Could I have had celiac my entire life without knowing it?

[Olivia--x]

I’m 14 years old. I was born 6 weeks early and have always been on the 3rd percentile in weight and height im just catching up but I eat normally and eat enough calories. I got my period when I turned 12. I’ve never skipped a period but it comes quite irregularly. I feel like I never went through a growth spurt I was 4’11 at 13 and have not grown in a year and have only gained 10 pounds in a year. I’ve always been a slow gainer but I’ve stayed on my curve I weighed 3 pounds at birth. About 6 months ago, I started having stool changes and every time it’s yellow it hasn’t gone back to brown since then. My stomach bloats after eating and my frame is quite small I’m the size of an 11 year old. 

[GFinDC]

Hi Olivia,

Welcome to the forum!

You might have celiac disease.  The way to find out is to get tested for celiac disease.  Don't stop eating gluten though.  You need to keep eating gluten until all  the testing is competed.  The testing checks for antibodies to gliaden, and those antibodies can change if you stop eating gluten.  So then the testing would not be reliable.

Testing is usually done by a blood sample first to check for antibodies, called a celiac panel.  Then if the antibodies are positive, an endoscopy is done to check for intestinal damage.  The endoscopy is often kind of slow to get done, sometimes taking 3 months or more to get scheduled.

I suggest you write down your symptoms before going to a doctor, and then hand them the paper when you get there.  Or even send it to their office ahead of time.  It's easy to forget something when talking to doctors.

It's good to find a doctor who knows about celiac disease as many doctors are not great at diagnosing it.  If you can find a local celiac disease support group they might be able to give a doctor recommendation.

We are glad to help with any questions you might have.

[Aisling Eldridge]

You might have Celiac but the way to find out is to go to see a specialisted physician and to get a blood test, also make sure you don’t make a fool of yourself and do a lot of research on it and write down a food diary for a week with gluten within your diet and at the end of the week write a summary of how you were feeling then the next do the same just take all the gluten out of your diet and then at the end of the 2nd week write another summary.

 

some symptoms of celiac include-

bloating 

upset stomach

headache (in some cases migraines)

problems with hearing and memory (usually short term)

fatiuge 

weak bones 

gas

constipation 

diarrhea 

Sudden weight loss before I was diagnosed I was not underweight but I appeared to be

Anxiety or depression 

Rashes (I got small but really painful spots like loads on the backs of my upper forearms and would get a really bad reaction to heat in the shower or bath ext)

Lack of growth, this could be the reason why you haven’t grown in a year but it might be linked to you being a premature baby 

I’m no doctor but I have had Celiac or known about it and lived with it for 6 years and I’m around your age I’m 13 and I had most of the symptoms listed but everyone’s different I personally didn’t get a lack of growth but I know it is a symptom after a lot of research.

 

I hope I helped you xx