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3 year old has very high levels of immunoglobulin (IGA) over 3 times what it should be found in allergy blood test.Now we have to take her to a GI dr? Anyone know what this could be?

So my daughter will be 3 in April and we took her and her sister (who will be 2 in April) to have a food allergy test. Well the pediatrician called and said that her immunoglobulins (IGA) is 252. The normal for her age is between 16-75. She told me I needed to get her to A GI dr ASAP, to find out what was causing this. She said it meant that there was some inflammation in her GI area. My daughter does complain of her stomach hurting and I switched her to lactose free milk in October thinking that may be the problem. Her diet is not well balanced, since she is very picky, but I do my best. I had Crohn's Disease, Diverticulosis and Barretts Esophagus. I also have a strong family history of GI issues. She has also complained alot of back pain. We recently thought she had a bladder infection, brought in the urine sample and she did not have an infection. So as I wait for the pediatrician to push my appointment of April 27 with the GI dr closer I am left to worry that she is slowly getting sicker. Please anyone who knows anything about this please let me know. I am close to taking her to the Emergency Room, just so they will have to start testing her now. Thank you.
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Avatar universal
Well switching the wipes & not using bubbles anymore did help with the vaginal irritation. But the digestive issues were like constipation for a 2 days or so then she would go. She would complain that her tummy hurt alot and it seemed to be after she drank milk. Thats why I switched her to the lactose-free milk. Just in hopes to see if it helped. It seemed like it did at first and then she started saying her tummy was hurtign again. So I thought she was drinking her milk really fast, so I would tell her to slow down. She drinks milk alot, and she only drinks it with Hersheys Lite Chocolate Syrup (I only add a few drops) She also gets a hive like reaction from various different things like Ranch Dressing, BBQ sauce (this was the 1st one she reacted to) Ketchup, Cottage Cheese and  then one day I used Johnson & Johnson No More Tangles for her hair and some ended up on her ear and cheek & she had some hives. So thats what really pushed us to ask for the allergy test. As far as my husbands kidney condition its called MPGN-Membranoproliferativeglomerulonephritis. He was told that it is not genetic. And since my last post on here I have picked up her lab result from her dr and I could not believe that the dr failed to tell me that they added on a Celiac Panel and a Food Panel, 2 days after her blood was drawn at a local hospital lab. I am not upset that they added additional tests its that when I picked up the results on the first sheet is under the test name Celiac Disease Screen thats where the IGA Tissue Transglutaminase came up 252 and it says abnormal. The doctor failed to give me that information. She NEVER even told me my daughter was tested for Celiac Disease.... I know this does not mean for sure that she has the disease but it was an important piece of the puzzle in my eyes. Now my daughter has been complaining alot of her tummy hurting, she is very hungry, and I almost took her to the ER Thursday night. I have a feeling that I will not be able to wait for the Friday Feb 19th appt. I called the dr Friday morning and wanted to know what I should do? They said there is a flu bug going around and I could bring her in to the pediatricians office or just see how she does and if she gets worse take her to the ER over the weekend.. So thats where we are at now. I am trying my best to be patient and calm. The pain and fear I feel for my daughter is at times unbearable. The thought of taking her to the ER, of them hooking her up to and IV and even worse putting her to sleep for a procedure. So I guess all I can do is hope she is well right now while I am at school and hope that she stays well so we can go see "Sesame Street Live" Elmos Green Thumb tomorrow. She has been looking forward to that for a while now!!
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Avatar universal
The fact that your daughter is maintaining good weight and appears healthy is good.  She may complain of back aches from hearing daddy say it. I once asked my grandson who's 3 if his tummy hurt, and he said yes, I need chocolate!  They are clever little sweeties.  No, she would not have an ulcer this young, but if she has this and goes untreated into adulthood, she could develop one. Did switching the wipes and omitting the bubbles help her?  We have to wonder if it is actually a vaginal infection causing her anti-bodies to be high?  What kind of digestive issues is she having?  I have a lot of experience in this area.  Have they done blood tests to make sure her kidneys are functioning properly?  Is what your husband has, hereditary? I think I would switch pediatricians, this one doesn't seem very responsive.  Please let me know what you can, maybe between the two of us we can at leastfigure out what direction to go in.
