How Much Gluten For A Gluten Challenge?

[wmramsel]

Obviously 2 slices a bread is out of the question...which is what I could come up with as far as how much someone needs for a gluten challenge.  I intend to ask the GI on Tuesday, but wanted to ask here as well.  How much do you need to eat daily for a gluten challenge, and for how long?  DD's sx's seem to correspond in intensity with the level of exposure (Idk why this surprised me, I just assumed she would react ER badly with any significant amount, as in not cc exposure), so if we could get by with a cracker a day for  2 weeks....it might be doable.  But would this reach the level needed for testing?  And how long would she need to do it?  What have your experiences been? Like about everything else, there seems to be no consensus.....

 

TIA! 

[StephanieL]

If she had DH, why not biopsy that right now and then you won't have to worry?

[Lisa]

 Like about everything else, there seems to be no consensus.....

 

TIA! 

This is true!  I can assume that you daughter is currently gluten free.  The old school instruction was a gluten challenge of 12 weeks.  Forturnatly, two to three week appear to be the current norm, with a cracker or two.

 

But, if your daughter gets so sick on gluten, you must find a doctor who will diagnose her based on those findings.  There is no need to have her suffer, further.  I have often admired parents of children with Celiac. You guys Rock!

[wmramsel]

If she had DH, why not biopsy that right now and then you won't have to worry?

 

They told me that it had to be biopsied when she FIRST got it, like, within the first day or two.  Except for what I think is DH popped up, the worst of it has healed.  And I thought she had to be on gluten, even for a DH dx?  Could that one exposure get a positive dx?

[wmramsel]

I should also say, we are in the process of a dermatologist referral.  But we haven't gotten a call to schedule the appointment yet.

[wmramsel]

This is true!  I can assume that you daughter is currently gluten free.  The old school instruction was a gluten challenge of 12 weeks.  Forturnatly, two to three week appear to be the current norm, with a cracker or two.

 

But, if your daughter gets so sick on gluten, you must find a doctor who will diagnose her based on those findings.  There is no need to have her suffer, further.  I have often admired parents of children with Celiac. You guys Rock!

 

Yes, she is, sorry I forgot to specify that!  12 weeks....that would be torture!  I'm trying to get something based on her sx's, but I want to be well armed going into the appointment so I can advocate if I have to.  Or know when to look for a diff. doc.  I have high hopes for this GI, but we'll see.

[kareng]

If the DH pops up after a few days of gluten, maybe you could get that biopsied. The child does need to eat gluten and have a fresh spot for the DH diagnosis. Here is info about a gluten challenge. This site has a lot of good info.

Open Original Shared Link

[greenbeanie]

My daughter had one small serving of wheat per day (the equivalent of a few crackers, multi-grain cereal, or a small bowl of pasta) for four weeks before her blood tests. Once in a while she had two servings, but not often. We had all been gluten light for her entire life, so even one serving daily was more than she was used to (and her behavior deteriorated accordingly). They only ran three tests (tTG-IgA, DGP both IgA and IgG), and she came back with very clear positives on all three. She's getting an endoscopy to confirm in a few days, but the pediatric GI doctor obviously expects to find damaged villi.

Our situation probably isn't typical - my daughter just turned four years old and has had symptoms since birth, even while exclusively breast feeding. I'm sure she's had it all along. I knew I was giving her less than the recommended amount of gluten for the challenge, but we couldn't find a doctor who would listen to us, so I just used my best judgment on my own (until we finally found a new doctor who agreed to order the tests). I'd been really worried about false negatives on the blood tests, but it is at least possible to get positive results without eating a lot of gluten. Good luck!

[stanleymonkey]

With some individuals iodized salt and iodine can irritate DH. If she can handle dairy and eggs, try increasing those for a few days.

Cod is another source also dried seaweed that you get in the little packets at japanese food stores, and at the big grocery stores. Seaweed has a lot of iodine, my kids can only handle a little bit every few weeks without scratching like crazy.

It might be worth trying those for a few days rather than using gluten and having another trip to the ER

[wmramsel]

Thank you everyone!  I will see about the iodine as well.  At closer look, I think they are eczema spots- but either way more than likely a gluten reaction.  She was accidently glutoned again at church today, and her skin already looks bad.