Re-Vaccination For Hep B?

[greenbeanie]

My daughter received all three standard Hepatitis B vaccination shots as an infant. She had definite celiac symptoms even then, but she was not diagnosed until age 4. She is doing great now, but I know that there are much higher rates of non-response to the Hep B vaccine among untreated celiacs (which she was at the time). Her doctor does not seem to think the vaccination thing is an issue, and we were dealing with so much before that I didn't push too hard on it at the time of her diagnosis.

She has another check-up with her pediatrician soon. What should I ask for? I think that if I bring him some PubMed articles about the Hep B vaccine and celiacs, he'll probably agree to look into it. I already have several abstracts and references for him. But I'm not sure what test to request in order to see whether her vaccine was effective. Also, if we find that her original vaccination didn't confer immunity, is the solution to give her the whole three-shot series again? Has anyone else dealt with this? Any advice would be appreciated!

[kareng]

I know there are blood tests to check for most vaccinations. there likely is one for Hep B, too. This is one you might email univ of Chicago celiac center and see what they think? Or, even better, your doctor could.

[T.H.]

 Has anyone else dealt with this? Any advice would be appreciated!

 

Our daughter's GI doctor told us that there's a good chance she's not immune to Hep B. However, he didn't recommend testing OR getting re-vaccinated, because he said the chances that she will have a non-response again are so high. He is currently recommending to his patients that they simply be aware that this is a potential issue, and he's going to keep us up to date on whenever they may have a good way to vaccinate for this in the future for celiacs.

[greenbeanie]

Thanks for the suggestion and info. I emailed the Chicago Celiac Center, and if they respond with any useful advice, I'll post it here. Sounds like this may just be one of those wait-and-hope-for-a-future-solution things, though.