Could This Be Celiac?

[Denise61]

Hi all,

I am at the end of a week with my 9 year old son having stomach aches. On Sunday, it was severe enough to warrent a trip to the e.r. to check for appendicitis. We were able to rule that out, luckily. When he was four, he tested positive to Celiac. He had the endoscopy which showed that he did not have it. At six, he had some stomach problems and because of the earlier positive test, the G.I. revisited that possibility. He didn't seem to have it, but was found to carry the marker for it, meaning he could develop it at any time. It turns out that I do have it in my family background. At any rate, he has has pain right around the belly button all week and has had quite a lot of nausea with frequent attempts to vomit, and some diarhea. When he starts feeling better (usually around lunch time), I have let him have something to eat. Then by dinner, the pain is worse and he can't eat again. Yesterday we went to the doctor who sent us for an ultrasound, exrays, and blood work. Everything came back normal. In the afternoon my son felt great - really back to himself in appearance and activity level. We were so happy that we let him have whatever he wanted for dinner. It turned out to be a panini with a side of pesto pasta. He woke up sick again today. Then I started thinking about what he had had to eat this week, and the lunches were half sandwiches. I started to think about the wheat connection. We will be seeing the doctor again this afternoon, but it's driving me crazy not knowing what is going on. In your experience, how much time passes between consuming gluten and exhibiting symptoms? Could a child go from being symptom free to showing symptoms virtually overnight? If anyone has any feedback they would like to offer, I would be greatly appreciative! Thanks for your time.

Denise61

[debmom]

Your experience sounds a lot like ours with our daughter. She was checked for appendicitis 7 times in several months. None of her tests showed celiac but when she stopped eating gluten, her stomach pain began to subside slowly until it went away completely. Her intestinal problems started when she was an infant, but it wasn't until she was a teenager that she started having terrible pain and other troubles often related to gluten. Her glutenings affect her within a few hours generally, so her gastroenterologist says that she has a wheat allergy, not celiac. That would explain why she has negative blood tests. But it doesn't explain everything to us. We just know she is better off of gluten and wheat. I would definitely try eliminating gluten and see if he isn't better.

[Juliebove]

My daughter had her appendix out at age 3. Afterwards the Dr. said the appendix was fine but she had Peritonitis. I'm not so sure. After that, more stomach problems. Each time the Dr. (different one) said she had strep and that in small children it often presented itself as a stomach problem. The only things I could get her to eat/drink when she was so sick like that were yogurt, fruit juice and chicken broth or plain chicken broth with rice that I made from scratch.

Then at age 6 she was diagnosed with food allergies. 7 things, including wheat and gluten. So he could have an allergy.