Not Sure How To Proceed

[chrissyinnj]

I had my son tested (he's a teen) for gluten intolerance not for gi symptoms (gas, diar, etc) but other symptoms (skin issues (dermatitis,eczema,severe acne), ADD, non-hpylori,non-nsaid stomach ulcer, asthma as a child, allergies, chronic congestion, nosebleeds, etc)

So the enterolab results were a 9 which is negative, but at the top edge. Their "however" included he could be Iga deficient or he could be in the beginning stages. So, I'm not really sure where to go from here. I took him to his internist and she was not helpful at all. She said to take him to a GI. Does it make sense to take him to a GI if he doesn't actually have gi symptoms?

He has been eating gluten free as a trial for 5-6 weeks. So blood work at this point would be useless?

[eatmeat4good]

Since he has been off of gluten, any tests the GI would do would likely be negative. I have a teen with non-classic symptoms, asthma, fatigue, lethargy, depression, rashes, leg pain. Dr.'s were no help to me at all. They said it couldn't be Celiac, he isn't underweight and he has no classic symptoms. However, I was certain it was gluten. So he went off it for a couple of weeks. Then challenged it by eating a pizza and he got all of his symptoms plus the classic ones of D, nausea, stomach pain. That was enough for us. He is happily gluten free and starting to thrive for the first time in his life. I guess your choice is to have him go back on gluten to try to get tested for Celiac, or stay gluten free to see if it helps him. Has he noticed any improvement in his own symptoms? My son's response to gluten was dramatic once it was all out of his system. The recovery has been dramatic too. have you considered doing a gluten challenge? I mean, he will have to eat gluten for weeks to get an accurate test, but a one time gluten meal consumption may be all it takes for you guys to get your confirmation that gluten is the problem. I wish Dr.'s would be concerned about non-c;assic Celiac symptoms but they just aren't. Interestingly, now whenever my son gets accidental trace gluten, he DOES have classic symptoms. But there is still no way he would ever agree to eat gluten long enough to be tested.

[GlutenFreeManna]

If he still has the skin issues you can take him to a dermatologist instead and ask for a biopsy of the skin NEXT to the legions to test for DH. If he has DH he has celiac disease. I know some people that only have DH and never get the stomach issues. The key is finding a derm that knows abotu it and how to do the skin biopsy properly.

[chrissyinnj]

I don't think he has DH. I've seen pictures of that and it's not the same.

eatmeat4good- so your saying that being gluten free has caused your son to react more to gluten than he originally did before starting?