Possible Celiac?

[kh395269]

Hi, My 8 year old son has been having severe stomach pains for the last several weeks following a stomach bug. He also had a couple of bouts of throwing up. They come and go, but seem to be worse in the morning. We took him to the doctor who sent him for a cat scan for possible appendicitis and blood work for a possible gall bladder problem. Both came back negative. We now have an appt with a Pediatric Gastrointerologist later this month. The Pediatrician had recommended trying a milk free diet for a week to see if there was any improvement. There was not. My father in law (his Grandfather) is a confirmed celiac who almost died of the disease back in 1996. He was dianosed older. With little other options, I decided to try a gluten free diet with my son. Over the course of two weeks, miraculously most (if not all) of his stomach pains disappeared. There were no more complaints. Last night, he had some gluten products and the symptoms appeared again this morning. He does not have gfailure to thrive (he is eceptionally tall for his age), but is very thin, and has no diarhea. Now, to complicate things more, he takes Zhyrtec every night for allergies/hives which I read can cause stomach pains in young children (acetic acid). Currently, I am giving him 1 tsp a night, but he took 2 a night (upon an Allergist recommendation) every night for probably a year. He has severe spring (pollen allergies), dry skin patches, and he has undiagnosed hives that began last summer (the undiagnosed ones anyay). On the Zhyrtec, he has not had any hives with the exception of viral hives. Two years ago in the summer, he had a case of Cold water urticaria for teh entire summer(cold water hives which appear when exposed to large amounts of cold water). He no longer seems to be affected by cold water. However, these I believe are all signs of an Immunological problem. He was tested for gluten antibodies back in 2010 at my requset because of the hives. His IGA was normal and his TTA IGG was normal, but his IGG was high at 43. He also had high alkaline phosphatases. The allergist said he could not have a gluten problem. Is it possible that things could have changed or that he could in fact have a gluten problem? He does seem to be reacting much better to a gluten free diet, but I suppose that can also be a coincidence? I;m afarid now we won't be able to be even test him since I am keeping him gluten free, but I can't stand to see him in pain. Thanks for any input.

[Cara in Boston]

Please have him continue to eat gluten until you see the GI - otherwise he will not be able to be tested for Celiac Disease.

The symptoms you describe (even the weird hives) along with the family history, all point to celiac or gluten intolerance. The fact that he feels better gluten free makes it pretty clear.

Also, an illness (stomach bug) or other stress on the body can "trigger" celiac disease to start.

My son (7) was diagnosed by blood test and biopsy last year. His only symptom (we thought) was a drastic change in behavior and about three days of stomach aches. After going gluten free, we noticed so many other changes . . . no more seasonal allergies, his dry, patchy skin on the backs of his arms cleared up, sleeps better, no more dark circles under his eyes, hair thicker, etc. etc. etc. We didn't even know these were symptoms of anything.

See if you can get the appointment moved up. The sooner he completes the testing, the sooner he can go completely gluten free and start feeling better.

Cara