<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I was an adult diagnosed celiac, I had no outward symptoms.  My symptom was
frequent anemia and a son biopsy diagnosed with celiac.

It doesn't matter if you avoid gluten in your formative years it will not
stop the celiac from being there, it's like being pregnant, you're not a
little bit celiac, you are or you aren't.

The only reason I would avoid gluten in an infant/toddler is to allow their
formative years to be as healthy as possible.  If I had known anything about
celiac disease I would not have fed my child gluten and he would not have
gone thru hell during the 7 mths it took doctors to diagnose him.  He was 13
mths when he started getting sick and 20 mths when the biopsy proved celiac
disease, he's now 8 yrs old.  He was literally starving to death and his
vocal and motor skills had regressed during his illness.

At my urging the doctors did a blood test on my 10 year old son.  They said
I was a paranoid mom that he only has irritable bowel syndrome, his only
symptom is constipation.  They will not do a biopsy for celiac even though I
myself was a "silent" celiac and his brother is a celiac.  I have been to
two pediatric gastro's and the first one wouldn't do anything just said IBS.
The second did the blood test, after looking it up in some medical book as
to what he should order on the lab request.  I know celiac disease is
genetic but when you look at my boys it looks like I had twins two years
apart.  In my laymens mind, I figure if they look that much alike there is a
good possibility their genetic makeup might be very close.

Maybe the doctors on the list can answer as to how one gets a biopsy done
for a definite answer to celiac.

Thank-you

Please note change in email (was kbulmer now khutton)

KAREN HUTTON
    Systems Analyst     Phone: (780) 491-5565
    Information Systems Pager:  (780) 445-1320
CAPITAL HEALTH  Fax:       (780) 491-5119
EDMONTON, ALBERTA         E-mail: [log in to unmask]