Should I Use Enterolab To Test 18 Month Old?

[CantEvenEatRice]

Hi Everyone,

I was diagnosed with Celiac about 3 years ago. I have an 18 month old son and I am not sure whether I should test him now. His weight is fine and he doesn't have any obvious symptoms that would point directly to Celiac. But I guess I worry about it because I suffered for so many years. He has actually been quite healthy until this summer. He seems to be catching a lot of viruses and has had a few fevers, Croup, colds and diarrhea--all of which could just be normal childhood illnesses. But something keeps nagging inside of me wondering whether or not he has Celiac. My question is--how should I test him? He is absolutely terrified of the doctor's office because of all the shots so I do not even know how they would take blood from him. Then I read that the blood tests are not always reliable. So I thought about the Enterolab tests. It would probably be good to see if he has the gene marker and then go from there. I am also curious about dairy because I was allergic to dairy as a child and cannot tolerate it very well now. Oh, and my son does have mild eczema on his back, legs and arms that comes and goes (sometimes on his face as well). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Noelle

[mommida]

I don't have experience with enterolab.

The tests are not very accurate for a child 18 months. Your child should be screened because you are a diagnosed Celiac and you are noticing symptoms. The eczema and the "nagging feeling" along with croup, colds, and "D" are possibly symptoms.

The pediatrician's office probably thought I was crazy. I would bring my daughter in when her belly would blow up twice the size it was before she ate. They would just blow it off and say she was fine.

L.

[dionnek]

I was just dx and have a 22 month old daughter with no symptoms, but like you, I have a nagging feeling. So, I jsut ordered the gene test from Enterolab (not the whole panel, since she is asymptomatic). If she does have the gene, then I guess I'll just keep watching her, but if not, then at least I know I can rule it out and that will be the best $149 I ever spent! I haven't gotten the test in the mail yet - just ordered it yesterday.