Comment by S_A_P

My daughter has Celiac disease. It was diagnosed at age 4 when her growth chart showed she did not gain a single pound and grew ¼" from age 3-4. We did a biopsy of her small intestine and it was completely smooth. (Should be almost like velvet) Herblood levels also showed high sensitivity to gluten. We have her on a strict gluten free diet and she has since followed the growth chart perfectly. However she is sensitive enough that she can not eat gluten free food that has been prepared on the same grill/pan/cook or prep surface as food containing gluten. She suffers from nausea and diarrhea when cross contamination occurs. What this means is that I have to cook every meal she eats and bring it with us if we go to restaurants. We live in probably the best time ever for gluten free foods, but this is still a significant hardship for her. She is 7 now and I worry about as she gets older and wants to hang with friends/date/college. Unless things change she cannot just go grab food at a restaurant. Some restaurants have a gluten free protocol (PF changs comes to mind) but this is not common. From what I've read gut bacteria could be a contributor to gluten intolerance. I really hope studies like the peanut allergy encourage other dietary studies and immunotherapy becomes more common. Her having celiac disease is not the end of the world but her quality of life would change drastically if she didn't have to worry about that.