What Kind Of Doctor

[3littlebears]

I am interested in having my son (age 4) tested for celiac. We took him off of gluten about 3 months ago for behavior problems at school. They wanted to put him on drugs, but I was desperate to try anything and had read about gluten free diets. The reason I want to have him tested for celiac is that he within days of going on the diet he became an almost perfect child at school,and less hyper at home. This is a kid that had gotten three spankings at school in the first week of classes. We tried letting him eat what he wanted on Friday nights, but we noticed that he would always break out in a rash that looks like chicken pox afterwards. He has always had skin, stomach, bowel problems. He was breastfed and if I ate anything from a cow his stomach was messed up. I though he had allergies, but we went through a whole round of allergy testing 2 years ago and he didn't show any food allergies at all. The allergy clinic thought he might have reflux.

My problem is that I don't know what kind of doctor to take him too. We live in a small very rural part of southern OK. They don't have any celiac specialists that I can find. Can a regular doctor do the test for this?

[Mother of Jibril]

Welcome to the group!

A regular doctor can do the celiac panel... it's just a blood test. The problem is that false negatives are pretty common, especially in small children. Also, even if you have the "celiac genes" and a positive response to the diet, you're unlikely to get a positive result once you've been gluten-free for three months.

My son has a problem with casein (cow's milk) too. And corn. I've never had him tested, but there's no way I'm going to let him eat these foods again until he can take some responsibility for his own health. I'm sure your son knows when he feels "icky," but he's probably too young to understand the long-term consequences of autoimmune disorders.

It makes me sad to think of your son being spanked at school for a problem he can't control. Why not just keep him off gluten and dairy? Human beings can be perfectly healthy without these foods.

Whether your son is ever diagnosed with celiac disease or not, this is a great place to learn more about the gluten-free diet.

ps - Food allergies and food intolerances are not the same thing. I don't have ANY food allergies, but I'm intolerant to gluten and corn. Some unlucky people have allergies and intolerances to the same foods, which really causes a bad reaction!

[Happy Holly]

I am so sorry your son is having problems. I can relate. I had symptoms since I was very young, but was not diagnosed until I was 42 years old. Who knows how much damage has been done to my digestive system.

It sounds to me like your son also has the skin disease which is related to celiac sprue. The skin rash is called, "dermititus herpetiformis" If you do a search, you can find out a lot about DH. I do believe a dermatologist can take a skin sample and test it for DH. If your son does have DH, then it is definate that he also has celiac sprue. One does not have DH without also having DH.

It's kind of a round-about way to finding celiac sprue, but it works.

I am interested in having my son (age 4) tested for celiac. We took him off of gluten about 3 months ago for behavior problems at school. They wanted to put him on drugs, but I was desperate to try anything and had read about gluten free diets. The reason I want to have him tested for celiac is that he within days of going on the diet he became an almost perfect child at school,and less hyper at home. This is a kid that had gotten three spankings at school in the first week of classes. We tried letting him eat what he wanted on Friday nights, but we noticed that he would always break out in a rash that looks like chicken pox afterwards. He has always had skin, stomach, bowel problems. He was breastfed and if I ate anything from a cow his stomach was messed up. I though he had allergies, but we went through a whole round of allergy testing 2 years ago and he didn't show any food allergies at all. The allergy clinic thought he might have reflux.

My problem is that I don't know what kind of doctor to take him too. We live in a small very rural part of southern OK. They don't have any celiac specialists that I can find. Can a regular doctor do the test for this?

[Corgi-Fan]

You may be surprised to hear this, but I was diagnosed by a chiropractor who specializes in kinesiology (muscle testing). I had suffered for years with chronic fatigue, intense pain in my small intestine, and diarrhea when a friend told me about Dr. Koch of Elm Grove Wisconsin. I went to see him, not sure what to expect, but he checked me for many toxins and allergens when he told me I was wheat intolerant. I was so desperate that I was willing to try anything so I eliminated grains right away. The next day I had a headache that words cannot describe but by the next day I noticed a dramatic change in my energy level. The diarrhea was gone for the first time in years and the pain gradually left my gut over the next few weeks. Now it's 6 months later and I feel normal again! Dr. Koch also uncovered mercury toxins, and parasites. we're just cleaning things up as we find them. But I tell you this so you will know that there are alternatives to western medicine that can be much more helpful than the conventional approach. If you live anywhere near Milwaukee I would invite you to check out Dr. Koch. He is amazing and he changed my life!

[Melissa B.]

Wow! What is the Dr. Koch's first name of the chiro you saw in Elm Grove?

[cahill]

After I replied I realized that this is a very old thread

[sreese68]

***Oops! Just saw above me that this is an old thread! Sorry!!**

If you suspect his rash is DH, you could schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. Then have your son eat gluten right before the appointment, so his rash will show up and it can get biopsied. That way, he'd only have to eat it a time or two instead of the 3 months it takes for a blood test. Search the forums here for the correct way for a biopsy to be done as it seems many dermatologists aren't aware of where to take the biopsy.

Good luck!