Could a food allergy be the reason my son isn't gaining weight?

[MamaFern]

my son just turned two and he weighs just under 21lbs. he hasnt gained anything for months..he is 32 inches tall..

he is extremely smart and not behind, if anything he is advanced for his age.. but he is sooo small! i have sensitivities to dairy and wheat..we dont eat much wheat, but i have been feeding him quite a lot of organic diary because its hight in fat..

but, its not doing anything!.. he will eat a lot of different foods, but tends to like the lower fat stuff better..fruit, crackers, soups... he wont eat cheese..but he loves butter and yogurt. i gave him goats milk for a long time and im going to switch to it again and see how it goes.. i just worry that maybe what he is eating is the problem, though ive never really heard of this before. any stories..suggestions..answers would be greatly appreciated!



fern

[snuffles]

Hi,

You are sensitive to wheat and dairy-- have you been testing for Celiac disease? If your son has this, *any* amount of wheat (actually gluten) in his diet can cause a reaction, and his growth could be stunted because of the malabsorption of nutrients.

That just stuck out to me.. you probably already know about Celiac, but just wanted to throw that out there.. (our whole family eats gluten free because one of my children has Celiac)

[Jessica36]

Absolutely ~ Zach is exactly like this he actually has a condition called Eosinphillic Esophagitis. Which is white blood cells in his esophagus attacking the food he eats like it is a virus. Unfortunitly the only way to diagnose the EE is through an Endoscope, BUT for what it is worth I would drop the Dairy, Wheat, soy and no Goat's milk (too close to cow's) and see if that helps.

How are his bowel movements?
Also any vomiting?

BTW here is a list of what we avoid
FA-Egg, Peanut, Dairy, Wheat, Corn, Peas, Rye EA-Dog, Cat, Feather, Avoiding fish Passed Soy, Trialing Oats!

[MamaFern]

thanks mommas..

he doesnt vomit and his poops are normoal.. sometimes not very well digested..

i havnt taken him to have any tests, because the doctors all say that he is so normal otherwise.. i worry if i cut out gotas milk an cow and soy and wheat that there wont be much left with fat that he can and will eat..

as for celiac, mabe ill get us both tested. when i am wheat free i feel so much healthier,.. its just so hard! i know that im not 100% allergic to it, but i know that im sensitive.

[Jessica36]

Ok anything particular that isn't digested? I ask because that was a big clue to food allergies for us.

Good Luck!

[MamaFern]

i dont usually look to closely! but ill check and see if i notice anything unusual..

[snuffles]

Undigested food can be a sign of malabsorption... if your mommy "radar" is going off and you think something could be up, please insist on testing. My pediatrician said the same thing about my dd and to this day he still apologizes to me for dismissing my concerns.

Also, if you are going to have testing done for celiac, you must be eating gluten at the time (or, you can go to enterolab.com-- they do stool samples that are more sensitive)

[MamaFern]

what turned out to be the problem?

[Rox5266]

I agree that it might be malabsoption. You should have him checked out. Also, beware of soy, it is a non-food and dangerously high in estrogen and might also be a GM food. See http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/index...les/index.html

Good luck!

Roxanne
Daniel 8/9/03

[MamaFern]

how do they test for malabsorbtion..?

we rarely eat soy.. i used to eat quite a bit but then i got pregnant with him it made me sick! and since then, learning the facts about it and knowing my own bodies reaction to it, we just stopped using it..i also know lots about GMO foods and if i do use it i make sure to use organic non-gmo beans..

[snuffles]

Mamafern, my dd tested positive for two antibodies to gluten (over 95% chance she has Celiac disease).. since going GF her poops have improved immensely. She also couldn't tolerate any dairy for several months after going GF. She now can eat small amounts of cheese with no problems. But I also suspect she may have other things going on along with Celiac.. she is going back to the pediatric GI dr at the end of February. The "gold standard" in the mainstream GI world is a small bowel biopsy to look for flattened villi, to diagnose Celiac. I thought the improvement on the diet was enough proof for our family. Check out enterolab.com.. it's stool samples you can do from home, and you don't have to do a gluten "challenge" (eating a good amount of gluten) because the stool testing is more sensitive. They also have genetic testing and a good deal of information on that site about gluten intolerance and Celiac disease.

About malabsorption-- I think they test for fat in the stools. I would ask your pediatrician for a referral to a pediatric GI dr.

Feel free to PM or email me if you want to chat more.

[NatalieS]

i didn't read all of the replies, so sorry if i repeat but my ds is exactly the same. 21 lbs and he'll be two in a few weeks. my homeopath put me on digestive enzymes and immediately his stool was more formed.

the weight itself didn't bother me it was how loose his stools were and how so much food came thru undigested.

i take some Rainbow light supplements that have the enzymes in them: calcium and the prenatal energizer. it worked out since i wanted to start the energizers anyway.

[LaLa]

I don't know the answer for your child, but varying the diet sounds like it would be a good idea! My bean does much better when we rotate her foods and don't rely on any one food to be her source every day.

SO if you could alternate the organic dairy with organic goats milk yogurt and fats from nuts or coconut oils etc. You can use a variety of milks and rotate those as well.

We use rice, almond, and potato milks here.

Keep us posted on how he is doing!

[MamaFern]

he seems happy enuff! i just got over a terrible cold that he barely got at all.. he is obviosly in great health, because i thought i would die! he was running circles around me, bringing me cloths to wipe my nose and trying to nurse me "all better"

i have been giving him wild salmon oil and cod liver oil everyday, as well as a digestive enzyme..

i agree with the varying, rotated foods.. and we do. i just found out about a really good naturopath in my area and im going to call and get us an appointment as well, so hopefully that will help answer some of my questions.

thanks for all of your support!