Suspect Celiac In My 6 Mo Old...

[inskababy]

Hi, my name is Erin and I have 3 year old and 6.5 mo old sons, Connor and Timmy. Timmy had a frightening ER visit 3 weeks ago when he had a bowel intussesception (it telescopes on itself, effectively turning inside out). He screamed without cessation for 18 hours, obviously in excruciating pain. We had CBCs, full body scans, multiple ultrasounds, IVs...you name it, they did it. They were prepping him for surgery when the final ultrasound revealed it had self corrected and he was left with a severely distended and gassy bowel. He farted a lot the next day and it smelled TERRIBLE -- like a dead body, and when he pooped it was greenish white and grey and was foamy, again smelling like something had died -- it literally made your eyes water.

A few days later, the same thing happened. Nine hours of nonstop screaming, followed by horrid gas and foamy whitish diarrhea. At that point I started looking at what was the same...I had given him a piece of spaghetti noodle to gnaw on and play with at the table the first time and the second time he had a teething biscuit to play with. He was exclusively breastfed to that point, and was mostly playing with it all but got a good bit of gluten with each. The ingredient lists for both food were very different -- the pasta essentially was wheat, eggs and water, while the biscuits were egg free. My mom and I brought up the idea of gluten intolerance at the same time in discussing the issue. I spoke to our GP about it and she ran a celiac panel a couple days ago which has turned up negative -- she said she suspected it would since it's inaccurate in small children and he hadn't had any gluten in 2.5 weeks after only having it in small amounts twice before that. She pointed out though that he lost weight this well baby visit and has been gradually dropping off in weight percentiles...he was born at 9 lb 3 oz (95%) and now is 18 lbs (60th). We have a referral to Walter Reed pediatric gastroenterology in a couple weeks.

I talked to my husband about it -- he has suffered from horrid stomach problems his whole life and have especially worsened in the past few years, with vomiting blood, foul diarrhea every day, gas, teeth/joint problems, fatigue, depression, bouts of unexplained anemia (they told him he must have silent mono). He immediately went gluten free and has already gotten remarkably better -- within one week he stopped having diarrhea entirely. My husband has one uncle with confirmed celiac, and his dad has been on Atkins for five years because "he doesn't feel good when he eats carbs".

My older son has no gastrointestinal symptoms of celiac disease (other than some horrid gas occasionally despite his high nutrient healthy diet), but his dentist asked what food allergies he had since he had already darkened enamel, which is common in food intolerances. I did some research, and my husband and youngest son could be poster children for celiac. Two days ago my older son was "sharing" and gave a bite of granola bar crumb to Timmy and though I swept his mouth to get it all, we still had a five hour stint of crying with three foul diapers to follow. He seems extremely sensitive, beyond even what my husband seems to be.

Sorry to ramble on so, but I have some questions...

1) In a child so young, would any testing be sensitive enough to see celiac other than DNA? I REALLY don't want to put him through a biopsy especially if the odds are it will be inconclusive. I will not put him through the pain of eating gluten again and risk an intussesception.

2) Should I have my older son tested? My husband will not be tested for various reasons, so there's no official first degree celiac dx. My son has a slight speech delay, could this be a manifestation of it? He was a very colicky child, but a lot of his sleep disturbances didn't take off til 1 or so.

3) I strongly feel this is the explanation for all my family's gut troubles. What are good resources for raising children to be responsible celiacs?

[mybbyjaja]

Hi, my name is Erin and I have 3 year old and 6.5 mo old sons, Connor and Timmy. Timmy had a frightening ER visit 3 weeks ago when he had a bowel intussesception (it telescopes on itself, effectively turning inside out). He screamed without cessation for 18 hours, obviously in excruciating pain. We had CBCs, full body scans, multiple ultrasounds, IVs...you name it, they did it. They were prepping him for surgery when the final ultrasound revealed it had self corrected and he was left with a severely distended and gassy bowel. He farted a lot the next day and it smelled TERRIBLE -- like a dead body, and when he pooped it was greenish white and grey and was foamy, again smelling like something had died -- it literally made your eyes water.

