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Can A Child "outgrow" Celiac?

Lori2

By Lori2
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Lori2 Contributor
Lori2
Posted

Can a child

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shopgirl Contributor
shopgirl
Posted

No. It's as simple as that. Like you said, people can have silent, latent, or asymptomatic Celiacs

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Can a child

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

You should encourage him to at least get the blood test done. There may actually be health issues you are not aware of as not all are comfortable discussing health issues with others. Also some people think the stomach issues that often come with celiac are 'normal for them'. Celiac can impact any organ so it isn't just tummy issues that are seen. Headaches, moodiness, joint and muscle pain, and much more can be part of the celiac picture. I should mention that since he was diagnosed as a young child you and all his first degree relatives should be screened also.

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

ALL EXCELLENT points above AND TRUE!!!

one does NOT outgrow Celiac, period. & YES, even if it is not affecting his gut, it can be destroying another part of his body, like his brain or heart, etc, etc

and maybe it's possible that he was misdiagnosed 50 years ago...

T.H. Community Regular
T.H.
Posted

One can't outgrow celiac disease, no.

I would guess the test was accurate considering that your son improved on a celiac diet. And there is definitely a chance of some severe problems at this point.

My father had no gut symptoms, but his hips deteriorated, his spine developed arthritis, his lungs had problems, etc...

It also increases his chances of having more serious complications to diseases and illnesses because he'll be immuno-compromised.

This is a website with 300 symptoms/signs of celiac disease that might help you and your son look at his health and decide if he should get tested again, or simply readopt the gluten free diet.

Can a child

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Yes, celiac disease CAN be outgrown. People around here think of celiac as permanent but it's not always the case. I'm a little frustrated because I can't seem to turn up the research article I read recently showing remission in some childhood celiacs.

Thing is, celiac remission is relatively rare, while "silent" celiac is more common. "Silent celiac" is where a person has no symptoms, but does have musocal damage and malabsorption. Osteoporosis is common, as are deficiencies in B vitamins that can lead to neurological disorders. If I were you, I would press him to get the testing done, because the consequences of silent celiac can be so severe.

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Dixiebell Contributor
Dixiebell
Posted

Renission refers to the response of the treatment. It does not mean that the disease/condition is cured.

I believe this to be true because unfortunately, as in the case of my MIL, she is being treated for the third time for cancer. Her first was in the 80's, then early 2000, and now. The cancer is being found in the same area and has now moved to her bone. In between these times she was being tested to make sure she was in remission and she was. Yes,I know cancer is different from celiac.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Yes, celiac disease CAN be outgrown. People around here think of celiac as permanent but it's not always the case. I'm a little frustrated because I can't seem to turn up the research article I read recently showing remission in some childhood celiacs.

Thing is, celiac remission is relatively rare, while "silent" celiac is more common. "Silent celiac" is where a person has no symptoms, but does have musocal damage and malabsorption. Osteoporosis is common, as are deficiencies in B vitamins that can lead to neurological disorders. If I were you, I would press him to get the testing done, because the consequences of silent celiac can be so severe.

While remission can occur, doctors refer to it as a 'honeymoon' period, damage is still being done. This remission was the reason why doctors years ago commonly thought that celiac was a childhood disease and that children could outgrow it. It can take a long time for symptoms to reoccur and they are not always the GI symptoms that are usually thought of but can be damage to others organs.

Mari Enthusiast
Mari
Posted

Back 50 years ago gluten sensitivity was usually diagnosed by eliminating wheat, barley and rye from the diet and noticing the improvement. Your son may have had a wheat allergy and this may have cleared up as he got older. He may have had non-celiac sprue (Leaky Gut Syndrome) which cleared up on the gluten free diet, especially if he was gluten-free at 5 months when the intestinal wall matures and prevents food antigens from entering the body. If he had autoimmune Celiac Disease it may have become silent but there may have been some continuing damage to his small intestine even tho he had no symptoms.

I suggest having him tested by the genetic DNA tests which would tell if he is predisposed to developing Celiac Disease and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Also the Molecular Serology test (Prometheus Labs) could give the same information. There are several labs online which can do the DNA tests, I used Enterolab.com. The serology test is ordered by Drs.

