Rast Or Blood Test Question

[kimber]

Hi

Since everyone here is so knowledgeable..i thought i would ask for your opinions regarding the RAST or blood test for allergies

My now 26 mnths old displays SOME signs of celiac disease...but not all...

The Gi ran blood work, don't know the exact info..but all came back fine

When I explained to our ped how ds was behaving she said sounded like it 'could' be celiac but he didn't have a weigh issue so she brushed it off

He has always been small..once he was around the 8th percentile for height and weight, but by trying to feed him ALL day and eliminating gluten..he's climbed to the 25th for height and weight

The ped gave us a slip to have DS allergy tested for wheat, dairy, soy and eggs...I hate ot put him through this if the results will be misleading or inconclusive...

Did your child have a blood test/RAST before being diagnosed with celiac and what were the results?

Thanks!

he is now on a soy/dairy/gluten free diet and doing well..but I have to avoid all of these foods if we don't have to because it really limits his diet

Thanks for any feedback, kim

[Kasey'sMom]

Hi Kim,

My dd is soy, dairy, egg & gluten free.....amoung other foods. She had both the RAST and scratch testing done. We also had the YORK Food Scan for Igg, delayed allergies. She had allergy testing done because we thought she was allergic to wheat. She's not had any growth problems either. After the test came back negative for wheat we had the Celiac Blood work done and her anti-gliadin antibodies were very high. The scratch testing didn't show any food allergies but it did show inhalent reactions. The RAST testing showed an allergy to egg, which we've now eliminated. The accuracy of allergy testing depends on the schooling and preference of the doctor. Our allergist doesn't think that RAST testing is as accurate but our ped. doesn't think skin testing is accurate as the RAST for food allergies.....you get the jist!! Later we did the YORK test because my dd continued to have skin issues.

I'm really glad we did the RAST test. At first I didn't know how I would handle cooking with so many restrictions. (She had tons of Igg food reactions.) However, we've gotten really creative and now it isn't overwhelming. I do have hope that as her gut heals and the immune system strengthens, she'll be able to add some foods back into her diet.

[kimber]

Thanks so much for your response....

I've never heard of the YORK scan, I'll have to ask my ped/GI about this...??

I'm still undecided wether or not I should take him for the RAST blood test...

Like I mentioned he is doing well gluten/dairy and soy free...

The only thing I'm not really sure about it egg?

I also think our Gi did the b/w for celiac...but I'll need to ask and double check

Thanks again

Oh,,,,how old is your dd and can u give me an idea of some of her fav foods?

DS is very picky and will eat some fruit but NO veggies!

He lives on:

oatmeal

envirokidz cereal/safe cookies

turkey burger

hamburger

sausage

corn

rice pasta

apples

banana

Safe FF and tator totts

Thanks again, Kim

Hi

Me again

Just curious what symptoms your dd had that prompted the celiac blood work, if weight was not an issue

Thanks

Kim

zachary and ava's mom

[chrissy]

kim, my daughter had blood testing done for food allergies. her type of test was called immunocap testing, it is supposed to be the most current and reliable testing at this time. she came back negative for food allergies. we ran the celiac screen because she had some suspicious rashes, and it came back positive. funny thing is, as the doctor debated whether or not to run a celiac screen on me, he decided that if i came back positive for allergies to some of the gluten grains, he would run a celiac screen----well, he must not totally understand celiac, because my daughter had no food allergies even though she does have celiac.

christine