Celiac Disorder - help!!

heather62803
heather62803 Posts: 266 Member
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
My son is 15 months old and has had digestive issues since day 1 - he was diagnosed with Reflux and was thought to have a sensitivity to cows milk proteins - I nursed him and did not eat any dairy to help with this. At one year we tried gradually switching him to cows milk - on the advice of our doc - but he was still having bowel issues - very loose stool 3-5 times/day (sorry if TMI) so we put him on soy - thinking lactose intolerace. This was 3 months ago and he has gotten a little better, but we are still having some issues almost daily. Today was his 15 mo checkup and she recommended a blood workup, and stool cultures to check for Celiac disorder. While I know a little about the disorder - sensitivity/allergy to gluten - I don't know a lot about what can or can not be eaten or anything else. I know that it might come back negative (if thats the case he has to go see a Gastroenteroligist) but I would like to start educating myself on the disorder as it will probably be an event that changes the way the whole family eats (probably for the better!!). I know a lot of you have this disorder or just adopt a gluten free lifestyle by choice so any advice you could give me would be great THANKS!!!

Replies

  • crucible_13
    crucible_13 Posts: 54
    I don't have celiac disease, but I have been having some digetstive issues and was thinking of switching to a gluten-free diet. I have done a little research and it's really just avoiding wheat, rye and barley products. I know that wheat products sneak into processed foods and soups, so you will need to read the labels of foods very carefully.

    Here are a few websites that I have found helpful:

    http://www.gicare.com/diets/gluten-free.aspx

    http://www.glutenfreedietfoods.com/food_to_avoid.html

    Hope this is helpful.
  • heather62803
    heather62803 Posts: 266 Member
    I don't have celiac disease, but I have been having some digetstive issues and was thinking of switching to a gluten-free diet. I have done a little research and it's really just avoiding wheat, rye and barley products. I know that wheat products sneak into processed foods and soups, so you will need to read the labels of foods very carefully.

    Here are a few websites that I have found helpful:

    http://www.gicare.com/diets/gluten-free.aspx

    http://www.glutenfreedietfoods.com/food_to_avoid.html

    Hope this is helpful.

    Definitely helpful!! Wow thats quite an extensive list!!!! Thanks so much!!
  • JulieBC
    JulieBC Posts: 1
    Heather our oldest started have many loose mucousy stools with traces of blood when he was 6 weeks old. He was completely breastfed. We ended up at a pediatric gastroenterologist at the University of Iowa, and they had me omit all dairy, soy, and beef. Joel resolved his issues and passed a dairy challenge at 11 months. But the peds gastro was firm that many kids who have dairy sensitivities/allergies also have issues with soy. He grew out of that and then went on to yellow dye sensitivities. He outgrew those and now has some antibiotic allergies.
  • lilay
    lilay Posts: 122
    The websites previously posted are good ones. I wanted to let you know that there is a chance you or your husband could have it as well so you might want to get checked too. When my daughter was getting tested they drew my blood and DH's as well as it turned out my DD and I had the same markers so I was able to get the colonoscopy and not her.

    Good recipe sites--
    http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/
    http://glutenfreemommy.com/

    Good Place to Buy stuff (although most grocery stores are getting a better selection)
    http://www.glutenfreemall.com/
  • heather62803
    heather62803 Posts: 266 Member
    @Julie - Thanks for the info - if milk and soy were both a problem what did your son drink? Just curious.

    @Lilay - did you guys end up having the Celiac disease then?

    I've been looking at the lists online and thinking about what we eat and what we will have to change - in one way I hope it comes back that he does have Celiac because I really don't want to put him through all the GI testing to find out what else might be wrong, but Celiac in itself is going to be hard too, I would probably have to come up with a safe food list and give it to baby sitters and grandparents for whenever he is over to eat!! My husband does have some digestive issues as well although he probably isn't going to accept the change all that easy - he's pretty stubborn!!

    We're going in for the bloodwork and cultures tomorrow - but she said we probably won't have answers for at least a week!!
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Hello!

    I don't think I have celiac disease but boy am I gluten senstive. In fact, it was keeping me from losing weight, so you will really want to know if you have a sensitivity as well since you are trying to lose. Would like to welcome you to a great support thread on this website:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/72884-gluten-free-girls-and-guys?page=17

    Pay special attention to the endorsement of Udi's bread, flourless muffins, Pamela's baking and pancake mix, gluten-free pastas and pizzas and other lifesavers. It can be overwhelming when you first realize the fact that gluten/wheat are in just about everything, but they are also in a lot of bad-for-you processed foods, so cutting them out pushes you more towards healthy proteins, fats, veggies, and fruits.

