1 Week With Gluten And No Symptoms?

[betsyabailey]

Hi everyone! I posted last week about lab work and gluten and got some great advice, thanks! My DH decided that he wanted to go ahead and do the labs now AND find a different preschool. So Aidan, my son has been having a pretty significant amount of gluten for about a week now with absolutely no symptoms that we can see. Is it normal for the gastro problems to take awhile when adding gluten back to diet? I figured it would be at least close to immediate, like before. Thanks!

Betsy

[Ursa Major]

It can take a while for gluten to build up in his system, before he will have symptoms. Or he might not get any obvious symptoms now, like diarrhea, but rather stop growing. In fact, failure to thrive is the most common symptom in babies and toddlers with celiac disease.

Also, since he didn't have gluten since he was a tiny infant, it will likely take years to destroy his villi and make him sick enough to test positive. By then he will probably have stunted growth and be nutritionally deficient.

It is obviously your choice to go ahead with this gluten challenge. But it will likely result in negative tests, even if you keep feeding him gluten for several months. Still, the tests will mean nothing if negative. They are notoriously unreliable in children under six to begin with, and in a child who didn't have gluten for as long as your son they will probably be completely useless.

But the doctor will look at those tests and declare your son 'healed' of celiac disease or gluten intolerance, and will tell you that he can eat gluten now.

Too many people on this forum had that happen to them. Only to get seriously ill in their adult years, and ending up having other autoimmune diseases triggered by the gluten they consumed.

You don't outgrow a gluten intolerance. Your son had severe reactions to gluten as a baby. When removing the offending food, often the symptoms will be different when reintroduced and many times are not recognized as symptoms at all.

[ShayFL]

I just met a woman at my Celiac support group a few weeks back that was Dx as an infant, but "cured" when she was about 8 or so. Fast forward to 35 and she now has complete numbness in her hands and feet that have not responded to 2 years gluten free, B12, thyroid meds, etc. And she now has auto-immune disease (thyroid) and lost 10 years of her life with severe symptoms (D, pain, bloating,etc.) that doctors couldnt figure out......She is Celiac and has been since a baby. She didnt outgrow it......

[purple]

I just met a woman at my Celiac support group a few weeks back that was Dx as an infant, but "cured" when she was about 8 or so. Fast forward to 35 and she now has complete numbness in her hands and feet that have not responded to 2 years gluten free, B12, thyroid meds, etc. And she now has auto-immune disease (thyroid) and lost 10 years of her life with severe symptoms (D, pain, bloating,etc.) that doctors couldnt figure out......She is Celiac and has been since a baby. She didnt outgrow it......

I am glad you posted this. My friend has many of the symptoms of celiac but has never been tested. Endometriosis, hysterectomy, other stomache troubles, surgeries....lots more...for at least 15 years. Her last surgery was on her thyroid. I can't remember if they removed some of it or what exactly. I keep telling her to get checked. I have been studying it on this forum for only 4 months to learn all the symptoms. About 12 years ago she had multiple surgeries on her gut but they couldn't figure it out. She had to fly to another town to see a specialist. Then they removed something else and now she can eat again. She still has celiac symptoms though. Not one doc has said to check her for celiac..hmmm. Her latest problem is a shooting pain down her leg.

She is only 38. What a terrible thing to go through that doesn't have to happen if only the docs could figure it out. I took my 19 year old to an osteopath and he knew on the first visit.

This forum is such a blessing to everyone!!! Thanks to all for all your input!!!

[gfp]

What Ursa said ....

and like Shay said ... you can 'lose' lots of good years and get complications ... which is a big risk.

all this vs just not eating gluten ....