My daughter is about to get checked for Celiac Disease
Posted by Celiac Disease Family
I've been lucky so far. I've been blessed with a beautiful wife and two great kids--one girl and one boy. They sleep well, eat a healthy diet, perform well in school and are respectful to others. We have our fair share of end-of-day overtired meltdowns and occasional public tantrums. But overall, I couldn't be happier with how our "babies" (now aged 5 and 6) have developed into young kids.
About nine months ago, our daughter had been complaining of stomach cramps after eating. We encouraged her to simply "go to the bathroom" and the pain (or so we thought) often went away after a while. But then invariably, it would return a few days later. My wife then started isolating certain foods, such as Kelloggs Special K Strawberry cereal, then Danimals Yogurt -- both favorites of hers. But the pain never stopped completely.
I drink Almond milk normally, but we buy our kids organic whole milk--and we thought she might have a lactose intolerance. So we stopped dairy for a while. No luck there either. We were stumped and continued to be concerned.
During her routine annual physical, we spoke with our pediatrician and explained the situation in detail. He noticed that her height chart had been increasing at the normal trajectory for someone of her age...but her weight was not following the same growth pattern. He ordered a complete metabolic / blood panel and told us he'd have the results in several days.
That next week, one his his nurses called and asked us to meet with her pediatrician--and our daughter-- personally. The nurse noted nothing was "urgent", but in today's healthcare environment where most doctors have an incentive to spend LESS time with the patient--we both knew something was not normal. My wife and I speculated on several conditions but reminded ourselves it was senseless, negative energy and waited eagerly for that appointment the following week.
When we arrived that Monday with our daughter, her pediatrician, (Dr, Enrique Hernandez of Pediatric GI of the Palm Beaches) explained that her IgA and igE levels were "positive" and abnormally high. Not knowing what this really meant, he explained that this is likely a sign of celiac disease. However, further testing needed to be done to confirm his diagnosis.
There is no history of celiac disease in either of our families..and neither of us really know what this disease is all about. He answered our preliminary questions about celiac disease and how her recurring symtoms seemed to suggest it. But, he insisted we make sure she kept her regular eating habits so the upcoming tests would not be biased.
So, our daughter is set for an endoscopy next week with Dr. Enrique Hernandez. We have started to read a lot more about this disease and educate her about it as well. I think we're ready for this....
About nine months ago, our daughter had been complaining of stomach cramps after eating. We encouraged her to simply "go to the bathroom" and the pain (or so we thought) often went away after a while. But then invariably, it would return a few days later. My wife then started isolating certain foods, such as Kelloggs Special K Strawberry cereal, then Danimals Yogurt -- both favorites of hers. But the pain never stopped completely.
I drink Almond milk normally, but we buy our kids organic whole milk--and we thought she might have a lactose intolerance. So we stopped dairy for a while. No luck there either. We were stumped and continued to be concerned.
During her routine annual physical, we spoke with our pediatrician and explained the situation in detail. He noticed that her height chart had been increasing at the normal trajectory for someone of her age...but her weight was not following the same growth pattern. He ordered a complete metabolic / blood panel and told us he'd have the results in several days.
That next week, one his his nurses called and asked us to meet with her pediatrician--and our daughter-- personally. The nurse noted nothing was "urgent", but in today's healthcare environment where most doctors have an incentive to spend LESS time with the patient--we both knew something was not normal. My wife and I speculated on several conditions but reminded ourselves it was senseless, negative energy and waited eagerly for that appointment the following week.
When we arrived that Monday with our daughter, her pediatrician, (Dr, Enrique Hernandez of Pediatric GI of the Palm Beaches) explained that her IgA and igE levels were "positive" and abnormally high. Not knowing what this really meant, he explained that this is likely a sign of celiac disease. However, further testing needed to be done to confirm his diagnosis.
There is no history of celiac disease in either of our families..and neither of us really know what this disease is all about. He answered our preliminary questions about celiac disease and how her recurring symtoms seemed to suggest it. But, he insisted we make sure she kept her regular eating habits so the upcoming tests would not be biased.
So, our daughter is set for an endoscopy next week with Dr. Enrique Hernandez. We have started to read a lot more about this disease and educate her about it as well. I think we're ready for this....
Posts
0 comments: