Gluten free diet?

mama.bear

Anyone have their LO on a gluten free diet?

Some of you may remember from a previous post, our kindergartner is having educational/emotional challenges at school. His teacher has recommended having him evaluated by a psychologist.

We started first with our family doctor (for several other reasons, we no longer go to our former pediatrician). In his words, "this child is over-processed". His skin is pale grey, his eyes have dark circles, his lymph nodes are huge and, he hasn't gained weight in 2 yrs!

We have a bunch of lab work being drawn tomorrow to try and figure out why this boy is so sick. In the meantime, we start with a very basic, gluten free diet. Many terms were mentioned in our visit like "anemia, vitamin deficiencies, ADHD, autism, aspergers" 

I'm hopeful that we'll help my boy out but, intimidated by the new task of feeding this child. Wow, what doesn't have gluten (or eggs or dairy) in? This is going to be a challenge to say the least.

DandelionMom

2 of my DDs have celiac disease so are gluten-free.  I strongly encourage you to wait to start the diet until testing is complete -- going gluten-free too early can cause false negatives in the tests. 

Your son sounds as if he has many symptoms of celiac disease.  I can tell you the diet is very challenging at first but quickly becomes second nature.  Since my DDs diagnosis, they feel so much better, the change in their health, appearance, and behavior is astounding. 

I have some info in my bio.  GL!

mrsskiz

My sister has severe gluten allergies. When she first got sick they tested her for everything from mono to TB to menegitis. Terrifying considering she got sick right after my wedding. She could have gotten it from anyone. After 2 weeks in the hospital and a million different tests they determind the gluten allergy. Since changing her diet she said she has felt better than she ever has in her life. There are several downfalls though. 1. Its expensive 2. Eating out is very difficult especially since many kids foods arent options anymore 3. My sister lost a significant amount of weight after she started but once her body adjusted to the diet she evened out. Once she got used to knowing what she can and cant eat things have been much easier. If you really think about it now is the time to be diagnosed with anything like this. You have the internet at your fingertips to find recipies and forums to talk about your struggles and accomplishments and the grocery stores are starting to carry many gluten free products.

Good Luck and keep us updated!!

CubbyMama

My MIL was diagnosed with celiac disease last year, and it has been a real journey for her to learn about how to eat gluten-free.  You'd be AMAZED at the things that have wheat products in them--soy sauce, corn starch, sometimes vanilla extract, and a whole bunch of other stuff that you would never even think it would need to be in.  You have to do a lot of research, read labels like crazy, and eating fast food or at restaurants is really iffy unless you know for sure they have gluten-free items and don't prepare them along with other foods that do contain wheat.  P.F. Chang's and Claim Jumper both have large GF sections on their menus, but MIL learned really quickly that beyond those, her days of just plopping down at any restaurant or driving thru any fast food place are over.  Apparently people with wheat allergies can have harmful effects from even consuming 1/8 tsp of a wheat product, which means cross-contamination is a huge issue.

I'm not trying to scare you, but just letting you know that it is a big undertaking, so if DandelionMom is right and you may not need to start a GF diet yet, maybe take this time to do research and prepare yourself for IF this becomes necessary.  There are tons of GF blogs out there, and if you just google "celiac blog" or "gluten-free foods," you'll get a ton of info to start out with.  Finding GF versions of the foods your son already likes, collecting recipes you could try, etc. might be a good place to start.  This must be overwhelming for you, and I hope it all turns out for the best!

pregaftertubal

i was dx with celiac 10 years ago.  pm me if you have any questions.  it can be overwhelming at first, but definately doable!  good luck!

Engineer4Life

DH, and my middle son are Celiac. At first it is hard, now it is just life. Many foods are GF, and you can bake tons, too. 

GOOD LUCK!