A few days later, the same thing happened. Nine hours of nonstop screaming, followed by horrid gas and foamy whitish diarrhea. At that point I started looking at what was the same...I had given him a piece of spaghetti noodle to gnaw on and play with at the table the first time and the second time he had a teething biscuit to play with. He was exclusively breastfed to that point, and was mostly playing with it all but got a good bit of gluten with each. The ingredient lists for both food were very different -- the pasta essentially was wheat, eggs and water, while the biscuits were egg free. My mom and I brought up the idea of gluten intolerance at the same time in discussing the issue. I spoke to our GP about it and she ran a celiac panel a couple days ago which has turned up negative -- she said she suspected it would since it's inaccurate in small children and he hadn't had any gluten in 2.5 weeks after only having it in small amounts twice before that. She pointed out though that he lost weight this well baby visit and has been gradually dropping off in weight percentiles...he was born at 9 lb 3 oz (95%) and now is 18 lbs (60th). We have a referral to Walter Reed pediatric gastroenterology in a couple weeks.

I talked to my husband about it -- he has suffered from horrid stomach problems his whole life and have especially worsened in the past few years, with vomiting blood, foul diarrhea every day, gas, teeth/joint problems, fatigue, depression, bouts of unexplained anemia (they told him he must have silent mono). He immediately went gluten free and has already gotten remarkably better -- within one week he stopped having diarrhea entirely. My husband has one uncle with confirmed celiac, and his dad has been on Atkins for five years because "he doesn't feel good when he eats carbs".

My older son has no gastrointestinal symptoms of celiac disease (other than some horrid gas occasionally despite his high nutrient healthy diet), but his dentist asked what food allergies he had since he had already darkened enamel, which is common in food intolerances. I did some research, and my husband and youngest son could be poster children for celiac. Two days ago my older son was "sharing" and gave a bite of granola bar crumb to Timmy and though I swept his mouth to get it all, we still had a five hour stint of crying with three foul diapers to follow. He seems extremely sensitive, beyond even what my husband seems to be.

Sorry to ramble on so, but I have some questions...

1) In a child so young, would any testing be sensitive enough to see celiac other than DNA? I REALLY don't want to put him through a biopsy especially if the odds are it will be inconclusive. I will not put him through the pain of eating gluten again and risk an intussesception.

2) Should I have my older son tested? My husband will not be tested for various reasons, so there's no official first degree celiac dx. My son has a slight speech delay, could this be a manifestation of it? He was a very colicky child, but a lot of his sleep disturbances didn't take off til 1 or so.

3) I strongly feel this is the explanation for all my family's gut troubles. What are good resources for raising children to be responsible celiacs?

Hi my name is edna and my daughter at 1 1/2 year old was diagnosed two months ago and i feel ur pain everything u described has happened to my baby heres the answer to the first question it is indeed necessary to have a biopsy to find out for sure if ur baby has it follow by a blood test to prove it is celiac it is well worth it trust me it hurt me to do this to my baby but she came out fine it took only twenty mins to do it also has been said that celiac disease can cause autism so that might be why ur son might have a slight speech delay and u need to get ur other son tested to it would be a great ease on ur mind

[mybbyjaja]

Hi my name is edna and my daughter at 1 1/2 year old was diagnosed two months ago and i feel ur pain everything u described has happened to my baby heres the answer to the first question it is indeed necessary to have a biopsy to find out for sure if ur baby has it follow by a blood test to prove it is celiac it is well worth it trust me it hurt me to do this to my baby but she came out fine it took only twenty mins to do it also has been said that celiac disease can cause autism so that might be why ur son might have a slight speech delay and u need to get ur other son tested to it would be a great ease on ur mind

[HiDee]

1) In a child so young, would any testing be sensitive enough to see celiac other than DNA? I REALLY don't want to put him through a biopsy especially if the odds are it will be inconclusive. I will not put him through the pain of eating gluten again and risk an intussesception.

