Son Gluten Free, Re-introduced Gluten For Testing With Very Disastrous Results, Now What ?

[MrsMH]

Hi. I put my son on a trial gluten/ casein free diet for ADHD problems and health ( very low weight and dark circles under eyes, looks unwell). I introduced gluten and dairy back into his diet last night, as we are testing him next week. Well the results were extreme, after an hour or so he had farts and burps and then he had bright red ears and lips. Then a little while later he had sudden, extreme vomitting and diarreah (couldn't even make it to the bathroom!). The vomitting lasted a couple hours, and the diarreah lasted about 4 hours. The next morning he feels fine, ate some gluten free toast. Is there a test for gluten that doesn't involve eating gluten ? Anyone had an experience like this ?

Melissa

[confusedks]

You can look into Enterolab, they do stool testing. They can't diagnose Celiac, but they can tell you whether your body is reacting to gluten, casein and they test a couple other things too if you want. If you don't care about an actual diagnosis, that is your best bet.

If he was on a gluten-free, cf diet for a while, the tests you're going to have run will probably come back negative.

[Guest j_mommy]

1) if you are testing next week, staring gluten now would be too late for the tests to be accurate.(generally it's the equiv of 4 slices a bread a day for 1-3 months)

2) How bad do you want the diagnosis??? For some the dietary response is enough...I wanted the testing so I did it but I probably wouldn't for my child...I would go with dietary response for him.

Good luck and I hope your son feels better soon.

PS Others can tell you about Entrolab!

[Darn210]

How long was your trial? . . . a coule of days? weeks? months? Are you seeing a GI? Some (I think very rare) docs may give you a diagnosis based on diet results. My son's GI would but we did the gene test and my daughter already has a positive diagnosis, but I know the doc would give him a positive diagnosis based on the results of a trial diet and family history. Might want to talk to your doc . . .

[MrsMH]

How long was your trial? . . . a coule of days? weeks? months? Are you seeing a GI? Some (I think very rare) docs may give you a diagnosis based on diet results. My son's GI would but we did the gene test and my daughter already has a positive diagnosis, but I know the doc would give him a positive diagnosis based on the results of a trial diet and family history. Might want to talk to your doc . . .

He has been gluten free for 2 1/2 months. We are seeing a naturopath. What exactly is a GI ?

Melissa

[Ursa Major]

A GI is a gastroenterologist (no clue why they shorten it to GI instead of GE).

Your son's reaction to reintroducing gluten is so extreme that you can't possibly go through with keeping him on it just for tests that will be false negatives anyway by now.

Call the doctor and tell him what happened, and cancel the tests. He might just diagnose him with celiac disease based on that awful reaction.

Really, at your son's age the official tests are notoriously unreliable anyway, and trying the diet is the best test. You have your answer already. He does better on the diet, and reacts in a violent way when reintroducing the offending foods. Case closed.

[Darn210]

He has been gluten free for 2 1/2 months. We are seeing a naturopath. What exactly is a GI ?

Melissa

Ursa Major is right, if you've been gluten-free for 2 1/2 months, your blood test next week would probably be negative. He would need to be on gluten for a couple of months for a blood test. I'm assuming the naturopath was planning on a blood test . . .?

[happygirl]

A gastroenterologist deals with the GastroIntestinal Tract, which is why they are called GIs. (i.e., a gastro intestinal doctor)

[ravenwoodglass]

Your son just had a very postive reaction to a gluten challenge after exclusion. Contact your doctor before you give him any more. That reaction was very violent and IMHO should be diagnostic enough.

[Ursa Major]

A gastroenterologist deals with the GastroIntestinal Tract, which is why they are called GIs. (i.e., a gastro intestinal doctor)

Oh, of course! My brain wasn't working there. Thanks for clarifying that.