Allergy Testing - WWYD?

[chlobo]

This is my tale of wo.

My DD who is 4 years old has had some gastro symptoms for a while now. She has a very distended belly, extreme amounts of gas, loosish stools that are usually kind of pale with undigested bits of food in them.

I started taking her to a chiropractor who does some alternative testing and she suggested a stool test, which would tell us if she was having absoprtion problems. The test was done by metametrix and it came back that she is sensitive to gluten.

We decided to do a re-test through a different lab for confirmation. We did the enterolab stool test & that too indicated that she was sensitive to gluten as well as dairy. Double wo.

Anyhoo, I decided to ask my ped. about the test and what he thought (mainlhy to see if I could get it covered by insurance). He said he didn't see any merit in the test and that if we wanted to test we should start with the blood test.

I figured it couldn't hurt (except for the needle). Anyhow, I was at the doc on an unrelated matter and I mentioned that I wanted a lead & iron test as well (as long as they were drawing blood anyhow). Long story short, the nurse got bad instructions from the doc & they didn't draw the blood they needed so they were only able to do the lead & iron test & NOT the test that really mattered - the gluten test.

So, would you go ahead and do the traumatic blood draw again (they had to hold her down) or would you just be satisfied with the stool test and just go ahead with the new diet (gfcf)?

[HerbanGirl]

Sorry they screwed up the blood test!

I have read and heard many times that the best way to test for food sensitivities is with an elimination diet - go off the suspected foods for anywhere from 2-4 weeks (some say it takes a month for dairy to completely clear your system), then eat a lot of one food on one day. Go back to the elimination diet for two days, and use those two days (plus the first day) to look for symptoms caused by the food. If you don't notice anything, then the food is safe. If you do notice things like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, nasal or sinus congestion, rashes, behavior problems, cravings, etc., then the food is probably causing a reaction and should be avoided.

You can Google "elimination diet" and you'll get basic info.

HTH!

[mtn.mama]

It sounds like you already know that she is sensitive to gluten and dairy, test or no test. You're going to have to do the diet anyway to get her healthy, and it will be worth it. So my two cents is "just jump in there" and get her on the road to wellness. (this from a gluten-free dairy-free mom who is surviving and grateful)

[Savmay]

Originally Posted by chlobo

This is my tale of wo.

My DD who is 4 years old has had some gastro symptoms for a while now. She has a very distended belly, extreme amounts of gas, loosish stools that are usually kind of pale with undigested bits of food in them.

I started taking her to a chiropractor who does some alternative testing and she suggested a stool test, which would tell us if she was having absoprtion problems. The test was done by metametrix and it came back that she is sensitive to gluten.

We decided to do a re-test through a different lab for confirmation. We did the enterolab stool test & that too indicated that she was sensitive to gluten as well as dairy. Double wo.

Anyhoo, I decided to ask my ped. about the test and what he thought (mainlhy to see if I could get it covered by insurance). He said he didn't see any merit in the test and that if we wanted to test we should start with the blood test.

I figured it couldn't hurt (except for the needle). Anyhow, I was at the doc on an unrelated matter and I mentioned that I wanted a lead & iron test as well (as long as they were drawing blood anyhow). Long story short, the nurse got bad instructions from the doc & they didn't draw the blood they needed so they were only able to do the lead & iron test & NOT the test that really mattered - the gluten test.

So, would you go ahead and do the traumatic blood draw again (they had to hold her down) or would you just be satisfied with the stool test and just go ahead with the new diet (gfcf)?

After two stool tests both confirming and her symptoms, it seems pretty clear that she does have a gluten problem. I know a GFCF diet may seem daunting, but it will help your babe so much; you can do it!
Your ped might be skeptical b/c the standard western practice seems to be the blood test but I have read many people on here and othewise who say that the blood test was negative, the stool test positive and the GF diet helped so much. I think it takes a lot of damage before it shows up in the blood work.

[Margot Adler]

Originally Posted by HerbanGirl

Sorry they screwed up the blood test!

You can Google "elimination diet" and you'll get basic info.

this is what we did and it is helping (although every time we eat out it sets us back no matter how careful i am and ds is only sensitive to dairy so far!)

good luck mamma!

[thepeach80]

The chances they would've found anything on the blood test are slim anyways at her age. We had the blood test w/ no results are doing Enterolob come tax time for my yds. He's always had food issues and we have him gf right now. What did the gene test say? The best test for any food issue is just taking the food away and seeing what happens and then if so inclined, trying the food again and seeing what happened. Unfortunately for us, Evan is very asymptomatic w/ growth problems being his main issue so it's very hard to narrow down what the problem is.