First Timer

[Rosemedal]

I am brand new here, and I'm not even sure if I have posted in the right forum, but here goes. I have a 14 yr old son who at 7 was diagnosed with ADHD, but I am convinced there has been more going on...I believe it's Aspergers Syndrome. Anyway, I guess my question is....Can a child be 14, over weight and misdiagnosed all these years? When he was a baby, he never seemed to have a real "solid" stool, not even as a toddler for that fact. ( As you can assume, I haven't been privey to his bowel movements for quite some time now lol ) He never seemd to have any other digestive problems, with the exception of being very gassy Recently I have heard that sometimes there are not alot of obvious symptoms. I have always had a gut feeling that at least some of his problems have been due to maybe a food allergy. As a toddler I had him on the Feingold diet. His favorite foods have always been things like pasta and pizza. I have read quite alot of this board, and you all seem to be very well educated on the subject. Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for you time

Rosie

[nettiebeads]

I am brand new here, and I'm not even sure if I have posted in the right forum, but here goes.  I have a 14 yr old son who at 7 was diagnosed with ADHD, but I am convinced there has been more going on...I believe it's Aspergers Syndrome. Anyway, I guess my question is....Can a child be 14, over weight and misdiagnosed all these years?  When he was a baby, he never seemed to have a real "solid" stool,  not even as a toddler for that fact. ( As you can assume,  I haven't been privey to his bowel movements for quite some time now lol ) He never seemd to have any other digestive problems, with the exception of being very gassy    Recently I have heard that sometimes there are not alot of obvious symptoms. I have always had a gut feeling that at least some of his problems have been due to maybe a food allergy.  As a toddler I had him on the Feingold diet. His favorite foods have always been things like pasta and pizza. I have read quite alot of this board,  and you all seem to be very well educated on the subject. Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for you time

Rosie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's another member of this board who has started a thread on autism, aspergers and such. Just type in autism in the search and it will bring up all the threads ever posted re: that subject. About your ? Research has been done re: celiac disease, gluten problems and behavior problems and some connection has been made. The loose stools may be a symptom of celiac disease, along with the gas. And your son may be asymptomatic in regards to "normal" symptoms - failure to thrive, underweight, etc. You could try the gluten-free diet, but substituting gluten-free pasta and pizza crusts so he won't be so upset about the change in the diet. Try it for a couple weeks or so and then reintroduce gluten to see if you can notice any difference in behavior and intenstinal symptoms.

[Ursa Major]

Hi Rosie,

I have celiac disease, Asperger syndrome and Tourette syndrome. Also, even though as a child I was underweight, as an adult I was gaining and gaining more weight, without any good reason I could figure out. Especially since I am very health conscious and my family rarely got fed sweet things, and didn't ever have anything white in the house (no white sugar, flour, pasta, rice etc.). Every other member of my family is slim, except for me!

And actually, my symptoms were misdiagnosed or ignored all my life, and I finally figured it out MYSELF! My doctor acknowledged that she didn't test for celiac disease (but tested for everything else, with negative results) because she didn't know that weight gain is also a symptom of celiac disease, even though she realized that all my other symptoms pointed to celiac disease. It's obviously not nearly as common as weight loss. But I don't understand that so many doctors don't realize that weight gain is a possible symptom as well!

I agree with nettiebeads, why don't you just try him on a gluten free diet, and see what happens. But he'll have to agree, otherwise he'll eat gluten containing foods at school. It won't do any good to just eat gluten free at home, it has to be consistent.

[Merika]

I think I saw posted on this site that 40% of celiacs are overweight. This is in big opposition to the perception that celiacs are all underweight. There are several guys on this board who write in frequently who LOST extra weight after going gluten-free.

Also, many of us here were diagnosed as teenagers or adults, so clearly we made it through childhood able to pass for "normal enough". I'd recommend taking your son in for a physical (armed with good scientific reasons for why he should be tested....don't get me started on doctors....) and have the blood test run. In just a few weeks, you should get your answer.

(If the doc is really resistant, just say a first degree relative was just diagnosed with it, and recommended everyone in the family be tested ;-) )

Merika