Thinking Of Getting My Son Tested....

[kbabe1968]

My son is a great kid, don't get me wrong.

But lately I've noticed that he really doesn't listen (even when he looks you in the eye), he's very fidgety, very sensitive and touchy. Gets grumpy easy, and has wild mood swings.

I'm thinking it's Celiac - he seems very ADHD, but don't think it's possible.

I'm trying to figure out how to approach my doc about the testing.

Should I?

[FeedIndy]

I'm assuming you have family history to suggest celiac. In that case, I'd simply tell the doctor that with your family history and some issues you are noticing you'd like to have him tested. You can just describe what you are seeing and mention that even though you aren't seeing "traditional" gastro symptoms, you really feel this is indicative of celiac. First degree relatives (siblings, parents, children) of diagnosed celiacs should really be tested anyway.

[kbabe1968]

Thanks.

Well, I went glutenfree in January under the suspicion that I had celiac. Blood tests on me were inconclusive. I didn't feel like shelling out the bucks for the upper gi, so I decided to go gluten free and see how I felt. I'm starting to climb out of a 12 year fog I've lived under. And anytime I even smell gluten, I get sick to my stomach.

I'm "assuming" I have celiac, or at least a gluten intollerance.

[jayhawkmom]

What you are describing sounds more like ADD than ADHD. But, you are right... it could be a gluten issue. Our daughter has ADHD combo type, and she's a very difficult child. I adore her...but she's difficult.

My older son, however, has always been a very mild mannered, even tempered, terrific kid. As we started removing gluten from the house after my daughter and I were told we had to.... we started noticing negative patterns of behavior in him.

At first, I kind of ignored it....and just hoped it would go away. But, the less gluten we consumed as a family, the worse his behavior became when he'd eat it outside of the home. Then he started having tummy aches, and episodes of vomiting.

Not surprising to anyone, his blood tests came back positive. Now....we are dealing with gluten withdrawl. It's not pretty. But, I really believe that once he's over this hump, he's going to be a very different child. I am confident that my sweet, easy going, laid back boy will resurface once the poison is out of his body.

With your history, I think you have very valid reasons for wanting to test. But, if the test results are inconclusive with him too, just try the gluten-free diet and see if there is any response.

Good luck!

[kbabe1968]

Thanks Jayhawk mom...

The biggest hurdle I can think we'll face with that will be when he's not here. We homeschool, so sending to school is not an issue, thankfully. But when he's at my parents, I know that he would be unintentionally glutened.

I'm thinking if I get the tests AND they do come back positive instead of inconclusive that I could have that to say he HAS to eat this way, not just because I say so, but because his doctor says so.

I'm going to call the doc in the next couple weeks and express my concerns to see whether they want me to come in, or if they'll just run the blood tests.

[lonewolf]

My son is a great kid, don't get me wrong.

But lately I've noticed that he really doesn't listen (even when he looks you in the eye), he's very fidgety, very sensitive and touchy. Gets grumpy easy, and has wild mood swings.

I'm thinking it's Celiac - he seems very ADHD, but don't think it's possible.

I'm trying to figure out how to approach my doc about the testing.

Should I?

How old is he? Some of this might be hormone-related if he's 11 or 12. That being said, he sounds just like my son about a year ago when he was 10, almost 11. His teacher wanted me to get him tested for ADD and we saw all the behaviors that you mentioned. We went to the pediatrician, who agreed that we should start by looking at food intolerances. He had the celiac panel, but it came back negative, even Enterolab came back negative. We tried the diet with him anyway, with GREAT success. No signs of ADD now. We can tell when he's been glutened by his grumpy, sensitive, moody behavior. And now he's finally admitting that his "brain feels funny" when he eats gluten.

You could just simply explain his symptoms to the doctor, say that you are gluten intolerant and want him tested. Take some information along with you - like which tests to run, how prevalent celiac disease is, etc., just in case the doctor isn't up to speed.