Low Iga And Igg Levels In 15 Month Old

[kmtyn]

Alright, I have a 15 month old who was breastfeed for a full year. He has not gained any weight since his 12 month check up, which was alarming to my family doctor because he does not have teeth yet. (and no delayed tooth eruption does not run in the family, my first son got his at 6mth;same for my husband and I). My doctor ended up running some test to check his thyroid, and immunegolbin etc. My sons IGA and IGG levels both came back low (IGA 13.7 and IGG 355), thus he's referring us to a specialist, for another set of eyes to asses the situation; I was told. My son also has 2-3 BM a day and they are not solid (which I feel like may be normal, for his age, maybe TMI), he does have a little pot belly as well, yet he just appears so small to me. anyway I'm just wondering if Celiac is a relevant concern at this point, or if I've been Google doctoring way too much! If it is are there certain things I should ask when I meet with the specialist, what would be the next step in the process of ruling this out? Any information would be greatly appreciated at this point.

Thank you,

Concerned Mommy

[1desperateladysaved]

Do you mean that you began to add other foods at a year, or ended breastfeeding at a year? I had a child not grow from 6-12 months of age.  She evidently just grew at different rates.  Most things work out okay, but it sure sounds worth checking into.

 

D

[kmtyn]

Do you mean that you began to add other foods at a year, or ended breastfeeding at a year? I had a child not grow from 6-12 months of age.  She evidently just grew at different rates.  Most things work out okay, but it sure sounds worth checking into.

 

D

Yes, I began to add other foods at a year, I'm actually still nursing once before bed.

[LauraTX]

Hey Kmtyn, has your son seen a specialist yet?  Hopefully they sent you to an immunologist.  I somehow missed this thread earlier but I found out as an adult that I have common variable immunodeficiency with low IGG and IGA.  They make a medicine to supplement IGG if you are too low, but I am not sure what the numbers should be at someone his age so not sure how bad those are.  I also have a decreased reaction to vaccines so I have to get them each like 5 times.  If his case is something of the sort just know that while it is all really technical, the prognosis is good now compared to like 20 years ago.

 

I also have celiac disease and lupus.  If you go to an immunologist they should be able to do the blood testing for Celiac if you suspect it even remotely.  So feel free to ask them to throw that in with the bloodwork they may want to do.  Then if the bloodwork looks like something may be going on, then you can take him to a GI doctor.

 

However, the way my immunologist explained to me, people who lack some of their immunoglobulins tend to just suffer from a failure to thrive in general.  So that alone could cause a child to not be well.   Keep us posted

 

Also, if they do decide he has some type of immune disorder, check out the Immune Deficiency Foundation at Open Original Shared Link .

[LauraTX]

Wanted to add a little more.  Immunodeficiencies in general can cause false positives on biopsies when an endoscopy is done to look for celiac disease.  So in the event Celiac is suspected be very careful to not get a false positive.  They initially thought my celiac disease was possibly a false positive when I later was diagnosed with the immunodeficiency, so I was sent for another round of testing and such and it was re-proven.  Also having low IGA can cause false negatives on the bloodwork.   So, just let them do all the testing and stuff to figure out what immune problem he has, and then be armed with all that info if you want to do anything to do with Celiac testing.

 

From Open Original Shared Link

"Gastrointestinal complaints such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss are not uncommon in CVID. Careful evaluation of the digestive organs may reveal malabsorption of fat and certain sugars or inflammatory bowel disease. If a small sample (biopsy) of the bowel mucosa is obtained, characteristic changes may be seen. These changes are helpful in diagnosing the problem and treating it."

 

So as odd as it seems, immunodeficiency causes way more problems than just getting sick easier. 

 

Also, from University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center stating how immunodeficiencies can cause false positives and how to test around difficulties:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

 

FYI Most immunodeficiencies are called "Common Variable Immunodeficiency" other than the very few that have had specific genes and such identified.  

 

Anyways I hope all this helps.  Just focus on getting him into the specialist and figuring out everything.  And let me know  But just don't read way too much into all the technical stuff and get yourself worried before you know exactly what is going on.

[kmtyn]

LauraTX-

We are still waiting to hear from the pediatric endocrinologist our doctor refered us to. He has looked at my sons medical history and put us in a pile of other patience waiting to be seen. I'm assuming and was told that's a good thing because if it where more serious he would get us right in. However as any mother would be I'm still worried...

Normal iga levels are 20-150 and IGG levels are 400-1200 in someone his age.