Pale Poop Questions

[Gigikize]

Hello,

My son (17 months old) has been gluten-free for 36 days now. I tried the diet with him because of his "sketchy" symptoms--pale, loose stools; frequent peeing; slow weight gain; and slow large motor development (he is just learning to walk--wears orthotics and gets physical therapy twice a week for low muscle tone in his legs) The main indicator of change should be showing up in his poop, right? Although they are no longer loose (most of the time) and have firmed up some, they are still pale and have undigested food in them often. He also poops at least twice a day. In addition to taking out gluten, I've put him on lactose-free milk and have removed all corn and corn byproducts from his diet (I suspected corn for the frequent peeing which also continues). Could it just be taking a long time for him to heal? Or are there things other than gluten intolerance that could be causing this? I was SO hoping this was going to be IT. Thanks in advance for ANY input you have for me.

Gigi

PS Thanks, Merika, for suggesting this board.

[Smunkeemom]

Hello,

My son (17 months old) has been gluten-free for 36 days now.  I tried the diet with him because of his "sketchy" symptoms--pale, loose stools; frequent peeing; slow weight gain; and slow large motor development (he is just learning to walk--wears orthotics and gets physical therapy twice a week for low muscle tone in his legs)  The main indicator of change should be showing up in his poop, right?  Although they are no longer loose (most of the time) and have firmed up some, they are still pale and have undigested food in them often.  He also poops at least twice a day.  In addition to taking out gluten, I've put him on lactose-free milk and have removed all corn and corn byproducts from his diet (I suspected corn for the frequent peeing which also continues).  Could it just be taking a long time for him to heal?  Or are there things other than gluten intolerance that could be causing this?  I was SO hoping this was going to be IT.  Thanks in advance for ANY input you have for me. 

Gigi

PS  Thanks, Merika, for suggesting this board.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

how long it takes to heal depends on who it is that is healing, 36 days is kinda soon to expect a huge improvement though, esp. if he was really damaged. What does his doctor have to say about all of this?

[Carriefaith]

I would guess that your son could have celiac disease based on his symptoms. However, the gluten-free free idea allows the body to heal. Once on the gluten-free diet, any testing for celiac disease may come back false negative becasue the body stops producing antibodies and stops damaging the intestine.

If he is still having problems on the gluten free, corn free, lactose free diet, I suggest trying a casien free diet (milk protein). Casein can cause a lot of the same symptoms as gluten. On this diet, you must avoid all dairy products and read all labels for dairy products. I am on a gluten and dairy free diet and don't mind it at all. I am actually the healthiest I've been in a long time. I drink orange juice fortified with calcium, take a multivitamin 1-2 times a day, drink So Good soy milk (mainly in blueberry smoothies), and eat So Good ice cream.

[Gigikize]

>how long it takes to heal depends on who it is that is healing, 36 days is kinda soon to expect a huge improvement though, esp. if he was really damaged.

I was under the impression that young children heal rather quickly and that I should notice an ease in symptoms fairly quickly compared to an adult who has had more time to have damage.

>What does his doctor have to say about all of this?

I haven't been to the doc yet. I was still breastfeeding my son at our last appt and was not too concerned about his pale yellow poops, as they seemed to have always been that way and "normal" for a breastfed baby, even if he was also eating solids. Since weaning, I have become more concerned and started looking around for reasons why--which led me here.

Thanks for your response.

Gigi

[Gigikize]

>I would guess that your son could have celiac disease based on his symptoms. However, the gluten-free free idea allows the body to heal. Once on the gluten-free diet, any testing for celiac disease may come back false negative becasue the body stops producing antibodies and stops damaging the intestine.

Yes, I am aware that my son would have to be consuming gluten in order for a blood test to prove celiac disease. The unreliability of testing under 2 though has me just trying the diet to see if there are improvements.

>If he is still having problems on the gluten free, corn free, lactose free diet, I suggest trying a casien free diet (milk protein). Casein can cause a lot of the same symptoms as gluten.

Casein?? Really?? This is one of those things that I sort of rationalized couldn't be a problem with DS. He has never had blood in his stool, constipation, colic, stomach pain, etc. I am also loathe to remove dairy from his diet as it really is his main source of calories at this point (yogurt, milk, cheese are all faves) Any suggestions for replacing those? Would vegan cheese work? How about soy yogurt? Do they make that?

Thanks for your help.

Gigi

[Caroline's mommy]

My dd is now casein and gluten free. She never had constipation, blood in her stool, etc. but the loose, light colored stools continued even after stopping the gluten. So a month after going gluten-free we went CF and the difference in her stools is remarkable. Then we received our Enterolab results showing she is sensitive to casein which cemented that decision. The difference in her behavior over this past month has also improved and she seems to making obvious improvements in her development as well. A lot more babbling and consonant sounds which previously had been limited to "M" "B" and "D" sounds. She will be 2 on Wednesday.

Anyway, you can find soy yougurt. I buy mine at Whole Foods and Raley's. Both Silk and Whole Soy Co make it. We have also noticed she seems sensitive to large amounts of soy though so she drinks fortified Rice Milk (Pacific brand is gluten-free). She never liked cheese a whole lot but doesn't have a problem with vegan cheese when we do use it for pizzas and quesadillas. HTH

[Gigikize]

>My dd is now casein and gluten free. She never had constipation, blood in her stool, etc. but the loose, light colored stools continued even after stopping the gluten. So a month after going gluten-free we went CF and the difference in her stools is remarkable.

Thanks for this. I did cut out dairy from DS's diet and there was almost an immediate improvement, but it sure is encouraging to hear from others who have had the same experience.

> she seems to making obvious improvements in her development as well. A lot more babbling and consonant sounds which previously had been limited to "M" "B" and "D" sounds. She will be 2 on Wednesday.

I have been wondering about my son's speech, too. He's really got those "m" "b" and "d" sounds down! Waiting for more variety, so your story hit home on this point too.

>Anyway, you can find soy yougurt. I buy mine at Whole Foods and Raley's. Both Silk and Whole Soy Co make it.

Yes, found soy yogurt. I bought Stoneybrook brand and later realized it says clearly on the label "may contain traces of milk" !!!

>We have also noticed she seems sensitive to large amounts of soy though so she drinks fortified Rice Milk (Pacific brand is gluten-free).

I've found DS doesn't seem to do well on the soy milk either. Will try rice milk this week. Thanks for the suggestions and the affirmation!

Gigi