Help! Son Has An Appt At 2:30 Today

[NoSugarShell]

How do I go about getting his primary care doctor to consider Celiac without her blowing me off? Is this even possible? The appt is because he is always complaining of stomach pains.

Please, any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

[happygirl]

Take her this literature:

Open Original Shared Link

Print off this page with the list of tests:

Open Original Shared Link

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.

The reason for the use of the panel to detect celiac disease is several fold. They include selective IgA deficiency (SIgA deficiency), lack of concordance of endomysial antibody and tTG, and the occurrence of seronegative celiac disease. Some of the pitfalls in the serodiagnosis are shown in Table 1.

Both sites are reputable sites from leading organizations. Ask that she consider it and that you would like him to be blood tested for it, since it is so common.

[kbtoyssni]

My first advice would be don't assume the doc will automatically blow you off. There are good doctors out there, and you're going in for the stereotypical digestive symptoms so you might have an easier time. Have your facts down - be able to say you've been reading about it and recent studies show it's much more common than previously thought, tell her why you think your son has it (how did you find this site - is there a family history, were you just googling symptoms, etc - most people wouldn't automatically think celiac when a kid has stomachaches), and firmly insist on the blood test.

Remember if this appointment doesn't go the way you want it to, you can always take your son to a different doctor. You can always try to gluten-free diet on your own as a last resort. And remember that you may have to do that - the blood test may be negative even if your son does have it simply because he hasn't got enough damage yet.

Good luck!

[NoSugarShell]

Thank you for the advice. I will go in there open-minded. What made me think of Celiac is my uncle is a confirmed Celiac and I believe there are others in my family although he is the only one that has been diagnosed.

I am also gluten-free and benefit greatly by eating this way.

If anyone else has advice please let me know. I do not understand all the different tests and such but I am going to learn.

Sincerely,

Michelle

[Fiddle-Faddle]

All I can think of (besides for the great links provided above) is to say (if your doctor does blow you off):

"Excuse me, but I feel like you are blowing me off. I have researched this, I am knowledgeable about this, and I feel very strongly that in view of the family history of celiac, it should at the very least be ruled out. So even if you think I'm a total lunatic, would you please order the blood-work."

And you don't have to tell him that only one relative has been diagnosed. You can tell him --quite honestly--that there is a strong family history of celiac.

Good luck!

[NoSugarShell]

Well, I just got back from the lab after my son's appt. It went pretty good, I think. His doctor basically believes he is constipated and that accounts for the stomach pain. She asked about the extremely dry skin which he has always had patches of it since he was a baby.

Anyway, after she told me to buy some stool softener I told her that I felt I should mention that we have a strong family history of celiac disease and that I would like to do a celiac panel on him to rule it out and I would then feel so much better. She said she could order that for me. Then she went on to tell me that if he did have it this is how it would manifest itself. She also said she has a very close doctor friend that specializes in Celiac and she probably doesn't look for it as much as she should.

I saw the lab report and it said celiac panel. Now, I have to figure out what that includes and also what the results mean.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Constipation doesn't happen because you are deficient in prescription stool softener!

However, if he is constipated, you can certainly change his diet (gluten or no gluten) to rectify the constipation. I would hesitate to use a pharmaceutical preparation without trying natural dietary changes first.

Stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots) are natural laxatives, and extremely effective. Bananas, rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes are natural stopper-uppers.

Just out of curiosity, what would be a typical day's diet for your little one? I ask because even my nutritionist friend (whose husband is a doctor) somehow didn't realize that she was giving her 2 year-old way too much fruit juice (4 cups a day, yikes!), and took him to the doctor because of his diarrhea. So it's possible for even the most brilliant mum to space out on sensible diet for the kids. I'm wondering if it's possible that, instead of a stool softener, your little one just needs some specific foods in his diet. (And, of course, if gluten is a problem, then he needs specific foods OUT of his diet!!! )

[NoSugarShell]

Thank you for the response. There is no way I am going to give my son a stool softener. I don't think he is constipated and I told her he goes back and forth between constipation and diarrhea. So, it's just out of the question. I stay away from prescription anything as much as possible.

His diet is never typical. When he is with his Nana it is totally different than with me. I pack his lunches which are always gluten-free. They consist most of the time of either eggs or a baked potato, applesauce, 1 juice, water, some kind of chips. I change it up sometimes but it is always gluten-free. When I let him eat the food from the cafeteria guaranteed he will have a bad day. He eats whatever I eat for dinner which is always gluten, soy, dairy-free. Breakfast has been harder. He usually has cereal or waffles. He gets the 1 juice at lunch and the rest of the day is nothing but water.