Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

"de-glutening" A 10 Year Old

lonewolf

Recommended Posts

lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted

My 10 year old son has had many symptoms of Celiac or gluten intolerance. His celiac panel came back negative, but I decided to try him on a gluten-free diet anyway. It's only been 3 days, but I'm seeing some improvements and his teacher commented yesterday that he had a really good day - he has had attention problems. And he hasn't had a bedwetting accident for 2 nights in a row! (This is BIG.)

He, however, is getting angry at the thought of having to do this. I told him it was a 1 week trial and we'd figure out if we were going to continue at the end of the week. I've given him delicious lunches, with extra treats (Kinnikinnick K-too's among other things) and he still complains.

Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with a child this age that hasn't been officially diagnosed? I've made homemade bread, which everyone loved, homemade cookies, taken him out to eat at the health food store and made a homemade chocolate fudge cake, all in 3 days! I've tried to reason with him, explain why we're trying this and pointed out the improvements we're already seeing. What else can I do?

Liz

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Smunkeemom Enthusiast
Smunkeemom
Posted

I am sorry that it's hard on him. My grandfather got diagnosed when he was 78, so he was pretty set in his ways too, what helped him was sitting down with me and writing down all his favorite foods and finding ways to make them gluten free. Your son is going through a rough time, patience is key, you sound like you are bending over backwards though. I would sit down and say "this is what you are having trouble with, I think this diet may help, we are already seeing changes, don't you think it's worth a try at least?"

and then try to back off. Make good gluten free food and have him help in his food choices, but try not to set yourself up to be a door mat, you don't need to feel guilty you are doing what you feel is best, and that is a parent's job.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I would also gently urge him to pay attention to how much better he feels when he does not eat foods with gluten in them. Hopefully, as he feels better, he will begin to equate gluten with feeling sick, wetting the bed, etc.

Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted

my daughter is only five, but what I do for her when she is having a "feel sorry for myself day" when she gets upset that she can't have what the other kids are having... I take her to McDonalds and let her get a milkshake, french fries or hot fudge sundae... I try to focus on the "normal" kid foods that she can have, like let her have an extra bag of Cheetos in her lunchbox or Funyons, or Lays Staxx... Or I let her have a little bag of M&M's or buy her a Pez dispenser with some assorted Pez candies... I try to remind her that it's really not that bad, and she can have a lot of stuff... just not the stuff with gluten.

Jnkmnky Collaborator
Jnkmnky
Posted

Well, I made my family go gluten-free last summer. My oldest was 10. He didn't care. Could it be a little bit of your fault? Are you making a big deal about the hardship of it all? Also, 10 is old enough to appreciate health consequences. I read from my Dangerous Grains book to all of the kids. They don't even want gluten at this point. I also rid us of most all dairy, and msg...hello, no Cheetos or bologna anymore. :o Still, no one flinched. Even at giving up ice cream. We got popsicles instead. I think 99% of it has to do with your attitude. You also can't go around apologizing for him being gluten-free. That just sets up a dialogue of him needing to be unhappy in order for you to apologize.

lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted
  • Author
Are you making a big deal about the hardship of it all?

I've been wheat free/mostly gluten free for 10 years, since he was just a baby. He is used to all the gluten-free food, because I make it every day. He is allergic to milk, so he is used to having some restrictions. We already don't go to McDonalds or eat much fast food - our favorite restaurant is the health food store deli. He has surprised me with his anger about this. He is upset that he can't get a "cookie pass" at school, where the kids get to go to the office to pick a cookie out of the jar for good behavior. (I sent some special cookies for him, so this shouldn't be an issue, he is just looking for ways to complain.) He is just finding things to complain about. Really, this doesn't change his diet much, except for the little everyday things like the kind of bread in his sandwich and snacks at school that he now has to think about. He also said that I was "crazy" if I thought his bed-wetting was related and now claims that he doesn't really have stomach aches, he just exaggerates. Arrgghh! I think I just needed to vent. He really is a good kid, I just can't figure out why he's reacting so strongly.

Thanks for your support, I think I'll get Dangerous Grains and read some of it together. Maybe it will convince my whole family!

Liz

ryebaby0 Enthusiast
ryebaby0
Posted

My son was 10 when he was dx, but had been sooooo sick that he didn't care about food anymore. He did have a grieving period, though, which we approached with plain ol' matter-of-factness: "Yes, I know you can't have that. Ever. That does suck. But you will live without chicken nuggets". He made a list of the things he would really miss and we worked on finding tasty substitutes.

But, thinking back, I also remember something else:

Boys that age will just drive their mothers crazy for the entertainment value. Or the mental exercise :)

joanna

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Jnkmnky Collaborator
Jnkmnky
Posted
I've been wheat free/mostly gluten free for 10 years, since he was just a baby. He is used to all the gluten-free food, because I make it every day. He is allergic to milk, so he is used to having some restrictions. We already don't go to McDonalds or eat much fast food - our favorite restaurant is the health food store deli. He has surprised me with his anger about this. He is upset that he can't get a "cookie pass" at school, where the kids get to go to the office to pick a cookie out of the jar for good behavior. (I sent some special cookies for him, so this shouldn't be an issue, he is just looking for ways to complain.) He is just finding things to complain about. Really, this doesn't change his diet much, except for the little everyday things like the kind of bread in his sandwich and snacks at school that he now has to think about. He also said that I was "crazy" if I thought his bed-wetting was related and now claims that he doesn't really have stomach aches, he just exaggerates. Arrgghh! I think I just needed to vent. He really is a good kid, I just can't figure out why he's reacting so strongly.