2) Should I have my older son tested? My husband will not be tested for various reasons, so there's no official first degree celiac dx. My son has a slight speech delay, could this be a manifestation of it? He was a very colicky child, but a lot of his sleep disturbances didn't take off til 1 or so.

3) I strongly feel this is the explanation for all my family's gut troubles. What are good resources for raising children to be responsible celiacs?

You may want to look into enterolab.com, they can test without doing a biopsy or blood tests which are rather invasive. However, it is a stool test which is not so exciting but at least less invasive and you don't have to keep feeding your baby gluten to do their tests.

Also, you could look into ROCK (raising our celiac kids) support groups, maybe there's one in your area. And of course, this forum is a fantastic resource.

[Tallforagirl]

You may want to look into enterolab.com, they can test without doing a biopsy or blood tests which are rather invasive. However, it is a stool test which is not so exciting but at least less invasive and you don't have to keep feeding your baby gluten to do their tests.

Also, you could look into ROCK (raising our celiac kids) support groups, maybe there's one in your area. And of course, this forum is a fantastic resource.

Keep in mind that the Enterolab stool-test cannot diagnose celiac disease, only show gluten sensitivity.

Erin, I would definitely get your older son tested. Lack of (many) symptoms does not mean anything.

An endoscopy, should you decide to do it with the younger child, is pretty painless and would be under sedation. You might want to check with the doctor what are the chances that this test would show anything though, as it doesn't sound like the little one has ingested much gluten at all. In adults they tell you that you need to ingest a fair amount of gluten (equivalent of two slices of bread) for 6 weeks to three months prior to testing, but not sure what is the protocol in small children.

Bear in mind that in anyone, a negative antibody blood test does not rule out celiac disease. If there are any symptoms further testing (biopsy) should be a consideration.

[ryebaby0]

Well, that must have been scary for all of you! I would not biopsy a 6 month old. Celiac testing on children under about 2, conventional wisdom would say, is so inconclusive as to not really be helpful. (You aren't likely to get a "yes" or "no" definitive answer). Enterolab, as someone has mentioned, does not give you a definitive answer either. (Some people think the world of the place, however)

I would, though, put both your kids on gluten free diets and see what happens. Remember that there is no "mostly" gluten free diet that is effective -- it's completely gluten-free, or don't bother. The reaction seems really extreme to me, so maybe there's more than just celiac going on. (On the other hand, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV!) Celiac definitely runs in families and it's worth a try. You're a good mom for working on an answer, hang in there

[mommida]

Yes it is possible a 6 month old can have Celiac - don't let a doctor tell you different.

I am concerned about the intusseception. There is a known connection to the Rotavirus vaccine. (The first vaccine was removed from the market because of it. The newer vaccine has an acceptable level of intusseception causes because the numbers were adjusted to include a "normal" incidence. ~ not quite a direct quote, read the vaccine package insert for more details)

If symptoms continue after keeping your child on a gluten free diet an endoscopy with biopsy will be the next course of action.

[dadoffiveboys]

She pointed out though that he lost weight this well baby visit and has been gradually dropping off in weight percentiles...he was born at 9 lb 3 oz (95%) and now is 18 lbs (60th). We have a referral to Walter Reed pediatric gastroenterology in a couple weeks.

If the baby is exclusively breast fed (like all of our babies) this is a normal weight. You will see it pick up when the baby starts on solid foods - I wouldn't assume (ESPECIALLY at 6 mo) that this is failure to thrive....

I talked to my husband about it -- he has suffered from horrid stomach problems his whole life and have especially worsened in the past few years, with vomiting blood, foul diarrhea every day, gas, teeth/joint problems, fatigue, depression, bouts of unexplained anemia (they told him he must have silent mono). He immediately went gluten free and has already gotten remarkably better -- within one week he stopped having diarrhea entirely. My husband has one uncle with confirmed celiac, and his dad has been on Atkins for five years because "he doesn't feel good when he eats carbs".

