14 Year Old Refusing To Accept Celiac

[KSCeliacMom]

Just looking for some advice.

 

My daughter (will be 15 in Jan.) and I were both diagnosed in Aug of last year with Celiac. I was diagnosed first after 13 years of battling digestive problems. After seeing I was positive I immediately has her tested and found she was as well. My daughter does not have the same symptoms as I do.  She does not have the sever tummy aches or end up in the bathroom for two hours in pain. She becomes very exhausted, angry, has a flare up of h.d on her arms and thighs and becomes very pale.  We have been adjusting to a gluten-free lifestyle and have had our ups and downs but, lately she has been complaining a lot more about being gluten free. Saying that she doesn't have it as severely as I do and even told me last weekend that it is mainly in my head, that if I just stopped obsessing over gluten I would be fine.  When I am home with her I make sure she stays gluten free but the minute I am not around her she is eating whatever she wants.  I don't understand where the attitude is coming from since we have been doing this for a year now. I am frustrated with her because she knows she had the tests, she knows what the doctors and dietitians have told us. I have taught her what to look for and have done my best to educate her on the disease. She did very well for the first year and I could see a difference in her, but now she is backtracking.  I don't know what to do or say to express how important it is for her to continue to stay gluten free.  Any suggestions?

[BlessedMommy]

Has she had an endoscopy? 

[SMRI]

My guess is she is "different" from her friends now and doesn't want to be.  It's hard at that age.  It's probably going to get to the point where she is really sick before she really understands what is going on.  Maybe have her visit your GI and let the GI talk to her about how serious this can be for her.  They often listed better to other people.  Maybe join a Celiac group for teens in your area so she can meet kids her age that are also Celiac.  Fitting in is very important to kids that age so anything you can do to minimize her standing out would be the best solution.  Maybe find a list of places that have a good gluten-free menu/practices that she can go to with her friends, etc. so she doesn't have to go through the whole gluten-free routine in front of them--a place like Red Robin maybe--popular with teens and she can be easily accommodated?  At this age, knowledge is your best friend and the more she knows about what will happen to her, the better.  It just probably has to come from someone other than you.