Sed Rate

[7mommy]

Can anyone tell me if the sed rate is always high if you have Celiac?

My middle ds (8yo) is very thin. He always has been. Lately, he looks thinner than before. He has maintained a 25% for height, but has dropped down to 3-5% for weight. He eats like mad and I am sure he could out eat me!! In addition to meals we have, he will go in my cabinets and eat wierd things. His favorite thingto get into is oats. Plain, dry, uncooked oats. He has no body fat on him. To make a long story short, we have a younger son who has extensive food allergies and is also gluten free. He no longer tests positive for wheat allergy, but glutinous grains cause behavioral issues. We suspect abdominal pain and Celiac, but he has now been gluten-free so long that our feeble attempts to reintroduce it have lasted only a matter of days.

I meant to say we are waiting for blood test results. No celiac testing. Just CBC diff and Sed rate.

[Nancym]

Hmmm... he probably shouldn't be eating oats if he is gluten free.

Sed rate is used to indicate that there might be an autoimmune disease, but it doesn't really tell you which one you have. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, so if the body was fighting off gliadin proteins it might cause the sed rate to be high (speculating here).

[7mommy]

Hmmm... he probably shouldn't be eating oats if he is gluten free.

Sorry I wasn't very clear. Younger son is gluten-free. He is 3yo, undiagnosed and in limbo land and has tons of food allergies as well. At one point, he tested very low pos for wheat allergy. Now all tests are neg, but we can't get past two days of trialing gluten. The rest of the family eats gluten. I refuse to go into limbo land with everyone else. It is very frustrating not to be able to even have a diagnosis.

Older son is the thin guy and the one who goes and eats my oats. It is truly wierd. He can have a full dinner and still go in there and eat stuff. It is usually things like cereal and oats. He has always been thin and at this last appt. has only gained 5 lbs in two years. My other kids do NOT look like him. They are thin, but they have fat on them.

[ravenwoodglass]

Can anyone tell me if the sed rate is always high if you have Celiac?

My middle ds (8yo) is very thin. He always has been. Lately, he looks thinner than before. He has maintained a 25% for height, but has dropped down to 3-5% for weight. He eats like mad and I am sure he could out eat me!! In addition to meals we have, he will go in my cabinets and eat wierd things. His favorite thingto get into is oats. Plain, dry, uncooked oats. He has no body fat on him. To make a long story short, we have a younger son who has extensive food allergies and is also gluten free. He no longer tests positive for wheat allergy, but glutinous grains cause behavioral issues. We suspect abdominal pain and Celiac, but he has now been gluten-free so long that our feeble attempts to reintroduce it have lasted only a matter of days.

I meant to say we are waiting for blood test results. No celiac testing. Just CBC diff and Sed rate.

Personally I would get the older child gluten-free also no matter what testing shows. If his body is not absorbing the nutrients it needs that alone can cause the weird cravings (pica) that you are seeing. That would also cause him to be hungrey all the time as he is not absorbing the nutrients and calories he needs from his food his body will be constantly sending him signals that he needs to eat. I would get him gluten-free for at least a couple of months then challenge if you feel the need and add a good gluten free multi vitamin to his diet also. Not all celiacs or gluten intolerant folks show clear GI signs early in the progression of the disease. I had clear neurological involvement as did both my children and for myself I was 35 before the GI troubles hit other than a rumbling tummy and gas. A lot of damage was done before that to other body systems including my brain. Especially with a celiac brother the indications are that he needs the diet also.

[2kids4me]

The ESR or erythrocyte sedimentation rate is not specific for autoimmune disease. It is an indication of inflammation somewhere in the body. If the sed rate is abnormal then further testing should be done to try an determine the cause and source of inflammation.

An elevated sed rate is looked at in combination with other test results.

[Nancym]

We often crave the very thing that does us damage. I had HUGE cravings for wheat and the same with dairy, both of which I'm sensitive to. I've read that the proteins in these break down into peptides that resemble opiates so it might be that is why.