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Could This Be Celiac In 14 Year Old Boy?

sschiel

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sschiel Newbie
sschiel
Posted

My son is 14 (will be 15 in August).  In the past few years he has complained about fatigue and heart palpitations, but nothing serious has ever been found.  He just had blood work done last week and I am waiting to hear from the dr. about his results, but I do have all the results from online.  Nothing looks totally out of whack, but since January of 2011, his MCV has been slightly elevated 3 out of 4 times.  The ranges are as follows:
 

May 21, 2015
90.4 fl
77-87 H Dec 17, 2012
87.6 fl
77-87 H Jan 28, 2011
87.0 fl
77-87   Jan 26, 2011
87.2 fl
77-87 H

 

This current workup also shows a positive Epstein Barr IGG of 2.02, which I have read means a past infection.  He was sick on and off quite a bit this winter, but not the normal symptoms of Mono.  He had an enlarged lymph node on his neck after an illness this fall and then we noticed another one the beginning of May.  Just had them sonogrammed and they appear to be benign from the radiologist's report.  They are no longer tender as they once were, but you can definitely notice them when he turns his neck (he is very thin).  

 

His folate levels are currently >24 and normal is >8.  His serum B12 is 753 with a range of 260-935.  His serum iron is 76 with a range of 65-175, so a little on the low side.  No ferritin was measured at this time.  His WBC was a little low at 4.6 with a range of 4.8-10.8.

 

Ever since he was little he has always had dark circles under his eyes, and he has had allergies in the past, but they haven't been too bad lately.  He has no other symptoms of Celiac, but I know you can have it and not have symptoms.  Abdominal problems run in my husband's family, but mostly diverticulitis and colitis.  

 

I have gone off gluten in the past and felt better, but started to eat it again when my middle son went into the hospital for 4 days when diagnosed with diabetes.  I am starting today with not eating gluten again.  I have dealt with headaches, muscle and joint pain, and other issues for almost 5 years after a stressful event (although the muscle and joint pain have gone on since I was a teenager and I am now 34).  

 

Everything I look at seems like it could be something worse like leukemia or lymphoma and I have severe health anxiety as it is, so I am not trying to think that way.  He hasn't lost weight or anything like that, just mostly the fatigue and some muscle pain every now and then.  He also get heart palpitations once in a while, but my husband has an arrythmia as well.  

 

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

You should be the one getting tested! You must be consuming gluten for a period of 12 weeks prior to a celiac blood panel. Going on and off gluten is not going to solve any problems in the long term. Your diabetic son should be tested as well since 10% of T1D's develop celiac disease because they share the same genes. After all, T1D is another autoimmune disorder and once you have one, you can develop more. . He does not have to have any of the 300 symptoms of celiac disease.

I recommend searching through the University of Chicago's celiac website for testing and symptoms.

I would post more, but I have got to go. I wish you well!

sschiel Newbie
sschiel
Posted
  • Author

You should be the one getting tested! You must be consuming gluten for a period of 12 weeks prior to a celiac blood panel. Going on and off gluten is not going to solve any problems in the long term. Your diabetic son should be tested as well since 10% of T1D's develop celiac disease because they share the same genes. After all, T1D is another autoimmune disorder and once you have one, you can develop more. . He does not have to have any of the 300 symptoms of celiac disease.

I recommend searching through the University of Chicago's celiac website for testing and symptoms.

I would post more, but I have got to go. I wish you well!

I have been tested and they all came back negative or low enough to not show anything.  My diabetic was tested at diagnosis and not retested at his 1 year anniversary in October 2014, but I will ask for testing again this fall at his 2 year mark.  I do have chronically low Vitamin D as well.  I was just wondering about having my son tested.

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Sorry! Mothers are always tending to others and often their own health gets neglected. I am glad that you are on top of things!

You could get him rested for celiac disease. I have heard that Mono can reoccur. Has this been ruled out? You could ask for ferritin test. I was severely anemic at the time of my diagnosis, but my iron levels were always within range. Just my ferritin levees were chronically low.

I would not worry about leukemia and such. I have super high levels of Vitamin b12 and folate. I do not have cancer. I do not supplement (I have to check even processed foods to avoid these viamins), but my doc and I think I have a problem processing synthetic viamins, so I just make sure I get my nutrients from whole foods.

I hope this helps.

sschiel Newbie
sschiel
Posted
  • Author

Sorry! Mothers are always tending to others and often their own health gets neglected. I am glad that you are on top of things!

You could get him rested for celiac disease. I have heard that Mono can reoccur. Has this been ruled out? You could ask for ferritin test. I was severely anemic at the time of my diagnosis, but my iron levels were always within range. Just my ferritin levees were chronically low.

I would not worry about leukemia and such. I have super high levels of Vitamin b12 and folate. I do not have cancer. I do not supplement (I have to check even processed foods to avoid these viamins), but my doc and I think I have a problem processing synthetic viamins, so I just make sure I get my nutrients from whole foods.

I hope this helps.

When the dr. calls back with his results, I will ask about testing for celiac and a ferritin (which I am surprised she didn't check, because she checked mine at one point and I was a bit low).  The 14 year old I am asking about isn't the diabetic, but I will have the diabetic retested, too.  It is funny how a disease can cause so many different symptoms and blood work in different people.

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