For Parents Of Children That Are Over Emotional

[beth01]

I know that Celiac messes with our systems so bad and can cause emotional stress.  That being said, I need some advise from parents that have celiac children.

 

My 11 year was diagnosed with Celiac about a  month ago. On the advise of her doctor we had her go gluten free from the get go, wish I would have waited until we saw the Ped's GI but I can't take it back and we don't see him until June 18th.

 

Today, I received a call from her school at 4 p.m., she is usually home on the bus by that time.  I received a call from the school letting me know that they had her there because she had went to the school psychologist and had told them she was having problems with some kids at school and was thinking of harming herself. They had the cops there as well.  I am floored!  I can't drive right now ( just had surgery a few weeks ago - I have celiac myself) and her father went and picked her up and took her to another appointment with a therapist that deals with children.

 

I know that this disease messes with our bodies from head to toe.  I know she is an 11 year old that is also getting hormonal so that adds to the emotional side.  We are setting her up to talk with the therapist for the summer and are hoping that since summer is here ( last day of school tomorrow) and she can get away from the problem girls that hopefully we can get it worked out.

 

I really don't want her on any meds this early in her life and I was wondering if any other parents had any suggestions.  I am at a loss right now.

[thepeach80]

Poor thing. I have an 11yo and 9yo and they are tough. We have a family psychologist we see, but I think you're at a good time at least. Summer is here, time to adjust to the new diet and figure things out a bit. Maybe talk to the school counselor or psych and have a plan in case it starts again next year.

[greenbeanie]

That's tough, and I'm sorry you're having to go through this. My daughter is much younger (diagnosed a year ago and just turned 5 recently), and she used to be super emotional. She was clingy, irritable, and would cry at the drop of a hat. She'd sometimes start crying when a friend just said hi or smiled at her. Everything started improving immediately upon eliminating gluten, and within a few weeks there was a huge change in her behavior. Things just kept improving steadily for the next few months, until at some point (maybe after 6 months or so gluten free?) she was squarely within the normal range for kids her age in terms of being emotional. The clinginess and outbursts of crying for no reason were mostly gone, etc. So it may just be that your daughter needs more time to heal, and a lot of problems may improve on their own. It sounds like counseling and other intervention is needed to help deal with the immediate issues right now - I don't really have any advice or recommendations about that - but hopefully you'll find that her overall outlook and well-being is greatly improved after more time gluten free. Hang in there!

[dilettantesteph]

Maybe she was having serious problems with the other kids and she was telling the school official what she thought she needed to get something done about it.  I would talk to her to figure out what's going on.