
June 26, 2002
Other Illnesses
Question from North Carolina, USA:
For the past year, my seven year old daughter, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of two, has been dealing with severe constipation to the point where she was admitted into the hospital once. She is on Myralax daily which does help, but she still has constipation at times. Her doctors now want to test her for celiac disease. Does celiac cause constipation? If she has it, what is the normal course of action?
Answer:
Not usually, but coeliac disease is associated with diabetes because it is also an autoimmune condition. Many places test routinely yearly or two yearly. Treatment is a gluten-free diet, but it is very important that you don’t try this out before the appropriate tests are done.
KJR