Diagnosis At Puberty

[mart]

Hi. My son 7 year old son was diagnosed just a month ago. He's so small. My 11 year old daughter was just tested last week. She's pretty small too. I don't know if she has celiac disease or not, but I'm afraid that if she does, it may have been diagnosed too late for her to grow. She is at the onset of puberty now. I've heard that girls don't grow very much after they start menstruating. I'm so upset that it took this long for the doctor to figure out what's going on. I see a lot of people on this board that have children who were diagnosed as infants, even 20 years ago!

[KaitiUSA]

She is at a young enough age that, if she is celiac and goes gluten free, she will grow if she is small because of celiac.

I started menstruating at about 10 years of age and I grew alot since then. I was not small at that age but when my symptoms of celiac started I lost weight and I stopped getting taller. In the beginning of 2004 I was diagnosed...16 at the time and was about 5'2 or so....I started the gluten free diet and now at 18 years old I am about 5'4 and have gained my weight back.

I think girls do grow alot after they start menstruating...some girls just start young but I believe they stop growing at 16-18(I think)

So, I would definitely not worry because she will catch up if it is celiac related. Even if she tests negative since celiac runs in the family you may want to try her on the diet to see if she responds well because that would be the real test.

Do you know which tests they ran on her?

[mart]

She is at a young enough age that, if she is celiac and goes gluten free, she will grow if she is small because of celiac.

I started menstruating at about 10 years of age and I grew alot since then. I was not small at that age but when my symptoms of celiac started I lost weight and I stopped getting taller. In the beginning of 2004 I was diagnosed...16 at the time and was about 5'2 or so....I  started the gluten free diet and now at 18 years old I am 5'4 and have gained my weight back.

So, I would definitely not worry because she will catch up if it is celiac related. Even if she tests negative since celiac runs in the family you may want to try her on the diet to see if she responds well because that would be the real test.

Do you know which tests they ran on her?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[mart]

Thanks for the info. That helps a lot. I do not remember the name, but I do recall that it said it was 99.1% positive for life. But I do agree with you that either way she should go on the diet. I've read elsewhere that it has helped children with symptoms that tested negative. I will definitely do that!