Does Wheat Allergy = Celiac?

[michelle4boys]

My son just went thru an an allergy panel that found out he had a wheat allergy. (as well as tons of other things) He has never had a noticable problem until recently. The only problem recently is that he was rushed to the doctor with what was diagnosed as panic attacks. (a couple days ago) This is when she did the allergy panel. She gave him meds for panic attacks, gave him Singulair for his allergies and sent him on his way. She never mentioned a thing about celiac or about having to change his diet. I come home, research wheat allergies and I find this... I have no idea if this means he is now considered a celiac patient or not. I am very confused and upset. I have also read that some people with food allergies can have what seems to be panic attacks. I am also questioning if the panic attacks are actually an allergic reaction or not. This has been a hard and very confusing week. I have another child now being tested for diabets this week. If one child has a wheat allergy, do I need to test my other children? As you can see, I am full of questions...

[KaitiUSA]

No a wheat allergy is different from celiac. Celiac has a separate panel that is run specifically for that. It would be a good idea to get him tested considering he has a known problem with one of the offending grains. I have a wheat allergy in addition to celiac...it is possible to have both..some people on here do.

Good luck and you came to a great place for info and suport. You are welcome to email me anytime as well.

[michelle4boys]

thank you sooooo much for your answer! Everything I have found online when I type in wheat allergy leads me to celiac sooo... here I sit. I will be asking for a referal to an allergist so will ask once I am there. You have made me feel much better for the time being... now just to deal with the panic attacks and the diabetes issue...

[Jnkmnky]

My son just went thru an an allergy panel that found out he had a wheat allergy. (as well as tons of other things) He has never had a noticable problem until recently. The only problem recently is that he was rushed to the doctor with what was diagnosed as panic attacks. (a couple days ago) This is when she did the allergy panel. She gave him meds for panic attacks, gave him Singulair for his allergies and sent him on his way. She never mentioned a thing about celiac or about having to change his diet. I come home, research wheat allergies and I find this... I have no idea if this means he is now considered a celiac patient or not. I am very confused and upset. I have also read that some people with food allergies can have what seems to be panic attacks. I am also questioning if the panic attacks are actually an allergic reaction or not.  This has been a hard and very confusing week. I have another child now being tested for diabets this week. If one child has a wheat allergy, do I need to test my other children? As you can see, I am full of questions...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had a panic attack two years ago and was prescribed xanax. I took on pill a day, cut into thirds for two weeks. I had a "rare" allergic reaction to the benzodiazapine in xanax. I had excruciating joint pain for 4 months from about 14 pills. I like to pass along that info whenever the opportunity arises as it is such a *rare* reaction, and it took a year to identify. People with allergies tend to have multiple allergies.

[Carriefaith]

Panic attackes are definatley a symptom. Gluten can make me very panicy for no reason at all. I think it would be a good idea to get him checked out for celiac disease. My first red flag for my problems was the skin prick allergy test. The allergy test indicated that I had a wheat allergy, I was eventually tested for celiac disease since the wheat free diet wasn't working (wheat free is not gluten free) and all my tests for celiac disease came back positive.

I have another child now being tested for diabets this week. If one child has a wheat allergy, do I need to test my other children?

I think it would be a good idea to get them all tested, celiac disease is genetic.

[tarnalberry]

My son just went thru an an allergy panel that found out he had a wheat allergy. (as well as tons of other things) He has never had a noticable problem until recently.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, a wheat allergy (that would be found on an allergy panel), is an IgE immune mediated response which, amongst other things, degranulates mast cells to release histamine. (A standard "allergy", though they often manifest in different ways in people.) Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease involving IgG immune mediated responses and would not be picked up on an allergy test at all.

[Nevadan]

thank you sooooo much for your answer! Everything I have found online when I type in wheat allergy leads me to celiac sooo... here I sit. I will be asking for a referal to an allergist so will ask once I am there. You have made me feel much better for the time being... now just to deal with the panic attacks and the diabetes issue...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

From what I have learned about celiac disease, a lot of it from this forum, allergists are often not the best doc's to diagnose celiac disease. Probably a good GI doc would be more appropriate.

George

[nettiebeads]

My son just went thru an an allergy panel that found out he had a wheat allergy. (as well as tons of other things) He has never had a noticable problem until recently. The only problem recently is that he was rushed to the doctor with what was diagnosed as panic attacks. (a couple days ago) This is when she did the allergy panel. She gave him meds for panic attacks, gave him Singulair for his allergies and sent him on his way. She never mentioned a thing about celiac or about having to change his diet. I come home, research wheat allergies and I find this... I have no idea if this means he is now considered a celiac patient or not. I am very confused and upset. I have also read that some people with food allergies can have what seems to be panic attacks. I am also questioning if the panic attacks are actually an allergic reaction or not.  This has been a hard and very confusing week. I have another child now being tested for diabets this week. If one child has a wheat allergy, do I need to test my other children? As you can see, I am full of questions...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have multiple food allergies and never had a panic attack. But since I've developed celiac disease, give me gluten and I'm "weirded" out for quite awhile - almost panic attack like. Anyhow, diabetes and celiac disease go together quite often. I'd recommend both children be tested for celiac disease - at least the blood panel, biopsies can come back false negatives very easily, especially for children. Hope things settle down for you and life can become less hectic and more normal. Take care of yourself too, mom - You're important too!

[michelle4boys]

Thank you all very much. Your information has been very helpful.