26 Pound 17 Month Old, Showing Celiac Symptoms?

[jryanbass]

hi,

My 17 month old Parker has been sick for nearly a month now. When he was around 9 months old I took him to a pediatric allergist because I thought he had celiac intolerances. They did a skin prick test and said he was fine.He was still nursing, so his bowel movements were not as obviously bad, so I trusted the doctor. He has ALWAYS eaten insane amounts of food. 12 chicken nuggets, a fruit cup and a medium fry was his recent meal at chik-fil-a. He will eat 2 bowls of instant oatmeal for breakfast and still cry for more. 2 Pork chops and sides for dinner is normal. I have been doing research and saw that in some cases Celiac can present as having constant appetite to the point of cravings. is this true? His bowel movements are clay colored and CONSTANT, every time I change him he has pooped. His food is undigested in his diaper. Sometimes the bowel movements change to dark green and FOWL smelling. His belly is always distended, and he has a constant diaper rash. He also sleeps a lot! 12 hours at night and 4 hours worth of naps during the day.Does this sound like Celiac? My gut tells me it is. We have an appointment with a Pediatric GI tomorrow and I want to know what to ask for and what to say.

[Lisa]

I am glad that you are continuing to seek answers. Listed below is the Blood Panel to test for Celiac. It is not always reliable in young children, though. This blood test, endoscopy/biopsy and a positive dietary response can help to diagnose for Celiac.

Antigliadin antibodies (AGA) both IrA and IgG

Antiendomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA

Total IgA level.

Good luck tomorrow and don't stop until you have your answers.

[swalker]

In my experience, testing is very unreliable. The best idea, from my perspective, is to remove gluten and see how they react. If it clears up the symptoms (which are pretty classic gluten intolerance symptoms, by the way) then you've got your answer without invasive and unreliable testing.

[mommida]

Those were my daughter's symptoms. She was diagnosed as "probable" Celiac (17 months) after a positive on the blood panel, and positive for DQ2 and DQ8 genes. The endoscopy with biopsy was not done because she was hospitalized at that point with dehydration. She had an UTI infection ~ bladder infection probably from still being in diapers with such severe "D".

Do not start the gluten free diet until all testing is finished.

Six years later she had an endoscopy with biopsy done, and she was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Many parents do not want to put their child through the endoscopy, but it can rule out any other problems that might be going on Celiac related or not.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family right now. If you have any questions, ask them here.

[swalker]

Those were my daughter's symptoms. She was diagnosed as "probable" Celiac (17 months) after a positive on the blood panel, and positive for DQ2 and DQ8 genes. The endoscopy with biopsy was not done because she was hospitalized at that point with dehydration. She had an UTI infection ~ bladder infection probably from still being in diapers with such severe "D".

Do not start the gluten free diet until all testing is finished.

Six years later she had an endoscopy with biopsy done, and she was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Many parents do not want to put their child through the endoscopy, but it can rule out any other problems that might be going on Celiac related or not.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family right now. If you have any questions, ask them here.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis is a symptom of a food sensitivity, not a diagnosis. If she's been off gluten this whole time the next candidates are: dairy, corn, soy, peanuts, treenuts and nightshades but any food sensitivity can cause the swelling that results in Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Testing for food allergies is unreliable, and reactions can take up to two days so a detailed food and symptom diary is often the only way to nail them down.

[OptimisticMom42]

I know a lot of the parents on here will disagree with me but here goes nothing......... If you believe that something you are feeding your child is harming him stop feeding it to him. As we can all see from the thousands of postings on this site and others, it can take years of misery to get a Dr. to play along. A gluten free diet will not harm your child in anyway. We are talking about just feeding him plain healthy fruits, veggies and freshly cooked meats for awhile. If it has more than one ingredient in it, don't feed it to your child. If he gets better, you have your answer.

OptimisticMom42

[swalker]

I know a lot of the parents on here will disagree with me but here goes nothing......... If you believe that something you are feeding your child is harming him stop feeding it to him. As we can all see from the thousands of postings on this site and others, it can take years of misery to get a Dr. to play along. A gluten free diet will not harm your child in anyway. We are talking about just feeding him plain healthy fruits, veggies and freshly cooked meats for awhile. If it has more than one ingredient in it, don't feed it to your child. If he gets better, you have your answer.

OptimisticMom42

Hear Hear!

[jryanbass]

Thanks everyone. The appointment today went "okay". They took another stool sample to

check for celiac and took four vials of blood, which was fun let me tell you. She said I will know the results of those next week. She also said most babies with Celiac are "very skinny" grr... If those come back negative, I have thought about doing the full panel screen at enterolab, since we are paying out of pocket anyway. I need a diagnosis because I have a totally unsupportive family who will say "oh it won't hurt him" and give it to him anyway. I need to have something to say NO it will hurt him. It sucks, but mommy's word isn't good enough. What are your thoughts on enterolab? Worth it or not?