19 replies to this topic

[Kelleybean]

My 2 year old has been gluten free for one week. I have not seen any changes yet. I know one week is not much, but I was so hoping for a magic bullet...

When did you first notice changes/improvements?

Our situation might be a little different because my son has a gluten intolerance related to his autism but is not celiac. Unfortunately I did not notice any changes right away. I say unfortunately because I didn't have any immediate clues that it was helping. But over 6 months his language test scores went up by 20 points (from severe deficit to "within normal limits"). The biggest thing that told me that it was helping was when we did a gluten test. After a few days of gluten his behavior changed completely - meltdowns, very unfocused, hyper. So hang in there. I think one of the most frustrating thing about testing a gluten free diet is that you don't always see any changes right away, which leaves you wondering whether it's helping.

[keirasmom]

make sure you eliminate any possibility of cross contamination. my daughter didnt show any signs of improvement until we replaced all pots/pans, spatuals, toaster, etc in the kitchen. she was diagnosed as hypersensitie celiac though. she has been gluten free for almost 3 months and is just starting to go a whole day without complaining of her tummy hurting. but for her, that is a huge improvement!!

[LFitts]

My 2 year old has been gluten free for one week. I have not seen any changes yet. I know one week is not much, but I was so hoping for a magic bullet...

When did you first notice changes/improvements?

We've only been gluten free for about 4 weeks, but the first thing I noticed is FINGERNAILS! She has always had very brittle nails that don't grow, just crumble off. I looked at her the other day and realized that she has healthy fingernails! It feels like a victory.

[Mom2_2girls]

My daughter was 5 when she went gluten-free after being diagnosed.

First month:
It was HORRIBLE! She was SO moody. She was having huge tantrums all the time, her tummy was constantly hurting her too. I was so frustrated and upset. It was very difficult.

After that:
All her sensory issues have been getting less and less apparent. Previously she had severe tactile defensiveness and it was SO hard to find anything for her to wear. Everything bugged her. That is almost gone now after 2.5 months gluten-free free.

She is SO much less moody then before she was gluten-free. Previously she would have meltdowns for no apparent reason and act SO agitated. Now it is SO clear when she has been glutened because the old behaviours come back.

She seems happier overall.


We are still struggling and even though our house is totally gluten-free she must be very sensitive because anytime she eats anywhere else she gets glutened.

[Mom2_2girls]

make sure you eliminate any possibility of cross contamination. my daughter didnt show any signs of improvement until we replaced all pots/pans, spatuals, toaster, etc in the kitchen. she was diagnosed as hypersensitie celiac though. she has been gluten free for almost 3 months and is just starting to go a whole day without complaining of her tummy hurting. but for her, that is a huge improvement!!

I am in agreement with this. We actually had our daughter go gluten-free when she was 3 after a naturopath said she had a gluten/ wheat intolerance. Not thinking it could be celiac we eliminated 95% of the gluten in her diet and saw no improvement, so we figured the ND was wrong. If only we had had more info and known she couldn't have ANY gluten at all to see any improvements.