At What Point Do You Have Your Child Tested.

[Roxyk]

I have celiac - so does my father & brother. I had a baby girl in March. our ped seems to think testing around 3 or 4 years of age is fine. I would rather have it done earlier.

At what point do you have your child tested?

[Nic]

I think it is up to you. If you are not comfortable waiting until 3 or 4 then do it now. But you have to remember any testing of young children can be inaccurate, false negatives are possible. My 5 year old has Celiac my 4 year old so far has tested negative. He has some questionable symptoms. I did not have him tested until I thought I was seeing a problem but I would have around 5 anyway. I plan to test him again next year.

Nicole

[Debbie65]

I agree that the decision made should be one that makes you comfortable rather than what your ped wants.

Perhaps you could have the test to see if your daughter has the gene that means she´s predisposed to celiac disease, if she has then diagnosis might be quicker if symptoms present.

[Nic]

Perhaps you could have the test to see if your daughter has the gene that means she´s predisposed to celiac disease, if she has then diagnosis might be quicker if symptoms present.

Very good idea. I thought about that with my 4 year old and my nephews and niece. If you test for the gene, and they don't have it, then it is never a worry again. If they do have it then you know to watch carefully or play it safe and go gluten-free.

Nicole

[Esther Sparhawk]

If I had the past three and a half years to do over, I would have had Annie tested at birth. Once we quit breast feeding, our problems began. One of the earliest indications was a poor reaction to immunizations. After having her immunized at six months, she came home, had a thrashing fit, and banged her head on the wooden part of her bed for a long time. It scared me to death!

She learned to walk late, because she had DH under her feet. She's still behind her peers in terms of physical dexterity, because of this.

She was a classic celiac, with all the symptoms, but none of the doctors in our rural part of the country put two and two together. It was I who discovered celiac disease on the web and took her to a doctor with a two-year-long journal record of her symptoms.

So keep a journal! It was our saving grace! I don't mean to scare you, but if you can test your child, and there's reason to believe she might be a celiac, why wouldn't you test her?