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Is This A Sign Of Celiac?

typhoontyty

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typhoontyty Newbie
typhoontyty
Posted

Hi. My son is undergoing testing to see if the reason he has had diarrhea and has stopped growing is celiac. One of the lab tests they are doing is to check for fat in his stool. I have noticed that some of his diapers look 'oily' or 'greasy' in addition to being mucousy. Is that consistent with celiac? They are also running a bunch of blood tests; and the GI dr. advised him to go off gluten-free diet in case he needs an endoscopy in the near future. He is 11 months old. Thanks! Renee

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mat4mel Apprentice
mat4mel
Posted

Renee,

Yes, fatty stools is a major symptom in kids with celiac. My 2 1/2 yr old dd had frequent greasy (and mucusy sometimes too) looking stools until gluten-free diet.

So your child is on a gluten-free diet? Is that helping at all?

Mel

typhoontyty Newbie
typhoontyty
Posted
  • Author

When my son's ped ran the celiac panel 3 weeks ago he came positive for elevated IgG and IgA antibodies; but negative for the Endomysial antibodies. So initially his ped. said he had celiac; to do the gluten-free diet; and to see a GI specialist. We saw the GI dr. last week; who isn't yet convinced it is celiac; and wants to do more lab tests and possibly an endoscopy. So now he has been on a regular diet for about 4 days. When he was on the gluten-free diet his poops were down to about 2 a day; but still looked like greasy peanut butter (sorry if TMI!!) Now he has only been on a regular diet for a few days; I haven't really noticed a change in his poops yet.

How old was your daughter when she went on gluten-free diet? Did she have any tests to confirm celiac; or are you just keeping her on a gluten-free diet because her symptoms have improved? Thanks! Renee

mat4mel Apprentice
mat4mel
Posted

Renee, my dd's story is very similar. Around the age of 2 she had loose frequent stools exactly as you described. She also had positive igg and iga at her ped's office but he did not run the endomysial antibodies. We couldn't get into the ped gi dr for a few months, and decied to go ahead and put her on a gluten-free diet. her poops improved a great deal after the gluten-free diet.. also eliminated casein (milk protein) at the same time. Although her poops ar estill not formed at all and I suspect there are several food sensitivities. She still is very sensitive to milk protein. Our ped GI dr ran the endomysial antibodies after being gluten-free a few months and it was negative but he said her total IgA was slightly low so the endomysial antibodies being low was not very reliable. He recommended teh same thing-- do a gluten challenge and endoscopy. We aren't sure if we are going to do that yet. We keep going back and forth. I am pretty sure celiac is in our family because of some of the family history (nobody has been dx'd with celiac, but there are some people with symptoms) so I am hesitant to reintroduce gluten back into her diet right now.

I hope I didn't confuse you any more than you probably are. Excuse my typos if there are any-- I am holding my newborn while trying to type. :)

Mel

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    • SamAlvi
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      By SamAlvi · Posted

      Thanks again for the detailed explanation. Just to clarify, I actually did have my initial tests done while I was still consuming gluten. I stopped eating gluten only after those tests were completed, and it has now been about 70 days since I went gluten-free. I understand the limitations around diagnosing NCGS and the importance of antibody testing and biopsy for celiac disease. Unfortunately, where I live, access to comprehensive testing (including total IgA and endoscopy with biopsy) is limited, which makes things more complicated. Your explanation about small-bowel damage, nutrient absorption, and iron-deficiency anemia still aligns closely with my history, and it’s been very helpful in understanding what may be going on. I don't wanna get Endoscopy and I can't start eating Gluten again because it's hurt really with severe diarrhea.  I appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed and informative guidance. Thank you so much for this detailed and thoughtful response. I really appreciate you pointing out the relationship between anemia and antibody patterns, and how the high DGP IgG still supports celiac disease in my case. A gluten challenge isn’t something I feel safe attempting due to how severe my reactions were, so your suggestion about genetic testing makes a lot of sense. I’ll look into whether HLA testing is available where I live and discuss it with my doctor. I also appreciate you mentioning gastrointestinal beriberi and thiamine deficiency. This isn’t something any of my doctors have discussed with me, and given my symptoms and nutritional history, it’s definitely worth raising with them. I’ll also ask about correcting deficiencies more comprehensively, including B vitamins alongside iron. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and taking the time to help. I’ll update the forum as I make progress.
    • knitty kitty
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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

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    • lizzie42
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      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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