Coeliac Testing

[4nomore]

I think my son (5 ASD) may be glutn intolerant. I made the mistake of taking gluten out of his diet instead of asking for a blood test straightaway and after tentatively trying to re-introduce it at easter (after about four weeks off) and finding that the symptoms came back I decided to wait 'til the summer holidays as it doesn'y seem fair on him or his teachers if he ends up pooing four times a day again when he's not entirely reliably in communicating his needs. I mentioned this to his paed last week who said "Ok get that checked out, I'm discharging you." She's just called me back saying that she spoke to a superior who told her to order the blood tests herself and not to discharge him. Problem is she said "Blah, blah, blah... like you said he has to be on the diet [eating gluten again] for three or four weeks...". I said "I thought it was six weeks?" And she basically went "Oh well yeah six weeks then." She's sending me the bloodwork forms so I just have to take him along at the appropriate time - what is the appropriate time?

Hi - check Coeliac Uk website for more detailed information on this. Your paed is sadly not alone in not understanding the ins and out of Coeliac disease. Good luck.

From their website:

"If you've already reduced or eliminated gluten from your diet, you will need to reintroduce it to make sure you get the most accurate test results. While it may be difficult and uncomfortable, it is essential to your long-term health.

As a general guideline, the recommendation is to eat some gluten in more than one meal every day for at least 6 weeks before testing.

For children you can mix wheat flour into foods such as yoghurt or baked beans to add more gluten into their diet. "

Thank-you, six weeks it is then