Gluten Sensitvity

[lilith1]

How did you get the idea to check into the possibility of a possible gluten sensitivity in a young child/toddler? Given there is no incident in immediate family. Elimination diet? 

And how was your transition to a gluten free diet?

Any thoughts are as always very appreciated. 

[bodhitree]

Once I noticed that DD responded to eliminating dairy but not all her symptoms were gone (still had very frequent night waking), I decided to try getting rid of gluten too. Interestingly, it didn't help a ton with the night waking, but her crazy intense separation anxiety did go away immediately.

The transition to eating gluten-free was a bit challenging. There's a learning curve, but you do get it figured out. FWIW I noticed that I feel *great* on a GF diet--either because I myself don't tolerate gluten well, or because cutting out gluten also involves a lot less sugar consumption (I like my sugar packaged with gluten ).

[tanyalynn]

I cut out gluten and dairy for myself, and I figured it was likely to be good for the kids, but I was in no shape to do separate meals for me and them, so I was the driving force.  That said, I saw enough good things in DD to make me glad we're GF.

Things I saw in DD:

stopped waking at night (she was 3.5yo at that point)

she *started* napping again, after no naps for >1 yr

she stopped wetting the bed at night

her tonsils went down to a normal size (this took about a month, it was the slowest thing for her)

her poop got firmer (it had always been fairly squishy), and she pooped less (from about 3x/day to 1/day IIRC)

We ate super-boring for a while, lots of lunches of lentils and rice, and eggs for breakfast lots and lots (still sorta burnt out on scrambled eggs for breakfast), but I eventually realized that a lot of our dinners either were GF naturally or could easily be made GF, basic stuff like roast (beef or chicken) + green veg + something starchy (GF grain or potatoes or sweet potatoes), lots of bean dishes are GF, stir fries w/o soy sauce (or with wheat-free soy sauce, but later figured out we're intolerant of soy as well, but they still taste good w/o soy sauce).  And I eventually got a few basic recipes--I don't do a ton of GF baking, but I have one or two cookie recipes that are easy, I've got a bread recipe, a cake recipe (though some of the GF mixes are quite good), and a pizza dough recipe.  I'm not the super-GF-baker, so I just wanted a few basics that work for us, and then I occasionally experiment.

[love2mother]

I really like Susan Lords Book "Getting your kid on a Gluten Free, Casein Free Diet". Found on Amazon.

[lilith1]

Thanks everyone, I will check out the book on Amazon. Tanyalynn- the amount of poops, squishiness, aroma and presence of undigested food particles made me think of looking into this. Nap struggles as well. Some generalized mood issues which also could just be the fact he is 2.5. He never stops until he is exhausted, not loosing weight though. Hopefully day care and Grand parents are with us.

Thanks everyone.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by lilith1 

Thanks everyone, I will check out the book on Amazon. Tanyalynn- the amount of poops, squishiness, aroma and presence of undigested food particles made me think of looking into this. Nap struggles as well. Some generalized mood issues which also could just be the fact he is 2.5. He never stops until he is exhausted, not loosing weight though. Hopefully day care and Grand parents are with us.

Thanks everyone.

DD couldn't fall asleep at night til long after it was obvious to everyone that she was super-tired, that one we solved earlier by giving her extra magnesium.  She needs a fair amount, so we just supplemented it every day.  The mag didn't affect any of the other things I listed, and she still needs the mag even though we've been gluten and dairy free for a few years, but I've read of other people where food removal did change something like that.  But mag is easy to supplement and easy for people to be low on, if you want to try it at some point.

[lilith1]

I will look into the magnesium as well. Interesting thought. Was there a blood test done to confirm this or was it trial and error? Either way, this are great ideas.

[babygirlie]

I have celiac so she has never had gluten. I have struggled with dairy. Gluten is easy because I already trial and errored on myself. She will be gluten free until tested but it may be healthier for my autistic child to just stay with this diet.

[talia rose]

my son had 8 double ear infections during his first year, as well as night terrors, upper respiratory infections, could not sleep more than 20 minutes at a time. i had him tested by a kinisiologist which is non-invasive and very effective. all that went away when we cleared the gluten out of his diet. then i clued into soy and had him retested. my daughter we got tested at a week old and took her off gluten right away. i find it helps to make a list of what she can eat, and tape it to the fridge so you know your options. it definitely gets easier with time, as you find your replacement foods....

[puffingirl]

DD coughed endlessly for months and every specialist that we saw had no clue and nothing helped--she was up every hour all night long and we were going bananas with no sleep. A friend, thankfully,  suggested it could be food sensitivities.  We took her off gluten and dairy and she got better.  We put them back in 1 at a time and found that gluten was the culprit.  We now know she also has asthma but the gluten seems to make it MUCH worse. So, she's 100% gluten-free.  The transition was hard for the first 3 months or so but after that it really wasn't/isn't all that tough. It was just getting used to a new kind of normal.