14 Year Old Diagnosed By Growth Failure Help Please

[KayJ]

My teen (14) son was diagnosed with growth failure due to celiac. He has gained 20 pounds 3 months on a gluten free diet but hasn't grown height wise yet.

For anyone diagnosed as an early teen can you tell us if it's normal to get a little chubby initially on a gluten free diet. He is unhappy to be short and now unhappy to feel like he is getting fat.

Thank you very much for your help. He'd like to know if anyone else experienced weight gain initially without a height increase.

[nvsmom]

Many kids will gain weight prior to the growth spurt. Hopefully that is what is happening.

[cyclinglady]

I agree with Nicole. We have plenty of boys who were a bit chubby as early teens before shooting up in my husband's family. Their Dad's got them into surfing. Now they are strong, tall, and muscular! Just be sure he is eating enough healthy foods and not lots of junk. Now that it is summer, my 13 year is making her own lunches. I have to remind her to eat some veggies. She also only drinks whole milk or water. No sodas in our house (always that way).

Is he consuming enough calcium? Did the doctor order calcium supplements? A multi? Vitamin D? All good for building bones because when you have celiac disease, bones can be compromised and this can be reversed. Some of the first things to be impacted by damaged villi tips include the ability to release enzymes to digest lactose (milk) and absorb iron and calcium. Time to allow for healing is all that is needed usually.

I hope this helps!

[roomorganizing]

My teen (14) son was diagnosed with growth failure due to celiac. He has gained 20 pounds 3 months on a gluten free diet but hasn't grown height wise yet.

For anyone diagnosed as an early teen can you tell us if it's normal to get a little chubby initially on a gluten free diet. He is unhappy to be short and now unhappy to feel like he is getting fat.

Thank you very much for your help. He'd like to know if anyone else experienced weight gain initially without a height increase.

 

KayJ, so sorry this response is late. My hope is that you revisit your posts to check on new replies.

 

Our oldest son was 16 when we got his diagnosis. As a child, he always measured in the 75-90% range for height and about the same for weight. As he got older, he began to measure out in the 50-75% range for height and 85-100% for weight. We didn't think much of it because our boys were always "husky" like their dad....taller with muscular build, powerful football thighs, heavier than most of their peers. As middle school came to a close, we realized that our son was growing VERY slowly compared to his brother who is 2 years younger and was already 2 inches taller. His freshman year of high school, we noticed that his voice was not changing, nor did we see any peach fuzz on his face. When he turned 16 during his sophomore year, I decided enough was enough. Still no squeaky voice, no peach fuzz, and a height of 5'3" at the doctor's office....that put him in the 10th percentile for height among his peers! I asked our GP to test him for growth hormone deficiency, testosterone levels, anything that might give us some answers. He did, and more. He told me about a speaker he had just gone to hear at our local hospital (Dr. Fasano) and that our son's lack of growth could be due to celiac disease and that he would like to run a celiac test. I had no clue what he was talking about, but didn't care what he tested for at that point if it might offer some clues. 

 

Our son's bloodwork came back with a high tTg which prompted our doc to order an endoscopy which came back positive with blunted villi. I spent hours on the computer reading, and specifically on this forum. I was fascinated! He never had the "classic" symptoms of digestive issues. In a year and a half after going gluten-free, our son grew from 5'3" to 5'9". Today, he is 20-years-old, stands just over 6' and is taller than his brother by an inch. As I have looked back over the years, I have recalled many things that I believe were caused by his celiac disease, such as a pretty severe tic that lasted for a couple weeks when he was five. He still carries a little extra weight, but he definitely slimmed out once he started growing. Try to be careful of the all the gluten-free goodies that are available these days and hopefully he will experience the same slimming as my son did.

 

Happy growing!!