My father had the same problem which eventually started to lead to Kidney failure. He stopped eating gluten and all of his stomach problems went away. I am very sensitive to gluten in that I will have a reaction to amounts under 5ppm. This means gluten free foods don't make a difference I will react. I have the DQ8 Gene for celiac.

1) In a child so young, would any testing be sensitive enough to see celiac other than DNA? I REALLY don't want to put him through a biopsy especially if the odds are it will be inconclusive. I will not put him through the pain of eating gluten again and risk an intussesception.

2) Should I have my older son tested? My husband will not be tested for various reasons, so there's no official first degree celiac dx. My son has a slight speech delay, could this be a manifestation of it? He was a very colicky child, but a lot of his sleep disturbances didn't take off til 1 or so.

3) I strongly feel this is the explanation for all my family's gut troubles. What are good resources for raising children to be responsible celiacs?

1) No - testing isn't conclusive ever in celiac (unless it's REALLY bad). I wouldn't recommend having any child under the age of 1 undergo ANY procedure - this is due to the anesthesia and not necessarily the endoscopy part. I ate gluten for 30 YEARS and underwent all the tests and they all came up negative or inconclusive - yet when I went off gluten I felt TONS better. Now when I get contaminated (even 5ppm or less) I have a typical celiac reaction - stomach pain for 6 hours followed by D then I got a DH rash... so I don't hold any weight in those tests at all. My second son started having Asthma and was negative to all allergies, etc. Took him off Gluten and his Asthma disappeared.... funny isn't it?

2) All the things could be gluten related. In one of my boys, I took them off gluten and they seemed to pick up speech much quicker (were slightly delayed) when off.

Hope this helps! BTW - in my family, it only takes ONE CELIAC GENE to have full sensitivity (as I've been having them Gene tested). Even worse, I am sensitive to anything (even less than 5ppm) and I have a DQ4 gene with a DQ 8....

[mommida]

My daughter's first symptom of Eosinophilic Esophagitis was vommitting blood.

If there are other severe unexplained symptoms - an endoscopy might have to be done. Do your research, get a pediatric gastro. that you trust and feel comfortable with.

Remember to follow your doctor's medical advice. What we can give here is support and opinion from our experiences.

[Tallforagirl]

1) No - testing isn't conclusive ever in celiac (unless it's REALLY bad).

I don't think it's helpful to say that tests for celiac disease are not ever conclusive, unless you're really sick (I'm assuming this is what you mean when you say "REALLY bad") because many people do test positive even when not showing symptoms, or where the damage to the gut is quite mild.

Even in cases where the blood tests are falsely negative, it's possible to be diagnosed through biopsy alone. Similarly it's possible to get a diagnosis from a positive blood test and dietary response, even where the biopsy is negative.

Generally, it's a good idea to get the tests before deciding whether or not to cut gluten out of the diet. If the test results are negative, you can still decide to go gluten free and see if it helps.

I'm also not sure where you're coming from when you say you shouldn't allow a child under 1 year to have ANY procedure that involves anaesthesia? Not even to save their life? Not even to diagnose a life-threatening condition? (not necessarily talking just about celiac disease here).

[dadoffiveboys]

I don't think it's helpful to say that tests for celiac disease are not ever conclusive, unless you're really sick (I'm assuming this is what you mean when you say "REALLY bad") because many people do test positive even when not showing symptoms, or where the damage to the gut is quite mild.

They designed the tests to be positive for only REALLY bad cases - that's what I mean. My son's case was bad, but not REALLY bad so he was negative. Some also test positive w/o symptoms but everyone I know who had that didn't go gluten-free because since they had no symptoms they IGNORED the tests... This is what I mean by "what good are they". My opinion is the bar needs to be set much lower and a gluten-free diet should be part of every test and conclusive ALONE that if you have a problem and gluten-free helps then you have a gluten problem.

