How Exactly...

[andersonfam06]

do they test for celiac?

[tarnalberry]

usually doctors start with a blood test, that should include:

total IgA

anti-gliandin IgA

anti-gliandin IgG

tTg

EMA

then, depending on the results from those tests, will usually either say you are definitely not celiac or should have a follow up biopsy of the intestines via endoscopy. some will diagnose on blood test alone, some will suggest a gluten-free trial after the blood test to see how you respond to the diet and diagnose based on that. it's fairly tricky, because the blood tests are not as reliable as we'd like them, though there are no false positives.

why do you ask? (given the section you're posting in, it's worth noting that blood tests in children under 5 are less reliable than blood tests in adults.)

[TCA]

My son had 3 endoscopies and 1 sigmoidoscopy in a span of 3 years. celiac disease was never found. His blood work was partially positive, so deemed inconclusive. A dietary trial diagnosed him. I couldn't convince the drs. to test my daughter, but a dietary trial told the story on her too. She had a scope a couple weeks ago for other issues and we haven't heard definite results yet. We did all this testing on my son before I learned how many false negatives there are in kids under 3. I thought I saw on another post that your son had been diagnosed????

[andersonfam06]

my son has been "diagnosed" from symptoms only, and after no other answers have been found...

[lbsteenwyk]

Blood tests for celiac disease in children under 2 years are highly unreliable; your son should still have the full panel, but expect them to be negative or inconclusive. You will probably get a more accurate diagnosis from a duodenal biopsy. I see you have a ped GI appt monday; make sure the GI knows what he's doing - he/she should be geting 4-8 biopsies from the 3rd portion of the duodenum. Children often have patchy damage and the diagnosis can be missed if not enough biopsies are taken.

Children with celiac disease usually have dramatic results on a gluten-free diet - with improvement in 2 weeks, though it may take months to heal completely. I would also suggest a lactose free diet for the first 6 weeks, because celiacs with significant intestinal damage don't digest lactose well. At 9 months, your child should not be getting cow's milk products anyway.

Good luck in finding answers and relief for your son

[andersonfam06]

he is on a lactose free formula right now. neither of my boys can handle any milk based formula except lactose free. my 3 year old still does a lot better on lactaid, but does okay with real milk.