Hi, I'm on another list with KimS, who suggested I post here. I have a few food reactions myself, but my daughter (age 20 months) has a bunch. Because what I eat can contaminate my milk, I have changed my diet to accomodate hers. For the record, I'm very experienced with food allergies and sensitivities (and I'm chemically sensitive) and I have friends with celiac.

It took a lot of trial and error but I discovered that if my daughter eats gluten for a few weeks, she has diarhea and bowel accidents. If we go gluten-free for a month or more, it takes weeks for the symptoms to come back upon reintroduction (which is why it was so hard to figure out), but if she is only gluten-free for long enough for the symptoms to disappear (a few days), then she will get new symptoms on a single trial. I also tested rye, kamut, and spelt, and they were positive, so I am sure it's gluten, not just wheat. I was careful to test as pure as possible, and we were on a yeast-free diet during this time.

While doing all this, I noticed that I feel better off of gluten and get a "yecky" feeling when I eat it. No overt symptoms, but it's quite noticible. I seem to be okay with trace amounts, as is she.

I had a doctor's appt a couple weeks ago and was getting blood tests anyway, so I asked to be tested for celiac. I had been eating gluten daily for weeks at that point. I stopped the day after the test. My doc says the tests were negative and, according to the lab reference ranges, they are negative. Kim and some others have said my results may actually be a sign of celiac, or at least borderline.

Gliadin antibioties
Gliadin AB, IGA - 15 U/ml (normal is <45)
Gliadin AB, IGG - 11 U/ml (normal is <45)
TISS.Transglutamin.IgA <15 units (normal is <20)
Total IgA 111 mg/dL (normal range 89-581)

I would like to know for certain (short of getting a biopsy) because if I do have celiac, I will go on a strict gluten-free diet for me and my daughter and have her tested when she is old enough (3 years??). If I don't have celiac, I will eat very little gluten and not worry about trace amounts or the occasional cheat. Also, I just like to know these things.

In case it's useful, my daughter's other food sensitivities/allergies are egg, orange, and citric acid (the additive), with possible problems with yeast/vinegar. We eat almost no dairy as I don't do well with it regularly, but my daughter seems okay with it. I used to be allergic to yeast but am not anymore. I do not tolerate preservatives or most additives/junk.

My daughter is healthy but had a lot of antibiotics before and after birth. I have a history of multiple chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndome, growth hormone deficency (take injectable HGH), and asthma.

Thanks for any insights.

Cyndi