If your child has been eating gluten-free, the results of the endoscopy may not be accurate. The endoscopy is performed to see if there is damage to the intestinal villi. If your child does have celiac and has been eating food that contains gluten, his/her villi will most likely be flattened. Once gluten is removed from the diet, however, the villi will regenerate. You should double check with your doctor to see if he/she wants your child to start eating gluten again before the procedure.

My daughter is now 13 and was diagnosed with severe wheat allergy at 11.5 years via skin prick test at allergist. She always had hives, itching, tummy troubles as a young child. She is so severe that she cannot have any wheat or gluten items. If ingestedm, she has anaphylaxis, if exposed via skin, she gets hives, itching, headache, and severe face swelling, same if it's airborne from someone cooking pasta or in the lunchroom. But, over time we've learned to manage it by carrying an epi-pen and benadryl everywhere she goes and eating a strict wheat and gluten free diet. I hope one day she outgrows it, but hasn't happened yet, please reply with any questions if you need more info.

Anonymous wrote:So, we have made an appointment for the endoscopy in a couple of weeks.
The fact they will have to sedate my child is scary to me. What if he is allergic reaction? True, it's the hidden damage you don't see that is scary. This is hard to explain to people too about those who are not aware of gluten problems.

It's been taking a long time to do grocery shopping these days. I'm thinking of consuming less gluten as well.

I know the idea of someone sedating your child is really scary (we've been through it twice). The medical staff is fully prepared in case of any reactions. We went back to the room where the endoscopy was going to take place and I held him on my lap with the mask over his mouth/nose until he fell asleep. The ped anesthesiologist sat next to us the whole time to monitor him as it happened. Our son was younger than yours when he had it done, but I don't know if that makes it easier or harder. They didn't put the IV in until he was out and the whole thing took about 15min before we were called back to recovery.
Shopping gets easier once you learn what you can and can't buy. Some stores have "allergy friendly" product lists online. I still double-check labels because product ingredients can change or a facility process might change as well. Ian's brand is top 8 free and has things like panko bread crumbs and kid-friendly foods (their nuggets are delicious!) as well as Enjoy Life Foods (ELF). My son particularly likes the ELF Cocoa Loco bars. The brand "Let's Do" has gluten-free ice cream cones. I think all Larabars are gluten-free as well. My favorite flavors are blueberry muffin and apple pie.