New To This Disease

[donna w-7]

my son is 13, he has been itching, had a lot of stomach problems, is this how you found out that your child had celiac, the doctor took blood, about 3 weeks ago, did your tests take this long.

i am just learning? thank you

[happygirl]

Call your doctor's office and ask for the results. Three weeks is usually enough time.

Here is the correct bloodwork that should have been run:

Serologic panel

Of the commercially available serologic tests that aid in the diagnosis of celiac disease, no one test is ideal. Using multiple serologies increases the diagnostic yield. Therefore, in the United States, screening in patients with possible celiac disease should consist of a panel of the following serologic tests:

Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) both IgA and IgG

Anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA

Total IgA level.

taken from www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia.edu

The next step is often biopsies of the small intestine. If he has itchy spots on his skin, it could be DH, which is the skin manifestation of Celiac. A doctor can biopsy the area around it.