Any Help With Celiac Markers?

[cherie012]

Hi All~ I am mama to Mason, nearly 2, who has had an INCREDIBLY sensitive stomach since birth. He is intolerant to milk and soy, and within the past 9 weeks, he's had HORRIBLE diarrhea that hasn't gone away.

Now, he has lost weight, his stools are rancid, green, mucous filled messes. He does keep ulcerations on his bottom when we go through these bouts along with a list of other issues~ he will reflux still on occasion, . He's been anemic before ( still awaiting to see if he is again)...

Well. the ped GI ran blood tests, and he came back with 2 celiac markers~ HLA DQ2 and HLA DQ8. He will be scoped on friday for more testing.

Any info you all have is greatly appreciated. I think out of all the things that could be wrong, this one is my worst fear.. thanks so much!

[aikiducky]

Don't panic.

Sounds very likely that your son does have celiac disease. That's good news. It means that you have an answer for his sensitive stomach, and probably for a number of other stuff that you don't even think about now but that will clear once he's been gluten free for a while.

The beginning is the hardest, because it'll take a lot of work to find out what he can eat and what he can't, and tell all the people in his life so that they don't feed him gluten accidentally. But once you start to get into the swing of it, the diet really isn't difficult, and it's a very healthy diet. And you'll have a healthy toddler to enjoy. and that's it, the only thing that is needed is the diet, no surgeries, no medication, just eating healthy gluten-free food. It's really not that bad.

Pauliina

[RiceGuy]

I would basically echo what aikiducky said. It's nothing to really fear, except if you hadn't found out. Just be very happy you caught it early. If only the rest of us were so fortunate.

And yes, the diet will get easier, especially with this forum, and all the wonderfully helpful people to assist you along the way. The good thing is that it takes no drugs, and you can try it no matter what the test results are. Keep in mind that gluten intolerance and Celiac disease are harder to detect in children at that age. The improvement with a gluten-free diet is the best indicator by far - for anyone.

[cherie012]

Thanks~ you both have a soothing tone to the message, and I am not quite as fearful now. I think, at this point, I would rather they find out that he does have it tomorrow instead of more uncertainty. After 9 weeks of rancid BM's 3-9 times per day I am ready for a diagnosis and a treatment plan. I think that regardless of the test results I will still trial him on the diet, but for how long? how long until results are seen? what is considered "normal"? He's NEVER had a "normal" bm ever in his life, just varying degrees of ick.

[fisharefriendsnotfood]

Don't worry. Usually, in small children, results are seen within a month. He will probably be back to normal in two or three months!

-Jackie