    Keep in mind that whether you have a gluten problem or not, if your son does have it the whole household should go gluten free. This protects him from cross-contamination, which could not only affect his GI system but likely his school performance and definitely promote cancer down the road.

    Also consider reading the interesting book "Dangerous Grains"

    Hope that helps, and best of luck to you and your little one :flowerforyou:
  • heather62803
    heather62803 Posts: 266 Member
    Hello!

    I don't think I have celiac disease but boy am I gluten senstive. In fact, it was keeping me from losing weight, so you will really want to know if you have a sensitivity as well since you are trying to lose. Would like to welcome you to a great support thread on this website:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/72884-gluten-free-girls-and-guys?page=17

    Pay special attention to the endorsement of Udi's bread, flourless muffins, Pamela's baking and pancake mix, gluten-free pastas and pizzas and other lifesavers. It can be overwhelming when you first realize the fact that gluten/wheat are in just about everything, but they are also in a lot of bad-for-you processed foods, so cutting them out pushes you more towards healthy proteins, fats, veggies, and fruits.

    Keep in mind that whether you have a gluten problem or not, if your son does have it the whole household should go gluten free. This protects him from cross-contamination, which could not only affect his GI system but likely his school performance and definitely promote cancer down the road.

    Also consider reading the interesting book "Dangerous Grains"

    Hope that helps, and best of luck to you and your little one :flowerforyou:

    THanks so much for referring me to that thread - I will definitely check it out. If he does have it and possibly if he doesn't we are defninitely making some changes. He does have some issues no matter what they are - dairy, soy gluten - who knows.... so I am looking into healthier options for him and for the rest of the family as well - although my hubby may not be open to the change! I have already begun evaluating everything I have been feeding him and have been trying to come up with some alternatives. This is defnitely overwhelming, but I think we can handle it!!!
  • lilay
    lilay Posts: 122
    Opps sorry forgot to include that part...No we don't have it but we were diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. Oh and I know the other part was for Julie but my kids don't drink soy or milk either. So they can drink either Almond milk or Hemp milk. They drink hemp milk because it has more nutritional value than Almond milk (plus I have nut allergies so we try to limit nut products in our home).

    @Julie - Thanks for the info - if milk and soy were both a problem what did your son drink? Just curious.

    @Lilay - did you guys end up having the Celiac disease then?

    I've been looking at the lists online and thinking about what we eat and what we will have to change - in one way I hope it comes back that he does have Celiac because I really don't want to put him through all the GI testing to find out what else might be wrong, but Celiac in itself is going to be hard too, I would probably have to come up with a safe food list and give it to baby sitters and grandparents for whenever he is over to eat!! My husband does have some digestive issues as well although he probably isn't going to accept the change all that easy - he's pretty stubborn!!

    We're going in for the bloodwork and cultures tomorrow - but she said we probably won't have answers for at least a week!!
  • hannah_lin
    hannah_lin Posts: 54
    My dad has suffered from celiac his whole life but didn't find out til he was 50-- he was experiencing so many health issues at that point that doctors thought he had AIDS. Over time, if undiagnosed it can wreak havoc on your system. The good news is (and it's very good news!!) you have caught your sons very early on so he can avoid the negative effects of this debilitating autoimmune disease. It's great that you were persistent about getting this diagnosed early!! :)
    The other good news is that there are SOOOO many gluten free products these days. 10 years ago it was impossible to find celiac friendly foods, but now even non-specialty food stores have great options. It won't be as hard as you think!! There are great pastas, cereals, frozen foods, desserts and snack options. I recommend starting at a Whole Foods and looking at their gluten free section. I myself have gone gluten free for several weeks (I was seeing if I had the sensitivity-- I don't at this point) and it was no problem at all. Many foods now even say on the label if they're gluten free or not!
  • wishfuldreams13
    wishfuldreams13 Posts: 2
    I have celiac disease! It was super hard for me to begin with, but after awhile, and talking to others, I found A LOT of gluten free food that was good. If you are looking for a good bread, look up Udi's. They have awesome stuff!
  • magnoliajo
    magnoliajo Posts: 4
    I have Celiac too - and you are right about Udi's - their products are the best!

    Sometimes it is difficult for me to find food I can eat - let alone find food that is nutritious and supports the needs of weight training and working out while still keeping my food intake low and low cal, etc. I have to watch out for dairy products and carbs - they stick to my body like glue, but sometimes when I get hungry I eat them before I realized I made a bad food choice.

    If you have any Celiac issues you would like to discuss feel free to get ahold of me!
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
    In terms of family friendly fare, The Crockpot Lady's blog (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/) is pretty awesome. One of her daughters has celiac, so everything is gluten free or CLEARLY marked as not.
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