Could She Be Celiac?

[mommyagain]

Some of this was posted as part of another question, so if some of it sounds familiar, you probably already read part of it (sorry). I am self-diagnosed as celiac or gluten-intolerant (I don't care which, because the cure is the same). I have never had a single test for celiac, because my doc "diagnosed" me with IBS and said "Deal with it, we all have occassional diarrhea".

My dd is 6yrs old and LOVES bread (and pizza, and cake, and cookies, but mostly bread). If we let her, she would eat bread (and only bread) for every meal. I know some people have posted about their children who seem to be "addicted" to gluten... I don't know if that's it or not.

She does not seem to have any obvious celiac symptoms, other than a sort of distended belly. She is kinda chubby, so she doesn't have the "skinny celiac" look. Of course, I never did either. She has a layer of chub (everywhere) but just beneath the chub, her belly seems firm. I don't know if this is normal, but other kids her age definitely do NOT have her belly, even the ones who are a lot chubbier than she is. She is in dance so I see her next to 20 others in leotards a couple of times a week. She also hates to have anything tight around her waist. She says it doesn't hurt, but as soon as I'm not looking she pushes her pants/skirt/tights down so her belly sticks out above the waistband (I do the same thing, but I'm pregnant!) I make sure that her clothes aren't too tight (difficult when her waist is bigger than her hips!) but it doesn't seem to matter. My husband says it's just baby fat and she'll either outgrow it, or always be chubby. I really don't mind the chub, it doesn't surprise me that she's chubby since both her daddy and I always were. I just don't like the belly, which to me doesn't look healthy.

We had a problem with constipation for a little while a couple of years ago, but we're pretty sure that was a potty training issue, not a food issue.

She may have the "brain fog" and lack of concentration, or she could just be 6yrs old! LOL! She has problems paying attention in school, but that could definitely be due to other issues.

So, based on a total lack of symptoms (from my dh's point of view), I still want to test her. He thinks I'm looking for a "buddy" to be gluten-free with.

Any comments?

[mama2]

I think I responded to your previous post... just thinking outloud about her having brian fog...

but did you see Oprah yesterday?

I have my masters in special education and I believe that a gluten-free and sugar light diet makes all the difference in a child's ability to think... I also (just my feelings) think that in children with brian fog it makes a difference. I have always told parents to listen to your gut!

Hope you get this all figured out

[Ursa Major]

That hard, distended belly is a dead giveaway if you ask me. Plus the fact that anything tight on her belly makes her uncomfortable.

I would definitely have her tested. But if the tests are negative, I would just try the gluten-free diet. You are right, it is suspicious that she appears to be addicted to everything containing gluten.

[dandelionmom]

I would definitely have her tested. We kept thinking my 3 year old's belly was just baby fat, even after her diagnosis, until it went away once we started the gluten-free diet.

Push to have her tested. If you need to convince your husband or doctors, google the results of untreated celiac.

[mommyagain]

Oh my god! I just read on another posting that chronic sinusitis is linked with celiac! I had NO idea! My daughter has had chronic sinusitis for almost a year now. It started last October. From October thru May she was on antibiotics on and off. They would do a head CT, see that her sinuses were filled and put her on a 3 week course of antibiotics. After another 3 weeks, we'd go back in for another CT, and they'd be filled up again, so another 3 weeks of antibiotics. She is also on Rynatan Jr and Nasonex, which seem to help, at least a little. Then, school let out for the summer and she cleared up enough that we stopped the Rynatan and Nasonex. Well, school started a few weeks ago and we're back to the congestion and coughing. We are headed back to the ENT next week for another head CT. We were thinking that maybe she's allergic to something at school (mold?). She did test positive for allergy to mold last year, but not strongly enough that the doc thought that would be the cause of her problems.

Also, I think she may have a very mild case of DH. She has a very itchy rash that covers 2/3 of her back and the lower half of her buttocks. Yesterday she scratched it so much that she bled! But, it does not look like the bright red blisters that I've seen on the "classic" DH pictures. It is clusters of tiny little bumps, but it's only red where she's scratched it open. We applied a small amount of a corticosteroid cream that we have for her allergic reaction to mosquito bites. She said that it helped "a little" with the itching last night. My husband said that he'd call her allergist today, but I'm sure that he is not going to mention the possibility of DH... I'd love to have a picture of a "mild-but-classic" case to show him before I start voicing my suspicians. He likes to have proof, and so far the pics I've seen are a LOT more severe than hers is. So, if anyone has pictures, or knows where I can find them, I'd love to hear about it. If you don't want to post them publicly, send me a private message and I'll send you my email address. Thanks!