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Avatar universal
I often wonder if the doctor is only sending us to the GI specialist since our concern was moslty her complaining of her tummy hurting. As well as her bowel movements not being as regular as they should (but nothing really abnormal in my eyes) She has not had any weight loss, actually she is 38 pounds and looks very healthy to me. She had been complaining about back pain for a while and I thought it could have been constipation or maybe since her father has back pain & complains about it in front of her often. But then she started having alot of irritation in the vaginal area. She would not want me to wipe her (working on potty training, but still in diapers) freaked out when I put powder in her diaper one time. This was before we realized she was having a problem. One time I used Johnsons and Johnsons bar soap(For Babies) on a washcloth and when I washed her vaginal area she started screaming and crying telling me it was burning. So thats when I took her to the pediatrician for the possible Urinary Tract Infection. The Dr said switch to unscented wipes and hypoallergenic bath wash and shampoo. No more bath bubbles. They really thought the irritation was caused by the soaps and stuff. Also her father has a chronic Kidney Condition so I figured I have to get this figured out. We were finally able to get a urine sample at home 2 weeks after the doctors appointment. It was not the cleanest catch, but we caught it. Then when we took the girls both in for the digestive issues I asked what the results were from the urine sample (since no one called me back after I left numerous messages asking for her results) the Dr said there was nothing abnormal with the urine results a bit of bacteria but the kind that just collects I guess on the container. I feel it could have been a yeast infection, possibly. Can a child this young really develop an ulcer? The dr asked us at our last visit, before all of this came about if we wanted to get an x ray of her back just to be sure all was well and my husband did not feel it was needed.
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Avatar universal
Hi. Yes, I would think it would have shown up in the allergy test. I think because of your daughters age, it's nothing serious.  For the doctor to have referred you to a GI says she feels it involves the intestinal tract, and there are no serious conditions that your daughter has had symptoms of.  Below is one that attributes to the high level.  But as you see it's nothing serious. I know from experience that when the anti-bodies are up our body is fighting something, but not always something serious.  One thing that caught my eye is that you thought she had a bladder infection.  High levels of her particular anti-bodies are often produced in the vagina, like in vaginitis which results from a bacterial infection, or yeast infection.  Did her bladder problems appear to be like this type of infection?  I know we wouldn't think of this with one so young, but yeast can happen at any age.
H. pylori bacteria can cause ulcers by growing in the lining of the stomach, producing inflammation and causing the stomach lining to be more easily damaged by stomach acid. However, most people infected with H. pylori do not develop ulcers. An additional factor (such as stress) that cannot always be identified may be necessary to cause an ulcer to form.

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Avatar universal
Thank you for your post! That is re assuring to hear. But the test results of her food allergy test were fine?? The doctor said neither of my girls have a food allergy. So wouldn't Cows Milk come up on an alergy test? I would think so. I dont know though. I sure hope it is something as simple as that. Thank you for your prayers :) Being a mother of 2 little ones can be scary.
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Avatar universal
I am so sorry for what you are going through and can truly relate.  These are antibodies and and they do run very high when a child has an allergy to cow's milk.  Since your doctor said ASAP I would think a pediatric gastroenterologist could get her in sooner.  I worked for two and we always allowed time for emergency patients, and if another doctor called asking that we see a patient right away, we got them in.  Her intestine may be inflammed due to the allergic reaction, so don't think the worst although that's what I always did. I think it's a mother's nature.
If your child is getting sicker, I would take her to the ER.  I shouldn't say this, but for quick results at the ER exaggerate a little with how bad her symptoms are, and tell them what you have been told, and ask if they can keep her for testing, as you feel it's gotten worse.  All this does is make them think she needs to be checked now and not wait for her appt. That's what I would do.  I learned the hard way how to handle doctors and hospitals, and if they think it can wait, they will make you wait.  So don't tell them that YOU don't want to wait that long, tell them you feel she is much worse with her pain.  It's a shame that we have to lie to get results, but that's what it's come down to, and this is your child, you need results now. All of you are in my thoughts and prayers and please let me know how she is doing.  Take care...
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