Could It Be Celiac Despite Prior Negative Test?

[slmcpherson]

My son is 2 years old and has been having "tummy aches" and diarhea for about 2 weeks. We had him tested for Celiac about a year ago when my husband was diagnosed, though our son was showing no symptoms. Our son's test came back negative. Any chance he could still have Celiac Disease despite the negative test a year ago? We initially thought he was having the tummy trouble due to a change in his diet since we were on vacation. But we've been home for a week and he's back on his regular schedule and diet and has had no change in his symptoms.

[mushroom]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Celiac disease is often difficult to diagnose in children, and the tests are often negative when everything tells you they should be positive. However, if he was asymptomatic at the time he was first tested and is now having symptoms, I think I would ask for him to be retested because of the strong genetic component associated with celiac disease. If his test is still negative, you could try eliminating gluten from his diet and see if he improves, rather than letting him suffer until he tests positive. If removing gluten makes no difference then he probably does not have it at this point, but anything can trigger the celiac response--illness, stress, trauma.

[slmcpherson]

Thank you. I will discuss it with my husband and maybe do a trial run of having our son go gluten free and see if things clear up. His first plane ride and major trip away from home could certainly be considered a stressful situation. I'm just imagining the nightmare it's going to create for me with his daycare if he does have Celiac for snacks and lunch. And then too, I hope he's not lactose intolerant. He loves milk, cheese, and yogurt.

[OBXMom]

My son was tested for celiac disease as a toddler. His pediatrician strongly suspected it, and sent us to a specialist, who told us he did not have celiac disease based on blood results. At 7 a different GI diagnosed him based on blood work, then a biopsy. I would give anything to have had him skip those 5 years of pain, poor growth and developmental delays prior to proper diagnosis. Yes, a gluten free diet is difficult, but not as difficult as watching a chronically ill child suffer. Maybe you could consider enterolab testing to get a different perspective - whatever you do, don't give up until you get answers.

Hope your little guy feels better soon.

[slmcpherson]

We went gluten-free with my son on Saturday with a small slip-up at a birthday party. Yesterday was completely gluten-free, and we're going gluten-free again today. I packed his lunch and snacks for daycare and my daycare provider seems to be on board as long as I can handle packing food for him so she doesn't have to worry about forgetting what is ok and what is not. Which I am totally willing to do since she's not really prepared for this and will need help understanding the cross contamination issue too. So far, no change in my son's bowel movements and gassiness. My husband called the pediatrician and they suggested next removing dairy. Should I continue to keep him gluten-free and now also dairy, or add gluten back in and remove dairy so if there is a response, I'll know which component it was? Or continue gluten-free, also go dairy free, and if he shows improvement, add back gluten and see what happens? My concern is distinguishing if he has an issue with only one or both. Plus, do I need to clean all of his toys for gluten residue?