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Post by leylah on Apr 7, 2005 5:47:10 GMT -5
Does anyone know how early you can do the blood tests for the celiacs markers? I have been digging around online but haven't seen any information on testing in babies and small children. My daughter is 10 1/2 months old now and my 4 year old is always trying to slip her little pieces of his pancakes or muffins because he says she looks hungry, and yes she does look very longingly at our food!
Our Pedi said to hold off on wheat until she was 2, but I don't want to find out she has celiacs by putting her through getting sick from it. Doesn't it make more sense to test her now and if they markers are there just go right to gluten free living? And if they aren't well, let the table food feeding begin. When I asked the same Dr. when we could test her he didn't seem to know and after a moment said when she was 5yrs. That doesn't seem right to me. Anyone have any info or experience with testing babies?
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Post by Jessie on Apr 7, 2005 6:24:19 GMT -5
First, I am absolutely no expert on Celiac, but I did find the following info on line:
From mayoclinic.com:
A trial of a gluten-free diet also can confirm a diagnosis, but it's important that you not go on such a diet before seeking a medical evaluation. Doing so may change the results of blood tests and biopsies so that they appear to be normal.
Seek medical attention for a child who is pale, irritable, fails to grow and who has a potbelly, flat buttocks and malodorous, bulky stools. Many other conditions can cause these same signs and symptoms, so it's important to talk to your doctor before trying a gluten-free diet.
This is from celiacforums.com:
The incidence of autoimmune diseases in the general US population is 3.5%. Research has shown that those diagnosed with celiac disease between 2-4 years of age had a 10.5% chance of developing another autoimmune disease.
So . . . I couldn't find where it says at what age to test, but it does look like there are studies starting with 2 yr olds. And all of the sites I looked at did say NOT to start off with a gluten-free diet before getting tested because that can alter the results of the test.
Hope that helps a little.
Jessie
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Post by PaigesMom on Apr 7, 2005 13:34:48 GMT -5
Paige presumably has Celiac disease. Celiac disease is VERY hard to diagnose accurately.
Blood tests can be inaccurate. In order for a Celiac blood marker test to be positive the body needs to have gluten in it - and alot of it. There are also several different tests - TTg, IGg and an IGa test.
The only accurate testing is a biopsy. Celiac blood draw is recommended at age 3 under the DS heath guidelines.
If you found a dr. to do it now, you would probably be wasting your time.
Does she have symptoms - diarrea, vomiting, failure to thrive, constant crankiness, arching - things like that? Especially the failure to thrive - if she doesn't, I think you'd be better served waiting.
Debbie
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Post by leylah on Apr 7, 2005 16:13:24 GMT -5
She doesn't have any of those things, but she also hasn't had much gluten (a little oatmeal once or twice). I guess the only way to find out is to go ahead and feed it to her and keep a close eye? In some ways that would be easier because the poor girl is almost lunging at our food and we eat a lot of pasta and breads in our household.
Did you wait on feeding your daughter gluten until she was a little older? How old was your daughter when she was diagnosed? Thanks for the info.
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Post by PaigesMom on Apr 7, 2005 19:37:50 GMT -5
Hi - basically you're right. She might have had some gluten ingestion already because gluten is in so many things. It's not only wheat, oats, barley and rye - but it's the byproducts there of - and most things have some sort of byproduct of a grain included. Including food colorings, juices - if you are really interested in finding out what ingredients are safe ingredients, you can go to www.celiac.com and look for the lists they provide. To be honest. I didn't even really worry about Celiac disease with Paige. We had her tested - a year late actually - at age 4 - last summer and she came back positive with bloodwork and then we went on to do the biopsies. MOST people, DS or not, dont even know they have it. So I guess in order to answer your question, I didn't wait to feed her certain things at all and I started solids just a few months later than I guess a typical child would have - around 7-8 months we started. I'm happy to answer any more questions you might have. Debbie |
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Post by Ashlea on Apr 13, 2005 19:04:47 GMT -5
Chandler has Celiac and was diagnosed at his 3 year check-up. We had the blood tests then the biopsy to confirm. Unless your daughter regularly eats foods that contain gluten, the test really won't show very much and would be a waste of time. Celiac is like every other allergy in that you won't know you are allergic if you never try it. But unlike many other allergies, you will not notice symptoms as soon as she eats something with gluten. And Debbie is right... Most people don't even know they have it. I would go ahead and feed her whatever you/she want. Even at 3 years old, the test will be no good if she doesn't ever eat gluten... Anyway, I fed Chandler whatever he would eat until after his diagnosis of course. Just to clarify, now if Chandler eats something w/ gluten he does get very sick, but that is after years of developing antibodies and then being on a very strict gluten free diet for several years. Anyway, I hope that makes sense. I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have....
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