Gluten Free Before Bloodwork

[Lori and Kieran]

Hi,

My two year old son has been having diahrrea since before last Christmas. I had tried taking him off of milk and juice with no improvement. We also tried probiotics. Doctor says it's toddler diahrrea. He is gaining weight and healthy. I went to the allergist today regarding his egg allergy and mentioned to her that that I was suspicious of Celiac. Since he had to have bloodwork anyway, I asked her to also test for Celiac. It wasn't until I got home that I remembered he should not be gluten free before testing. I had stopped feeding him gluten about five days ago. Will this mess up our results even though it's only been five days? Thanks.

[Gemini]

Hi,

My two year old son has been having diahrrea since before last Christmas. I had tried taking him off of milk and juice with no improvement. We also tried probiotics. Doctor says it's toddler diahrrea. He is gaining weight and healthy. I went to the allergist today regarding his egg allergy and mentioned to her that that I was suspicious of Celiac. Since he had to have bloodwork anyway, I asked her to also test for Celiac. It wasn't until I got home that I remembered he should not be gluten free before testing. I had stopped feeding him gluten about five days ago. Will this mess up our results even though it's only been five days? Thanks.

I was gluten-free for about 3 days before I had the blood work done and it didn't make any difference.....I still tested ridiculously high. Be aware that testing on a 2 year old is unreliable as they may not have had time to develop antibodies to gliadin at such a young age, believe it or not. I still think it good you made the effort but if it comes back negative, that does NOT rule out Celiac. The dietary trial may tell you more than the blood work, at this point of the game.

The whole concept of a toddler having "toddler diarrhea" and being given that as a diagnosis should be grounds for malpractice. That's right up there with "IBS".

It is never normal for a toddler to have diarrhea that long and I think it spells a food allergy or sensitivity/intolerance. They must be selling medical licenses at Walmart these days!

[Lori and Kieran]

I was gluten-free for about 3 days before I had the blood work done and it didn't make any difference.....I still tested ridiculously high. Be aware that testing on a 2 year old is unreliable as they may not have had time to develop antibodies to gliadin at such a young age, believe it or not. I still think it good you made the effort but if it comes back negative, that does NOT rule out Celiac. The dietary trial may tell you more than the blood work, at this point of the game.

The whole concept of a toddler having "toddler diarrhea" and being given that as a diagnosis should be grounds for malpractice. That's right up there with "IBS".

It is never normal for a toddler to have diarrhea that long and I think it spells a food allergy or sensitivity/intolerance. They must be selling medical licenses at Walmart these days!

How long should I keep him on the diet before I should notice results?