What Do You Think?

[MelindaLee]

I was diagnosed with celiac a couple weeks ago. As I started to educate myself I notice that my 9 year old daughter has symptoms which concern me. She has always had a super high gag reflex, so often vomits. But she has complained more and more lately of stomach aches. She also recently had a few days of D, which resulted in her ruining her underwear (unheard of for this child, who has been potty trained since 2). I have been concerned about ADHD for the last couple of years but have always been hesitant to put that lable on her or look into meds. At 9 years old she weighs 60 lbs. Does it warrant testing...or am I becoming a hypochondric by proxy???

[Skylark]

You are absolutely not being a "hypochondriac by proxy" (great phrase!). Celiac runs in families so if you have celiac, your daughter's risk is about 1 in 20. With her symptoms, it absolutely makes sense to have her tested. Once the tests are done, even if they're negative you may want to see if the diet helps her feel calmer, stops the stomachaches, and lets her grow a little better.

[T.H.]

I'm with Skylark - not hypochondriac at all. In fact, if you have any siblings, you should see if they would agree to get tested, too. Parents as well. They all have that 1 in 20 chance of having the disease.

My father was diagnosed a few years back, and we tested no one. Then I came up positive and everyone got tested. My daughter AND my brother came back positive. My son had symptoms, and even though he came back negative, we took him off gluten, and his symptoms disappeared as well, so I'm thinking false negative test for him, or he simply doesn't do well with gluten.

It's definitely worth checking out.

[MelindaLee]

Thanks for the feed back. I will also let you know my DS has been avoiding gluten for a couple years now due research he did and it making him feel better (and cut down his acne!) I feel like I now "see" celiac everywhere. I have talked with my relatives about being tested. Some are avoiding because ingnorance is "bliss" I can't say thank you enough to all the help I have found on this site!