Is 17 Months Too Young To Do Blood Test For Celiac?

[Luvs to Scrap]

My husband tested positive last fall and my son who is almost 4 tested positive 2 weeks ago. Is it too early to test my 17 month old daughter. Our doctor didn't think my husband or son had it until we insisted on being tested. (my husband's grandma has celiac) I don't want to insist on testing if it is too early for the gluten antibodies to show anyway. My husband and both children appear to be thriving (both kids are top of growth chart) but have lots of loose stools. Just checking to see if anyone knew when the blood work would start to show up. Thanks for your help. Hoping daughter doesn't have it but suspect she does.

[AndreaB]

If you don't want to continue with the gluten filled diet with her you could always do the enterolab stool test. She is definately old enough for that. www.enterolab.com. I have read that a lot of tests are inconclusive before 5 yrs but don't know if that includes blood tests. If you suspect she has gluten intolerance or celiac and your insurance covers it it wouldn't hurt to get the blood test done. If it is negative you have the decision to have her go gluten free or have the enterolab tests done which can catch gluten intolerance before it gets bad...if she has mild symptoms or none for instance. My family didn't have any symptoms, just my allergy tests. 3 out of 4 of us have an active gluten intolerance. All the info is in the sig.

[Ursa Major]

No, 17 months is not too young for the test. It might even turn out accurate, and it may be positive. However, if it is negative, at this age it can very well be a false negative. In which case I would go with Enterolab if wanting a definite answer. Or just put the whole family on a gluten-free diet and see the whole gang thrive!

[VydorScope]

My husband tested positive last fall and my son who is almost 4 tested positive 2 weeks ago. Is it too early to test my 17 month old daughter. Our doctor didn't think my husband or son had it until we insisted on being tested. (my husband's grandma has celiac) I don't want to insist on testing if it is too early for the gluten antibodies to show anyway. My husband and both children appear to be thriving (both kids are top of growth chart) but have lots of loose stools. Just checking to see if anyone knew when the blood work would start to show up. Thanks for your help. Hoping daughter doesn't have it but suspect she does.

Honestly? Theres no good answer to that "is it time to test yet" questoin. At 18mos my son tested postive, so at least my son's GI doctor does not think its too young. I would go ahead with the blood test (NOT the endscope! Just the blood test), and see what it says...

If its positve, well thats easy, gluten-free for him too.

If its negative, then there are three possiblities.

1) false negative he currently is suffereing, but the test was wrong

2) true negative - he is not currently suffering, but will when he gets older (celiac disease often does this)

3) true negative - he is not currently suffering, and never will.

See a negative leaves questions. If you get a negative you probably want to try him on a gluten-free diet for a while and see if you notice any changes. If you do you might want to consider a "gluten challange", which is where you out him back on gluten and see if symptons start to return/come out.

HTH

[Luvs to Scrap]

Just wanted to let everyone know Kirsten and I took the blood test for celiac today. They couldn't locate a good vein so we got to wait while blood dripped from her big toe. She was not happy ! Now we just have to wait for a week or 2 to know if it showed up. I'll let you know what we find out. If her bloodwork is negative is there a way to diagnose her later even if she has been eating gluten free? (Most of our meals at home are since we already have 2 celiacs in the house. Thanks! Kendra

[AndreaB]

The only way to test her being gluten free is through enterolab and they can do the testing now with a stool sample. Click Open Original Shared Link for more info. Meanwhile we'll be waiting for you to post her results.

[Luvs to Scrap]

I called the dr today and his nurse said that both Kirsten and I are fine. She didn't tell me the score but just that we don't have celiac according to the blood test. DH says we should just wait a couple years and try again. (He has done no research whatsoever about his condition and relies on me to maintain his gluten-free diet. ) We diagnosed DS last month and he is still having major D issues which is affecting potty training. I am not sure if I want to wait that long to find out if Kirsten has it. I think she has quite a bit of D for her age and also has bouts of constipation to go with it. What would you experts recommend? Should I put her on a gluten-free diet and see if she gets better and forget getting a diagnosis? Save up for a Enterolab test for her and wait to see what that says or just feed her normally until we try again later like my DH wants? I'd appreciate your imput. I am very frustrated because I was hoping we could just be done after this test.

Kendra

[AndreaB]

Kendra,

Personally, I'd scrounge up the money, save it whatever for the enterolab tests. If she is just towards the beginning of a gluten intolerance then her blood test numbers will not show it. If you have to wait another 1,2,3,4 etc. years before it shows in her blood, how much worse will she be. If you are ok going gluten free without the tests than do so. It certainly won't hurt. If you or your husband need proof of something from the doctors than you will have to wait until it presents itself in her blood work. Enterolab is a good company and a lot of people have had a good, positive experience with them.

[Luvs to Scrap]

Kendra,

Personally, I'd scrounge up the money, save it whatever for the enterolab tests. If she is just towards the beginning of a gluten intolerance then her blood test numbers will not show it. If you have to wait another 1,2,3,4 etc. years before it shows in her blood, how much worse will she be. If you are ok going gluten free without the tests than do so. It certainly won't hurt. If you or your husband need proof of something from the doctors than you will have to wait until it presents itself in her blood work. Enterolab is a good company and a lot of people have had a good, positive experience with them.

Andrea, I called our insurance company this morning and the lady I talked to had never heard of celiac. She of course said Enterolab was out of network, etc and wanted me to find out the billing procedure and diagnosis codes they use for their billing of labs. She couldn't find if that kind of testing was covered since it is so unusual and thought that would be the best way to check. Would you be able to look at your bill and let me know what the codes are? I am trying to talk my DH into doing the entire gluten panel on Kirsten but he only wants to if insurance covers it. At this point I don't care about coverage just want my daughter better. Thanks! Kendra

[AndreaB]

Kendra,

Below I've copied the info from the email I received from enterolab. You would need to submit the billing to your insurance to be reimbursed as enterolab doesn't bill insurance companies. At least the codes can help you figure out how much insurance would cover. I included soy/egg/yeast just in case you are ever interested in those. This is for the whole panel and included the dairy at the time I ordered it....don't know if they are still offering the special on the dairy.

The ICD9 and CPT codes are necessary for submission for reimbursement to an insurance company.

ICD9 789.00

Tests Ordered:

1 : A) Gluten Sensitivity Stool and Gene Panel Complete *Best test/best value

* Itemized Costs and Insurance Codes:

-Anticasein IgA (CPT 83520) Cost: $0

-Quantitative fecal fat (CPT 82710) Cost: $70

-PCR Amplification (CPT 83898) Cost: $30

-DNA Isolation (CPT 83890) Cost: $30

-DNA Separation (CPT 83894) Cost: $30

-Probe Identification (CPT 83896) Cost: $30

-Molecular Identification and Interpretation (CPT 83912) Cost: $10

-Antigliadin IgA (CPT 83520) Cost: $99

-Antitissue transglutaminase IgA (CPT 83520) Cost: $70

2 : C) Egg, Yeast, and Soy Food Sensitivity Stool Panel

* Itemized Costs and Insurance Codes:

-Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae IgA (CPT 83520) Cost: $66

-Antiovalbumin IgA (CPT 83520) Cost: $66

-Anti-Soy IgA (CPT 83520) Cost: $67