Even in cases where the blood tests are falsely negative, it's possible to be diagnosed through biopsy alone. Similarly it's possible to get a diagnosis from a positive blood test and dietary response, even where the biopsy is negative.

Generally, it's a good idea to get the tests before deciding whether or not to cut gluten out of the diet. If the test results are negative, you can still decide to go gluten free and see if it helps.

We've all been gluten-free for 1 1/2 years now and I've seen the following:

All my kids have PERFECT BMI (gee it's curious I don't have overweight kids considering both my wife and myself were overweight as kids.. wait.. we had gluten problems..!)

All my kids are healthy and ever get sick - all the reflux, ear infections, etc are GONE! They get little colds for a few days but are far healthier than the rest of the kids.

I do believe.. this is a result solely of removing the gluten but we also don't eat out and we eat healthier food. NO Fast food.. etc. This stuff is probably killing us all.

I'm also not sure where you're coming from when you say you shouldn't allow a child under 1 year to have ANY procedure that involves anaesthesia? Not even to save their life? Not even to diagnose a life-threatening condition? (not necessarily talking just about celiac disease here).

Well obviously to save a life.. like I said.. "recommend".. if it's medically necessary then you always would choose to do it but if you can avoid it.. then it's better. My son who was 3 years old when they did the endoscopy had alot of trouble waking up from the anesthesia (probably because he was very sick from the failure to thrive). It took him nearly 3 HOURS to wake up (I had the doctor there even because he was worried). We ended up with nothing - no results and the doctor wouldn't even recommend going gluten-free because he said the tests were negative. I asked for the results and found out that <=20 TTG was negative, >20 TTG was positive and my son was a 20. So we took him off Gluten anyways. If the test is positive then it's really good.. I really mean if the test is negative it's not very useful. Sorry about that part of the confusion. My son had only dietary response, negative endoscopy, negative blood test and so did I. I believe I have DH and the doctors looked at it.. and said "no, that's not DH". So when it went away completely when I went gluten-free I asked again and they didn't know what to say. These were the EXPERT celiac doctors at UVA - so I'm pretty pessimistic of any experts because they will only diagnose and recommend a gluten-free diet for the 1% that are REALLY sick and not the other 39% that need it too. I took the entire family off of Gluten then because 1) why bother testing it all came up negative and 2) they ALL showed improvement, even when the tests are negative.

Does this mean Gluten is poison for everyone, as said in "dangerous grains?" I actually think so. (Expect maybe if you are DQ4/DQ4 but even that I doubt because I am DQ4/DQ8 and still get symptoms REALLY bad...)

[Tallforagirl]

My opinion is the bar needs to be set much lower and a gluten-free diet should be part of every test and conclusive ALONE that if you have a problem and gluten-free helps then you have a gluten problem.

The problem with this is what happens to a person who maybe starts to feel better on a gluten-free diet, then their recovery stalls and they don't know why. If they didn't get tested for celiac disease while still on gluten they'd then have to go back on gluten if they wanted to get tested.

I asked for the results and found out that <=20 TTG was negative, >20 TTG was positive and my son was a 20. So we took him off Gluten anyways.

It's great that you took a proactive step and asked to look at the actual result, and it was good that you had done some research and knew what the result might indicate. Eveyone should be prepared to be proactive like this when it comes to their health. But medical tests and advice should not be disregarded as an important part of the big picture.

I believe I have DH and the doctors looked at it.. and said "no, that's not DH". So when it went away completely when I went gluten-free I asked again and they didn't know what to say.

Did the doctor take a skin biopsy at all? By looking at a skin biopsy taken from an area beside the DH lesion, they can diagnose both DH and celiac disease at the same time (if you have DH, you have celiac disease, no question).

