Excess Stomach Acid

[raen]

my brother was tested for celiac.. and it came back negative in both blood and endoscopy.

they still think he has it, because i do, our symptoms nearly match, and they tested him for everything else under the sun. he was only been having symptoms for 5 months (though debilitating symptoms) when he got tested, and had been semi-gluten-free for two months before the test.

partly because it was negative, our mother thinks its okay to give him gluten in small amounts, with the stated reasoning, "everyone dies sometime, anyway." first - isn't that child abuse or neglect somehow?? feeding your kid what you suspect will not only make him so sick he can't even move, short-term, but long-term lead to an early slow painful death? just becuase its easier!

second, she is obsessed with the doctors saying he has "excess stomach acid." whenever his stomach has spells of pain after eating gluten, they tell him to take stomach acid reducing medicine.. and that medicine makes him dizzy, but shortens the pains. everyone is a little worried about him taking medicine that makes him feel so dizzy though, they are afraid to take him off it because he keeps getting stomach pains, because she keeps giving him gluten!

can celiac cause excess stomach acid, and is there anything i can do to stop her from glutening my brother?

[ShayFL]

Sadly, if the doctors have not Dx Celiac, there is no reason that legally she cannot feed him gluten. Sorry you are having to deal with this.

Celiac usually causes "low stomach" acid. But could cause the reverse. What most people call acid indigestion is usually a sign of "too little" stomach acid. That is why TUMS just makes it worse over time.

[raen]

what if the child is keeping a food diary that proves his symptoms occur every time he eats gluten, combined with doctors' opinion, and having at least 1 if not multiple first degree relatives with celiac, enough evidence to be considered relatively equal to a positive test?

at the very least, the food diary proves gluten makes him incredibly ill, whether or not that's considered proof of celiac, isn't it still considered abuse, neglect, negligence?

[SGWhiskers]

my brother was tested for celiac.. and it came back negative in both blood and endoscopy.

they still think he has it, ...and had been semi-gluten-free for two months before the test.

Who is they? I know you, but the doctors too? Have they diagnosed him? Did they do a total IgA? Look at the interpreting test results section of the main Celiac.com page. It explains that one more.

Does your family already have a protective services social worker working with you? This is far more than you should have to deal with. Your brother as well. If it is Celiac, then in a couple of years, he will be able to manage it better himself. I hate to see him have to wait that long. I don't know if a food diary would help with a protective services case, but it may just help your mother see the connection between gluten and his symptoms. That really is all you want in the end. Alternatively, maybe you can talk her into putting your brother back on a full gluten diet for a while and having the blood test redone. Maybe you can go along to the next doctor's appointment and share what you see with your brother's reaction to gluten. The doc may want to do some retesting. Or, maybe you can show him the food diary. I wonder if cooking would be easier on your mother if the whole house was gluten free. (I assume you live at home). I also assume little brother has been tested for food allergies.

Good luck. You are a very caring older sister.

[raen]

my plan is to talk to my brother, if i can ever get him alone.. because she doesnt cook, she does whats easiest NOT best time and time again (not that she doesn't love her kids, shes just irresponcible and self-absorbed) and saddly i live very far away from home.

he has SUCH bad symptoms, that i know he will do whatever it takes to be healthy again, and he takes things like developing diabetes, cancer, thyroid problems, etc very seriously, sense his grandma died of stomach cancer and our grandpa has diabetes (both sides of the family seem to be celiac)

my only fear, is that she and other adults may try to give this little boy things containing or contaminated with gluten out of laziness.. and i'm too far away to keep an eye on this!

maybe say something like.. "eating gluten/dairy an adult offers you when your hungry, is like a thirsty person drinking sea water, it will only make you MORE starved/sick, even if it LOOKS like food."

they wont talk to me much about his testing, they just give me the vuege crap "its all in the normal range - he has no diseases, infections, etc" because they are STILL not used to the confirmation that i was never a hypochondria- but i have talked my mom into getting him a saliva test, and wheat allergy test, and i am insisting they bring me along.

[ravenwoodglass]

my plan is to talk to my brother, if i can ever get him alone.. because she doesnt cook, she does whats easiest NOT best time and time again (not that she doesn't love her kids, shes just irresponcible and self-absorbed) and saddly i live very far away from home.

he has SUCH bad symptoms, that i know he will do whatever it takes to be healthy again, and he takes things like developing diabetes, cancer, thyroid problems, etc very seriously, sense his grandma died of stomach cancer and our grandpa has diabetes (both sides of the family seem to be celiac)

my only fear, is that she and other adults may try to give this little boy things containing or contaminated with gluten out of laziness.. and i'm too far away to keep an eye on this!

maybe say something like.. "eating gluten/dairy an adult offers you when your hungry, is like a thirsty person drinking sea water, it will only make you MORE starved/sick, even if it LOOKS like food."

they wont talk to me much about his testing, they just give me the vuege crap "its all in the normal range - he has no diseases, infections, etc" because they are STILL not used to the confirmation that i was never a hypochondria- but i have talked my mom into getting him a saliva test, and wheat allergy test, and i am insisting they bring me along.

Your plan is a good one, your little brother is the one who is ultimately going to have to deal with saying no if stuff is not safe. Don't sell him short, educate him and give him the tools he needs to make a good decision on his own. He now knows that gluten is going to make him sick and he is the one who is going to have to be responsible for what goes into his body.

I would strongly advise that you NOT contact social services or child protective services. To pull them in may cause repercussions that you really don't want. If CPS does decide that perhaps your Mom is not as careful as needed do you really want to see you little bro in a foster home? They may know even less than she does and that also will cause emotional damage far beyond what glutenings will. And guess who the family, including your little brother will blame, you. Do you really want to tear your family apart in a way that will likely have your little brother hating you for the rest of your life?

How about having your little brother come and stay with you during vacations and holidays? That would enable you to teach him what he needs to know. You could have fun teaching him how to cook a few meals that he could then cook for he family when he gets back home. When he goes home he would have the knowledge he needs to keep himself safe.

[GlutenWrangler]

Child protective services wouldn't remove him from the home on the first call. It would take multiple calls and evidence for that to happen. If you truly feel like it's a serious enough issue that you need to call CPS, don't hesitate to do so. You have to go with your gut on this. Nobody on this forum can really tell you what to do in this situation. Ultimately, it's your family, and your little brother's health. So follow your instincts and do what you think is best. But I think it's a good idea for you explore other avenues first...Talking to your brother about it just might be enough to solve the problem. I wish you the best of luck on this whole issue. I'm so sorry that you are in such a tough situation. Take care,

-Brian