Only obvious symptom is screaming?

[crunchy_mommy]

DS is just about 2yo.

He spent the first year of his life pretty much crying constantly. I've considered him 'high needs' but he's always seemed even more extreme than the typical high-needs baby. Up until about 18mos he was just... unconsolably miserable all the time. I tried lots of things but never really could pinpoint anything. He also spit up at least 30 times a day, massive amounts, until somewhere between 9-12mos when it finally abated.

So, I have health issues and when DS was 18mos old I eliminated gluten from my diet completely (I had done this for a few weeks here & there in the past but this way by far the most committed effort).

Some things that surprised me... DS seemed calmer, which I attributed to the fact that my oversupply FINALLY got under control with a combo of extended block nursing & eliminating gluten & him nursing a little less frequently & eating more table food. I now nurse almost exclusively from the left side... probably at least 90% of the time he nurses on that side only. He is now at 23mos still nursing almost as much as a newborn but also eating almost as much table food as a typical toddler which is a great improvement.

OK so obviously 18mos is also a pretty pivotal developmental period so it's hard to say how much of his improvement was due to anything I did...

So I've been 99% gluten-free (occasionally deal with cross-contamination at restaurants etc.) and he has been eating mostly what I eat but sometimes has bread or oatmeal with DH or a cracker/pretzel/etc. So until now he really wasn't eating much anyway -- just a bite or two most times -- but now his portions are more substantial.

We've tried removing gluten & he did fine, then also seemed to do fine with a pretzel or a half a sandwich occasionally. But sometimes he starts freaking out & screaming at the drop of the hat, and it seems to correlate somewhat with eating gluten or especially oatmeal, but it's hard to say because other times he has that stuff and seems fine. I do suspect if it's an allergy/intolerance that there's some kind of delay going on.

I guess my question is, would it be likely to be food-related if he has no other 'symptoms'? He never says his belly hurts, he doesn't have circles under his eyes or a rash, he poops anywhere from 0-4 times a day but it's always solid or smooshy, never diarreah-like... he hasn't really grown much over the last year, maybe gained 2-3" and 3-4lbs as of last time I checked a month or so ago, but doesn't appear skinny or malnourished... Part of me says yes, he doesn't need any other symptoms, my only major symptom when I eat gluten is debilitating fatigue so I guess we all react differently... but I feel like I should see SOME other sign in him if he really has a problem with it.

[APToddlerMama]

I would think so.  My DS was about 20 months when we pulled dairy and his behavior and mood shifted dramatically.  We also pulled gluten and a bunch of other foods with less dramatic results.  My son was a healthy looking and "big" kid even before we changed his diet.  He was also a total crab. He had horrible reflux until about 10 months as well.  He was this huge baby but it constantly appeared like he was puking up 3/4 of what he drank.  Good luck! 

 

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

I guess my question is, would it be likely to be food-related if he has no other 'symptoms'?  

[kjbrown92]

It could be. Can you go back to no gluten for him and keep a food journal and see if those screaming sessions go away? If so, then yes it's a food issue, and maybe he is uncomfortable and he just doesn't know how to tell you. There are some kids who have felt a certain way all their life so they don't know that other people don't have that pain or whatever.

[crunchy_mommy]

Hmm yeah we are definitely going to get him off gluten completely for awhile... soy too, just to be safe... Just 24 hours of that & he already seemed like a new person... What I'm most afraid of is doing another trial but I don't want to eliminate foods if he's not actually reacting to them. It does seem like a cumulative effect or something, so I guess we'll have to do a whole lot of gluten all in one day to see if he reacts....

[Amy0417]

I am so glad you posted this.  My DD's main symptoms are screaming too.  She does have dark circles though.  This morning she was introduced to dairy for the first time in a few days & within 30 minutes she's cried/screamed for an hour.  I was on my way to work and poor DBF didn't know what to do.  She was uncontrollably screaming saying she needed me.  I guess she crawled in her bed under the covers (which is not like her).  I'm guessing that's a good indication that dairy is a problem for her.  I keep questioning it though.  Good luck mama.. I hope things get better!  I know how hard it is.  My DD has been a crier since day one  also!