Going off GF diet?!? Input please...

[treekidsandadog]

So...due to some issues my almost 3 year old was having that appeared to possibly be celiac disease we placed him (and the entire family for the most part) on a gluten free diet.  After beginning the diet we noticed some changes and attributed it to the diet, but now I'm not so sure.  My son had flushed cheeks off and on...that went away...he had awful smelling BM's that floated....still smells b/c well it's poop, but not as bad as it was, but did not float anymore...and he never had a formed BM until after the diet change...all was going well for a month and a half and now most of it is back and I'm fairly certain he hasn't had any gluten b/c even though he goes to the sitter I pack his food (which he LOVES.) 

I am thinking I am  going to try him on a regular diet again and see if he has a reaction...I hate to do it to him, but (risking sounding selfish here) it's a lot of work for me, while running the house alone with three children and working full time, if it's not actually a gluten allergy/sensativity (plus there are times when he really wants something he can't have and I don't think it's fair to him to keep him on a diet that may actually not be working...)...my basic train of thought is that if it is a sensativity/allergy he will have a reaction to it and that will be my answer...Thoughts??

[scsigrl]

Celiac's, gluten intolerance and gluten allergy are all very different things. They way the work is different too.  If it is Celiac's, you can cause major problem by small daily consumption (which is worse than if someone with Celiac's ate a giant plate of pasta once.)  If it is an intolerance or allergy it may be something he has outgrown and may have had time to get better off of gluten for this time.  

I would never pull anything from my kids diet without investigating the impact of the diet on the child.  The social issues with a restricted diet as well as the extra work are tough for any family to deal with. I agree it isn't fair to keep a kid off something there is no documented (not just testing but reaction wise) reaction to. Plus, it IS difficult to feed a kids GF.  It's tough and sounds like you have plenty of other stuff to work on! I wouldn't do it if I didn't HAVE to so it doesn't sound selfish at all to me! 

Having said that, if you don't think it's helping, sure you can try.  I would also talk to your Dr. if you are seriously thinking it may be Celiac's because your child would have to be ON gluten for up to 6 weeks before they can test accurately for it.

[treekidsandadog]

Thanks for your input!  I really do appreciate it!!

[crunchy_mommy]

I would do a trial, if it is causing issues it would probably be pretty obvious after a few days on gluten... Perhaps if you keep him on gluten for a month or two & he seems OK, you could still have him tested for celiac just to be sure.

I'm kind of dealing with a similar thing with DS, GF seemed to help him a ton at first but now I'm not so sure, and in fact it helps me a ton as well but I have delayed reactions so it's hard to tell when something is due to gluten vs. just a coincidence...