These were the EXPERT celiac doctors at UVA - so I'm pretty pessimistic of any experts because they will only diagnose and recommend a gluten-free diet for the 1% that are REALLY sick and not the other 39% that need it too.

I wasn't "REALLY sick" when I was diagnosed, by any means, I only knew to ask to be tested because my sister was diagnosed with it five years ago. Yet my test results were very positive. There's a large proportion of diagnosed celiacs who present with vague or no symptoms at all.

I don't believe that how sick you are (symptomatically) has any direct relation to how likely it is your tests will be positive. As I said though, I'd agree that there is a definite possibility of a false negative, in which case, if you've exhausted all testing, there is nothing to stop you trying the gluten-free diet to see if it helps.

There is definitely room for improvement re doctors' attitudes towards celiac disease as far as a lot of them thinking it's rare, it's a childhood disease, the symptoms are always gut related etc.

Does this mean Gluten is poison for everyone, as said in "dangerous grains?" I actually think so. (Expect maybe if you are DQ4/DQ4 but even that I doubt because I am DQ4/DQ8 and still get symptoms REALLY bad...)

I don't think wheat/rye/barley/oats are a necessary component in anyone's diet, but because of the addition of these, particularly wheat and barley malt, to a lot of processed foods, it can take a lot of dedication and knowledge to totally eliminate from the diet (and that's without considering issues of CC), which is what you need to do if you're celiac. For some people (myself included) I think it's an immense help to have test results to show the presence of celiac disease so that you have a cast-iron reason to stay on the diet.

Children often grow out of their symptoms, so it could be very helpful later on for their parents to have a diagnosis to ensure they continue to adhere to the diet.

Definitely doctors need to consider diagnostic tests as part of the big picture, not the be-all and end-all, and they should be prepared to consider making a diagnosis in those patients who show improvement on the gluten-free diet, even when all tests have come up negative.

[dadoffiveboys]

Did the doctor take a skin biopsy at all? By looking at a skin biopsy taken from an area beside the DH lesion, they can diagnose both DH and celiac disease at the same time (if you have DH, you have celiac disease, no question).

Definitely doctors need to consider diagnostic tests as part of the big picture, not the be-all and end-all, and they should be prepared to consider making a diagnosis in those patients who show improvement on the gluten-free diet, even when all tests have come up negative.

No.. the doctor was an "expert" and said I don't have DH just by looking at it. He was the head dermatologist at UVA. BTW - we no longer go to UVA AT ALL and I wouldn't recommend UVA for celiac. I'd love to have it biopsied but I doubt it will ever happen. My internal medicine doctor (that has a gluten intolerance) advises me now and doesn't recommend going back either. Unless the doctors get their heads out of their you know where.. we are still going to have many people w/o the correct diagnosis.

For my children, I am looking at a symptom improvement result (which they all have) and getting genetic testing. If they have the same celiac gene as I do (one I already know does) then we are keeping them gluten-free until they are near adults... then maybe we'll decide on testing.

BTW - I had the IgA Anti-gliadin test which was 'equivocal' at 42. <25 Negative, >50 Positive, 25-50 equivocal. I also had the TTG test and had the same as my son, 20 TTG where <=20 was negative. I had a biopsy which indicated Gastritis/GERD and 6 biopsies of the intestine which indicated nothing - no villi damage. However, my Gastritis/GERD disappeared on the gluten-free diet. So did my dad's and my sons. So if celiac is an auto-immune disease of the "intestine" then I don't have that.... if it includes the stomach reactions, then I would....

[bear6954]

If your son is only 6.5 months old - his gut probably will not be able to digest that stuff because he is so young and his intestines are not ready for it. By pure luck, I did not introduce wheat, rye, barley (by food) into my sons diet until he was 1 yr old. He did get gluten from my breastmilk which resulted in the poop issue. I used easy to digest food - rice and oatmeal infants cereal, bananas, applesauce etc. At that age, kids bodys are still getting use to drinking and digesting formula. You may just want to feed your baby - baby food that is gluten free and made for his age, and try wheat when he gets older and his intestines mature.

