2 Year Old With Celiac Or Lactose Intolerance? Need Help!

[srlmomof3]

I need a little help...Ugh! My daughter (2 1/2) has gone from the 9th percentile to the 6th and now 3rd in the last yearish. Her belly is distended most of the time, always at the end of the night some nights way bigger than others. She is very clingy. Her poo floats which I have just notice because I have just started looking, not all of the time but the majority of the time. She has always had loose stool and sometimes goes many times during the day. Her limbs are thin. When I took her to the reg Dr (ped) to get her GI referral he took an xray and her stomach was full of air. Her symptoms seem to be worse when she drinks milk or has yogurt but she doesn't drink that much milk or have that much yogurt. Does anyone have anyone suggestions or advice?--

[mushroom]

Hello, and welcome to the forum. I am sorry that your daughter is having digestive problems.

I think she should have a celiac blood panel drawn. Failure to thrive and distended belly, floating poo and gas, loose stool, lactose intolerance... it all sounds so familiar. Make sure her GI runs a full celiac panel on her. In the meantime, I would withdraw dairy products and give her almond or hemp milk or rice milk other than Rice Dream (has been found to be processed with barley). If she does have celiac disease she would be likely to be lactose intolerant because the enzyme lactase is made in the small intestine where the damage occurs. Let us know how the appt. with the GI goes and whether withdrawing dairy helps.

[raeskids]

My little guy, who was just diagnosed with Celiac, was told to remain of all lactose for 6weeks since Celiac can cause lactose intolerance. In fact, in his biopsy and endoscopy results he had little to no lactase in his system. I believe the reference range was that you should have around 24.5 uM/min/gram protein and anything under 15.0 is abnormal. My Samuel had 1.3 uM/min/gram protein.

Good luck!