Testing Children

[MistyRG]

Now that I possibly have celiac, I am watching my kids like a hawk!!!

My daughter (age 5) had stomach issues a few months back. We couldn't pinpoint a specific time it would bother her (after meals, before meals, when she didn't want to do something . . . ). Doc ordered ultrasound and blood work (not celiac related), and everything was normal. They put her back on Zantac (she had been on it as a baby for reflux). It didn't really help, and her stomach still bothers her on occasion. She also gets ulcers in her mouth all the time . . . like 4-5 every month (I have read that this could be a symptom).

My oldest son (age 9) is showing some signs, as well. My other 3 sons are under age 2. So I don't know about them yet.

All that to ask what kind of testing should I request from their pedi? Do they do the celiac panel or genetic testing on little ones? At this point, because I am waiting for a biopsy, we are all still full gluten eaters.

Thanks . . .

[mamaupupup]

Hi Misty,

Try posting this in the kids section--you might get some additional feedback. Our house has been down the opposite path...kids got diagnosed Celiac, now it's my turn to test!

- One of our girls complained of stomach pain daily--no pattern I could figure out. She has Celiac, plus low digestive enzymes and gastritis--all diagnosed from the endoscopy (she also had a positive ttg)

- Another of our girls had mouth sores--some severe (note: I finally noticed that this is also one of my symptoms)

As for testing:

- The 5 & 9 year olds should be fine doing the Celiac panel

- The littles may not have developed the antibodies yet to trigger accurate testing -- but double check with a GREAT ped GI

- I would also recommend doing the genetic testing for all of them, if your insurance will cover it (costs about $300 each without insurance). The genetics helped us a LOT!

For a list of tests look at: Open Original Shared Link

Note that I personally don't believe an endoscopy is necessary to diagnose Celiac (I think it just shows that severe damage is being done to the body). However, we would not have known about our daughter's other issues without the endoscopy.

Hang in there!