Failure To Thrive Question

[Jenwrenoz]

My 2yo is seeing a paediatrician for failure to thrive, he is at the bottom of e graph and dropped off it late last year

We have taken him off gluten to make a difference to his nappies which were toxic and frequent, and it has helped enormously.

But the paed does not believe it is celiac because he is in proportion, both his height and weight are low. He says that if you have celiac you are still normal height, but skinny

He was tested as negative at 11 mo. but my understanding is that was too young to test.

I want to know if that is other peoples experience, I am trying to find the line between being gluten intolerant, or whether we should push for celiac testing

[mushroom]

Welcome to the board.

 

MedlinePlus defines failure to thrive:

 

Failure to thrive refers to children whose current weight or rate of weight gain is significantly lower than that of other children of similar age and gender.

 

 

I'm not sure how your pediatrician arrived at the idea that you have to be tall and skinny to be a celiac.  If your child had been gaining normally and then falls off the chart entirely, can this be normal?  Does small size run in either your husband's family or yours?  Failure to absorb nutrients, which characterizes failure to thrive in celiac disease, affects both the ability to gain weight and the ability of the bones to grow to my understanding.  This is why it is important to be found early, so that bone growth can resume.  Celiacs are often deficient in Vitamin D which is necessary for bone growth, and end up with short stature.

 

Yes, testing is very difficult in young children, but I do think he should be retested,  with a full celiac panel but especially the DGP (deamidated gliadin peptide) which shows up earlier than the other blood tests.  I would insist upon it despite your doctor's hunches.

 

Good luck with getting the right diagnosis for your wee guy.

[jebby]

Your pediatrician is dead wrong. I am also a pediatrician. Untreated celiac disease is one of the most common causes of short stature. Can you get a new doctor?

[tarnalberry]

Your pediatrician is dead wrong. I am also a pediatrician. Untreated celiac disease is one of the most common causes of short stature. Can you get a new doctor?

 

/like

 

Seriously, all of this.  (Except the "I am also a pediatrician" part. )

[nvsmom]

Ditto the others. He's wrong.

 

I am almost positive I was aceliac my whole life even though as a child I was extremely tall. we're talking 98th percentile. By age 12 I was 5'8" and 135 lbs and a healthy looking size 7... who happened to get a stomach ache at almost every meal.

[stanleymonkey]

You need to see a different doctor. We were told because our daughter was around the 25 th percentile for height and weight and had been since 6 months old she could not possibly have celiac disease or any gluten sensitivity. WRONG! Gluten free she grew 3 inches in 3 months and put on 4 pounds, she jumped to the 50th percentile for height and has stayed there for 2 yrs. yes , she was in proportion, and we were told she was on the smaller side because her dad and I are, but she obviously wasn't following her really growth pattern

[Mary5757]

My 18 month old fell down the charts both in height and weight. Her gi ped said they look for them to grow in height to ensure the diet iIs working. I'd try to see a gi ped.

[GwenO]

My 2yo is seeing a paediatrician for failure to thrive, he is at the bottom of e graph and dropped off it late last year

We have taken him off gluten to make a difference to his nappies which were toxic and frequent, and it has helped enormously.

But the paed does not believe it is celiac because he is in proportion, both his height and weight are low. He says that if you have celiac you are still normal height, but skinny

He was tested as negative at 11 mo. but my understanding is that was too young to test.

I want to know if that is other peoples experience, I am trying to find the line between being gluten intolerant, or whether we should push for celiac testing

My twelve year old daughter was diagnosed about 9 months ago.  She had stopped gaining weight and stopped growing in height.  She'd always been short.  She was four foot six.  Gluten free diet: 20 lb gain, and two inches.  My doc said short stature is common.  Change doctors.

[bambino716]

We believe that two of my kids have celiac, but we had a terrible pediatrician who just really didn't care to find any answers with us.  My daughter will be one tomorrow.  When she started eating at 6 months she had gluten in her diet.  Between her 6 and 9 month check ups she barely grew.  She dropped from the 75th to the 10th percentile.  I was shocked and a little scared!  My ped blew it off, though, and said it was nothing to worry about.  Since we have a history of gluten issues, we took her off gluten immediately.  She shot up more than two inches and gained three pounds in just two months.  We have switched pediatricians and I am glad I followed my gut.  The gluten free diet also cured her of her tummy issues and constipation.  Find a new doctor!