Re-Glutening For Blood Test

[merkia]

Hey everyone! I'm looking for some advice on when is the best time for getting my daughter's blood taken.

She just turned 2 this month. She has consumed low/no gluten for the majority of her life. I did eat gluten the entire time I was pregnant and for 9 months of breastfeeding. When I stopped breastfeeding at 21 months we didn't give her gluten directly, but she was definitely exposed to it at daycare (starting from 14 months old) and there were a few accidental exposures at home.

Anyway, on May 23rd we decided to stop worrying about cross-contamination and on June 6 we started slowly introducing gluten. For the past couple weeks she has been eating 2-3 meals + snacks that include gluten. At this point is this enough exposure to get a positive blood test or should I wait another month or two to get the recommended 3 months?

We're getting her tested because of family history and some possible symptoms (including positive HLA-DQ2). I kept her off gluten as a preventative measure, but at this point it just seems silly to continue avoiding gluten without a specific reason (also because its expensive and we are struggling financially right now).

[nvsmom]

I think the minimum time for a gluten challenge is 6 weeks but, from what I understand, that's not enough for everyone. Many 2 year olds have negative ttg tests because they've not been alive long enough to accumulate enough damage in their duodenum for it to register on the blood tests.

I would do gluten longer if you want to test or just continue to avoid it all together if you can swing it financially; I don't think wheat products are all that good for anybody now a days.

Good luck to you.

[ravenwoodglass]

False negative results with children are high even if they have never been gluten free. Just because she has the genes doesn't mean she will for sure become a celiac. If you do want to test her then it is advised in many cases for the person to consume a regular gluten diet for 2 to 3 months first. But a false negative is still possible. If she develops symptoms after reintroducing gluten that is a bit of an indication that she needs a diet but that doesn't mean she will have positive tests.

[merkia]

Yeah, I'm aware that on young children the test can be false negative

I guess waiting for another month is probably best, I just have a tendency to want to get things done and over with right away.