Lori2 Contributor
Lori2
Posted
  • Author

Back 50 years ago gluten sensitivity was usually diagnosed by eliminating wheat, barley and rye from the diet and noticing the improvement. Your son may have had a wheat allergy and this may have cleared up as he got older. He may have had non-celiac sprue (Leaky Gut Syndrome) which cleared up on the gluten free diet, especially if he was gluten-free at 5 months when the intestinal wall matures and prevents food antigens from entering the body. If he had autoimmune Celiac Disease it may have become silent but there may have been some continuing damage to his small intestine even tho he had no symptoms.

Probably not a wheat allergy. He was hospitalized the first time for dehydration at one month of age. I had tried nursing him but didn't have enough milk, so he was on whatever formula we used back then. I have no idea what was in it.

At six months he was anemic so the Dr. gave me a liquid iron supplement to try. One-fourth of a teaspoonful was enough to give him diarrhea. Again, I don't know what was in it. Back then you didn't ask questions of your Dr. and you didn't get copies of lab work. You just followed orders.

Last night I gave him copies of a few pages from Dr. Green's book to read. Since he is very health conscious, he will probably go to his Dr. for a celiac panel. At least I hope so.

  • 1 year later...
aircooled Newbie
aircooled
Posted

Can a child

sandsurfgirl Collaborator
sandsurfgirl
Posted

Yes, celiac disease CAN be outgrown. People around here think of celiac as permanent but it's not always the case. I'm a little frustrated because I can't seem to turn up the research article I read recently showing remission in some childhood celiacs.

Thing is, celiac remission is relatively rare, while "silent" celiac is more common. "Silent celiac" is where a person has no symptoms, but does have musocal damage and malabsorption. Osteoporosis is common, as are deficiencies in B vitamins that can lead to neurological disorders. If I were you, I would press him to get the testing done, because the consequences of silent celiac can be so severe.

If you're in remission you haven't outgrown it. It's just lurking in the shadows and you don't know when it will come back. We patients report so many non GI issues that cleared up with gluten free diet, so it's likely that the "remission" is just for GI symptoms and the person can be presenting with other things the docs aren't linking to celiac.

Allergy is a whole different game. Allergy is a histamine response. With allergy shots you can condition your body not to react to an allergen and yes allergies can be outgrown. Celiac is autoimmune and you cannot outgrow it even if it does go in remission.

I had it my whole life and got diagnosed at 40. There were times I felt good though and I believe it was in remission. But it always reared its ugly head again.

As for the OP's son, I would like to know his entire health picture. Does he stumble or bump into things? Does he have asthma, allergies or sinus infections? Anxiety? Joint pain? There are so many non GI symptoms of celiac.

Lori2 Contributor
Lori2
Posted
  • Author

I see that it has been a year since I started this thread. In June my son did EnteroLab testing which showed him to gluten and casein sensitive. With his personality type, I think he will be able to maintain a gluten-free diet even though he doesn

sandsurfgirl Collaborator
sandsurfgirl
Posted

Ha ha I never looked at the original date! Glad he's doing better and has answers.

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    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Blood tests for thiamine are unreliable.  The nutrients from your food get absorbed into the bloodstream and travel around the body.  So, a steak dinner can falsely raise thiamine blood levels in the following days.  Besides, thiamine is utilized inside cells where stores of thiamine are impossible to measure. A better test to ask for is the Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test.  But even that test has been questioned as to accuracy.  It is expensive and takes time to do.   Because of the discrepancies with thiamine tests and urgency with correcting thiamine deficiency, the World Health Organization recommends giving thiamine for several weeks and looking for health improvement.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   Many doctors are not given sufficient education in nutrition and deficiency symptoms, and may not be familiar with how often they occur in Celiac disease.  B12 and Vitamin D can be stored for as long as a year in the liver, so not having deficiencies in these two vitamins is not a good indicator of the status of the other seven water soluble B vitamins.  It is possible to have deficiency symptoms BEFORE there's changes in the blood levels.   Ask your doctor about Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine that is better absorbed than Thiamine Mononitrate.  Thiamine Mononitrate is used in many vitamins because it is shelf-stable, a form of thiamine that won't break down sitting around on a store shelf.  This form is difficult for the body to turn into a usable form.  Only thirty percent is absorbed in the intestine, and less is actually used.   Thiamine interacts with all of the other B vitamins, so they should all be supplemented together.  Magnesium is needed to make life sustaining enzymes with thiamine, so a magnesium supplement should be added if magnesium levels are low.   Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  There's no harm in trying.
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
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      Son's legs shaking

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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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