,

melissa

Edited January 9, 2006 by Sunfish

[KathyP]

Hi BeStillMyHeart;

Welcome to the site.

Please don't be disheartened!! You will find what works for you. Think positive.

As for the immunoglobulins: you said you heard about "gammaglobulin". Well they both work pretty much the same way. Gammaglobulin is like a boost given medically to help the immune system the way immunoglobulin does. Immunoglobulin neutralizes the bacteria or viruses in the immune system, mostly in the lymph system. If you don't have any infections or viruses, this most like would not be an issue for you.

If you need more info or feel you have problems with this area talk to your doctor. He would know what your condition entails.

While on your healing journey don't get stressed about every issue. It will take time. And your doctor will help you understand all the technical stuff. If you were diagnosed already through extensive testing your doctor would know all that is going on with you.

There are many people here that can help with the support and help you feel that you are not alone.

Take care,

KathyP

[Wufflebear]

Thank you for the information. THis was found in me like 15 years ago and you know, or can imagine, how it is when you go undiagnosed for years and years...You grab at stuff. Now that I have a dx, I still sometimes wonder about stuff they did manage to find when I was a kid...but could not explain. The IgE level was one of those things...