They are both doing well! I'll start with DS first.

Since January, DS has grown 1 inch and gained 1 pound. He is doing well on the gluten-free diet and GI is going to run bloodwork to make sure that he isn't getting any gluten so that he continues to grow during this very important growing time. We will get his blood drawn tomorrow morning.

DD has grown 2 inches and gained 1 pound since March 21st. I was shocked!!! Now wonder her pants and dresses are too short! LOL! The doctor said she could tell that she had grown before she even looked at her chart! She is doing well on the gluten-free diet, virtually no tummy pain at all. The only time she has complained is when she has had a pop (when we go out to eat) and she gets reflux. GI wants us to put her back on gluten starting July 1 and keep a food diary of any and all complaints (we are watching for diarrhea, constipation, tummy pain, increase in reflux, etc). If she worsens back on the gluten, GI said that was enough for her to diagnose Celiac and put her back on the gluten-free diet permanently. DD is looking forward to having some doughnuts and pizza! LOL! WE did tell her that she may have to go back to eating gluten-free, so enjoy it while she can!


So here are my questions...

1. DS's TTG was 222 in May of 2006. Should we expect it to be normal after being gluten-free for almost a year or just lower than it was?

2. Any one do a gluten challenge test with a younger child? DD is 4.5. I don't want her to hide any issues just b/c she wants to keep eating gluten, KWIM? Also, should I look for the same type of symptoms she had previously (tummy pain and occasional consitipation) or might they be different? She has been gluten-free since the end of April (I think the 24th to be exact).

TIA!

Hi, my son's levels were normal after a year. I don't know when exactly it got there, I do know that 3 months after diagnosis his levels were still high but not after a year. As far as a gluten challenge, I have never done this as my son was given a postive Celiac diagnosis. I am assuming yours wasn't because it they were you wouldn't be doing a challenge. Doing the challenge is up to you but if you see a positive response to the diet that may be enough.

Nicole

They are expecting my daughter's numbers to be normal at the 6 month point but hers started out about 1/2 of what your son's were. I would think that they should be normal - your GI would be able to tell you what his/her expectations are. I see that your son is eleven so it may be an indicator as to how well he does when you are not controlling his food. Hopefully, he's been good!!!

My doc said if I wanted to do a gluten challenge to wait until she was 12-14 so that she would understand that it was (in most likelihood) a temporary change, but she tested positive and I see that your daughter is not so clear cut.

You could keep a BM diary along with the food diary. We talk about poop (frequency and consistency) so much in this house that an outsider would probably be horrified. I have my daughter call me into the bathroom so I can "take a look" on a regular basis. If you were inspecting/documenting on a daily basis, that would be at least one part of the equation that she couldn't hide.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your response!! I do hope that DS has been good. I can't see him "cheating" intentionally yet and he does get sick if he eats gluten, so hopefully as he goes into his teenage years that will remind him why it is important to follow the diet.

We talk about poop in our house like that too. I was talking to our Ped GI one day on my cell phone while in Wal-Mart and she was asking about the consistency of DD's poop and I felt embarassed talking about it with all of these other shoppers around me! LOL!