suspicion of coeliac disease, who to go to?

[merichan]

Hi


I have a 4 years old, she's almost always been on dairy free and gluten free diet due to big reactions as a baby.

We are trying one more time to introduce wheat... at first everything seemed fine, however she has more and more troubles digesting.

It makes me wonder if she could be coeliac instead of allergic as we always thought ( knowing that we have coeliacs and allergics in the family which doesn't make it easy)

I'm now desperately looking for a specialist, or a pediatrician who has experience with allergic/ intolerant kids

If you have any recommendation... I would be grateful.

Thanks
Merichan

 

[lioralourie]

I might be wrong, but any gastroenterologist should be able to do the biopsy, right?

We just couldn't go through it in the end. Our dd is almost 5 and has always had strange reactions to wheat (as a baby and toddler: hyper, banging head, running in circles) so we just stayed away from it. As the years have gone by we've avoided most, but not all, gluten--but especially wheat. She seems ok with a little spelt cereal, and we eat oatmeal and a few times a month some rye homemade breads, not much. She's growing fine, much better now that I've started digestive enzymes and pretty serious vitamin and mineral supplementation the last 2 years.

hope this helps

 

[anewnickname]

My husband has just been confirmed as suffering from coeliac disease by a regular gastro Dr at Quality Healthcare in Prince's Building.
If you suspect this is the problem, bring it to the attention of the Dr and demand the test, which needs to be sent to the UK or US and takes about 6 weeks.
Many Drs in HK are not really familiar with this condition as it's very rare in Chinese, but if you mention it, s/he should go along with your request.

Good luck!

 

[pdamestoy]

I know of many people who suffer from Candida which can mimic
wheat allergy and coeliac disease. Very very common in western diet. Treating with natural remedies and getting dietary advice can assist children to perhaps overcome these health issues in time.

 

[lioralourie]

yes, we also are keeping an eye on candida.

Lots of coconut and flax oil in our diet, and when kids show signs of yeast (behavioral mostly) we whip out the Grapefruit Seed Extract and UP the probiotics!

 

[jane01]

Can you gp refer you to the appropriate medical professional? I always need a gp referral for insurance purposes, in any case.

Re the wheat intolerance, if she hasn't had wheat for some time, it will take her a while to get used to it again. I'm currently on a wheat and dairy free diet for fitness reasons and I find if I do have any wheat, I feel very unwell. However, I'm 38 and before eliminating wheat, I never had any problems at all. When I choose to reintroduce wheat, I'll just do it really slowly.

 

[beckveldman]

A good while after your intiial post, but a couple of recommendations:

You mention that coeliac is in the family, and as it has a strong genetic component, I take it that you have good reason for your suspicion.

Dr Robert Middleton is the gastroenterology specialist who works from Quality Health rooms in Prince's building. He is an eminently qualified older doctor, completely lovely manner, and I would highly recommend him.

Perhaps a visit to a good paed might be in order first (and they could make the referral to the GI specialist if needed). I personally also recommend Dr Tanpa Thondup at Bank of America Building in Central - thorough, kind and I would trust him implicitly to get to the cause of any issue.

Hope that helps.