Need To Re-test?

[SusanGB]

My son who is 3y 3m was tested when he was one and it was negative. Is there any need to re-test? Could he now be positive even though he wasn't two years ago?

Thanks for your opinions!

Susan

[lizard00]

Do you have a reason to think he should be retested? If you do, then yes. Tests on children are very inconclusive, so it could very well have been negative for that reason. Children have a tendency to not produce a lot of IgA, which is what many doctors only test for.

Have you tried him gluten-free?

[SusanGB]

My aunt has the disease and both my kids have growth issues so I was thinking of getting them tested. My youngest was tested 2 years ago (negative) by his endocrinologist. I didn't know if in kids the results could change with time.

Thanks-

Susan

[Fiddle-Faddle]

The tests in kids are VERY inconclusive--the false negative rate is just way too high

Really, the best diagnostic tool is to just try a gluten-free diet on them--if you see sudden growth spurts (as well as less stinky poops, fewer tummy aches, disappearance of eczema/reflux, developmental leaps) within the first month, there is your answer.

If you see no changes whatsoever, you can always go back on wheat if you so desire.

And, no, you do NOT need a doctor's permission to do this. THere is NOTHING in wheat that you can't get from other, non-gluten sources. Nobody ever died because they didn't have wheat in their diet. But people HAVE died from having it!

[JennyC]

I would get him retested, because if your child was one at the time he was too young for the test to be accurate, If you are unsatisfied with the results you could always try him on the gluten free diet no matter what the results are.

[Darn210]

My son is small for his age. His sister was diagnosed with Celiac. His results were somewhat inconclusive. He has no GI symptoms (or any other symptoms that we've noticed). During an appointment with the pedGI (who was reluctant to scope . . . and YES, we were too!!!) we decided to do a trial diet to see if we could pick up some growth. We decided on a 6 month time frame. After 6 months, if there is no shift on his growth curve, then he can go back on gluten. Times almost up and we haven't seen anything. The doc thought if we were going to see something that we would probably notice a difference in the second month. It didn't work out for us but at least we answered that question. If you do it, make sure you give yourself a couple of months . . . a couple of weeks isn't enough time.

[aikiducky]

Here in Holland they recommend that siblings get tested periodically every few years. The reason is that celiac can get triggered at any age. Even if a child tests negative at one point, it doesn't mean that they will never develop celiac.

[SusanGB]

Thank you all for your insight and advice. I think I will have both kids tested.

Good luck to all-

Susan