[inskababy]

I'm truly not trying to be snotty in any of these replies, just following up to some things posed...

1) I know my son is at a "healthy" weight for a breastfed baby. I am a lactation consultant and have seen 50+ FTT babies. But my son is sick. And his weight is dropping. It is not healthy for him to gain no weight for five weeks. It's another symptom in the list that I want doctors to consider, and my doctor is mildly concerned that this is a trend we may have difficulty in halting. And frankly, if he has a problem, I want it figured out now before it IS FTT. My other son is his near doppelganger as far as birth weight, height, body type, eating habits, etc and he didn't have this decided a drop until he was walking and running around non stop. I'm not being alarmist, just vigilant.

2) According to the Center for Celiac Disease Research, ideal introduction of wheat in the diet actually occurs at 4-6 mo; later introduction (after 1) is actually shown to increase the likelihood of intolerance and allergy. I don't give my children any foods until they show interest and are close to if not at 6 mo. I gave him noodles to play with, not expecting him to eat...he in fact did not eat them, just played with them, gummed them and licked his hands afterward which was enough to provoke a reaction. We did not know that my husband was a likely celiac or I would have proceeded with much more caution -- in fact, my son's experience was what made us look at my husband's chronic health problems with new eyes. Timmy eats age appropriate milled organic veggies and fruits with the occasional gluten free teething biscuit -- and at this age, that equals perhaps 1 oz of those daily in addition to frequent nursings. Babies never need formula if they are well breastfed. Most infant cereals contain gluten. I resent the fact that you seem to think I am careless with the feeding of my children...giving a child a noodle to play with while dinner is cooking is a great sensory activity and I would still do so if I didn't now know what harm it causes him.

I was really looking for help and good kid books and advice in dealing with doctors in diagnosing this at such an unusually early age, but it turned into a discussion of some other family's health instead. That's fine, but attacking people who write in for help and are brand new to gluten free is not the greatest kindness I can think of. We all have the goal of helping our children don't we? Let's walk in each other's shoes for a moment and act compassionately.

For those of looking for that information, here's a list of some things I have found helpful:

Raising Our Celiac Kids book

CIA's Gluten Free Baking book

Food Network's Gluten Free Recipe links

Gluten Free Gobsmacked blog

Gluten Free Girl blog

University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research staff (they have children/infant studies)

Dr. Fasano at U of M

www.glutenfreebaking.com

Weight Watchers cookbooks (many have gluten free recipes without necessarily seeking to be so since they aim to cut calories in hidden places ie flour thickeners)

Wegman's Supermarket and Harris Teeter both have prominent gluten free areas and they have nutritionists on staff to advise shoppers with wise choices and shopping tips - they helped me recreate my husband's favorite cookie to send to him in Baghdad during his current deployment using all gluten free ingredients.

Am.azon.com has gluten free flours that you can buy in bulk and price favorably with supermarkets - since we live in AK, we need this!

Hope some of that helps people looking for resources...

[inskababy]

Yes it is possible a 6 month old can have Celiac - don't let a doctor tell you different.

I am concerned about the intusseception. There is a known connection to the Rotavirus vaccine. (The first vaccine was removed from the market because of it. The newer vaccine has an acceptable level of intusseception causes because the numbers were adjusted to include a "normal" incidence. ~ not quite a direct quote, read the vaccine package insert for more details)

If symptoms continue after keeping your child on a gluten free diet an endoscopy with biopsy will be the next course of action.

Oh and my son is unvaccinated...precisely for this reason! We choose to delay vaccinate our children until after age 2 because we can reduce the number of shots needed and the fact that I'm a stay at home mom who nurses until 2.5 reduces the incidence of disease risk to them so low that we feel the risk of vaccination complications is outweighed. Thanks though, I would have been very concerned about this if he had had the shot!