Would You Have Her Tested?

[bananapancake09]

Hi ladies- I'm new here, and thought I'd try to get some feedback on my 9 month old daughter.

Lucy has a lot of funny symptoms:

Slow growth - 16lbz 15oz, 25.5 inches at 9 mo checkup

Dark circles under eyes

Eczema

Very smelly gas

Loose stools

Screaming spells every so often- pain in tummy?

Reflux

Undigested food

Stuffy nose

My FIL is a Celiac and members of his family are being diagnosed recently, so it seems like a good step to take.

I'm going to call her pedi today and discuss it. What labs should I ask for? What should I do in the meantime?

[happygirl]

With the symptoms and family history, yes, I would have her tested.

However, testing is not as accurate in younger children. Even if the tests are negative, she could still have it.

The blood tests you want are the FULL Celiac panel. It involves five tests. Make sure that your dr orders them all.

Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) both IgA and IgG

Anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA

Total IgA level.

for more info on testing and other Celiac info, check out: Open Original Shared Link

A good bit of info: Open Original Shared Link

Q: Why do my family members need to be screened for celiac disease?

When the diagnosis is established in one family member, their first- degree relatives (parents, siblings and children) should have blood tests for celiac disease. This is because at least 10% of family members will have the disease, even if they are asymptomatic. Screening is also recommended for second-degree relatives (grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles and cousins) as they are also at an increased risk for celiac disease. Family members who already have an autoimmune disease are at a greatly increased risk to have celiac disease (25%).

The reasons to diagnose family members prior to the development of symptoms include the prevention autoimmune diseases and malignancy.

(Your husband should also be tested since his father has it).

The main thing to do is to keep her eating gluten. Don't take gluten out of her diet until AFTER all testing is complete. Testing requires gluten to be in the system.

Best of luck, and I hope you find answers regardless of what the issue is!

[Ursa Major]

I agree with happygirl to have her tested. But in addition, even if the tests end up negative, please try the gluten-free diet after testing is completed (and if you still breast feed, you will need to stop eating gluten, because she'll get it through your milk). In children that young the tests are extremely unreliable and the diet trial is the best test.

All of your daughter's symptoms could be caused by celiac disease and are very common for babies with it.

[ryebaby0]

Testing this young is extremely unreliable (and have you ever tried blood tests with a baby!? Oy....) so most reputable doctors will either 1. not do it until she's at least 2 and/or 2. advise a gluten-free trial to see how she reacts. So you may want to just start with #2 on your own!