Thanks for your support, I think I'll get Dangerous Grains and read some of it together. Maybe it will convince my whole family!

Liz

Well, then I agree with the other poster who suggests he's driving you crazy for entertainment! Good luck! My 10 year old accepted the whole dietary make-over with hardly a whimper... but he's a royal PITA over a bunch of other issues. And I just know he's doing it to bug me. ;)

lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted
  • Author
Well, then I agree with the other poster who suggests he's driving you crazy for entertainment! Good luck! My 10 year old accepted the whole dietary make-over with hardly a whimper... but he's a royal PITA over a bunch of other issues. And I just know he's doing it to bug me. ;)

Hmmm, I hadn't thought of this. Maybe a possiblity. He is doing a little better today. His teacher told me after school that he is "a completely different child this week". He didn't complain too much today. Although who could with pancakes for breakfast; a chicken sandwich, pretzels, gluten-free snack bar, etc. for lunch, a huge Nana's cookie for a treat at school and tacos for dinner. What could he possibly be missing? The only thing I do feel bad for him about is the once-every-week-or-two trip to Great Harvest bakery for breakfast with daddy. We'll have to find some type of replacement for this before they're scheduled to go again.

Thanks again for your support and suggestions.

Liz

lonewolf Collaborator
lonewolf
Posted
  • Author

I just realized that my son's bedwetting is back. It just took a 2 day vacation. He has been totally gluten-free - he's even been responsible at school, which is the only place he's gone besides home. I'm happy about his improved attention span in class and my husband has noticed that he seems more calm in the evenings, but I was hoping that the bed-wetting would go away. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part?

Liz

Jnkmnky Collaborator
Jnkmnky
Posted

Well bed wetting can be a problem for anybody. His bladder may be a little too small right now. I know other people with kids who do not have celiac disease who are bed wetters and the answer to the problem is time to grow and develop more. The Kinnikinnick donuts are very good. My kids like the chocolate dipped the best. If he likes them extra chocolatey, he can add the Pilsbury chocolate fudge frosting. Or any of the Kinnikinnick flavors are good. The sugar cinnamon are good for making "jelly donuts". I add strawberry jelly and powdered sugar. A link to Kinnikinnick is in my sig. at the bottom.

Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted

my daughter only wets the bed if she's really tired or if there is something bothering her... doesn't have to be related to celiac at all...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,198
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Jamie0230
    Newest Member
    Jamie0230
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Does Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov site have filters for gluten?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Clearly from what you've said the info on Dailymed is much more up to date than the other site, which hasn't been updated since 2017. The fact that some companies might be repackaging drugs does not mean the info on the ingredients is not correct.
    • RMJ
      Waiting Gastroenterology review

      By RMJ · Posted

      To evaluate the TTG antibody result we’d need to know the normal range for that lab.  Labs don’t all use the same units.  However, based on any normal ranges that I’ve seen and the listed result being greater than a number rather than a specific number, I’d say yes, that is high! Higher than the range where the test can give a quantitative result. You got good advice not to change your diet yet.  If you went gluten free your intestines would start to heal, confusing any further testing,
    • Bev in Milw
      Does Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov site have filters for gluten?

      By Bev in Milw · Posted

      Scott is correct….Thank you for catching that!      Direct link for info  of fillers.    http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/Excipients.htm Link is on 2nd page  of www.glutenfreedrugs.com   Site was started by a pharmacist (or 2) maybe 15-20 yrs ago with LAST updated in  2017.  This makes it’s Drug List so old that it’s no longer relevant. Companies & contacts, along with suppliers &  sources would need to be referenced, same amount effort  as starting with current data on DailyMed      That being said, Excipient List is still be relevant since major changes to product labeling occurred prior ’17.           List is the dictionary that sources the ‘foreign-to-us’ terms used on pharmaceutical labels, terms we need to rule out gluten.    Note on DailyMed INFO— When you look for a specific drug on DailyMed, notice that nearly all of companies (brands/labels) are flagged as a ‘Repackager’… This would seem to suggest the actual ‘pills’ are being mass produced by a limited number of wholesaler suppliers (esp for older meds out of  patent protection.).      If so, multiple repackager-get  bulk shipments  from same supplier will all  be selling identical meds —same formula/fillers. Others repackager-could be switching suppliers  frequently based on cost, or runs both gluten-free & non- items on same lines.  No way to know  without contacting company.     While some I know have  searched pharmacies chasing a specific brand, long-term  solution is to find (or teach) pharmacy staff who’s willing help.    When I got 1st Rx ~8 years ago, I went to Walgreens & said I needed gluten-free.  Walked  out when pharmacist said  ‘How am I supposed  to know…’  (ar least he as honest… ). Walmart pharmacists down the block were ‘No problem!’—Once, they wouldn’t release my Rx, still waiting on gluten-free status from a new supplier. Re: Timeliness of DailyMed info?   A serendipitous conversation with cousin in Mi was unexpectedly reassuring.  She works in office of Perrigo, major products of OTC meds (was 1st to add gluten-free labels).  I TOTALLY lucked out when I asked about her job: “TODAY I trained a new full-time employee to make entries to Daily Med.’  Task had grown to hours a day, time she needed for tasks that couldn’t be delegated….We can only hope majorities of companies are as  conscientious!   For the Newbies…. SOLE  purpose of  fillers (possible gluten) in meds is to  hold the active ingredients together in a doseable form.  Drugs  given by injection or as IV are always gluten-free!  (Sometimes drs can do antibiotics w/ one-time injection rather than 7-10 days of  pills .) Liquid meds (typically for kids)—still read labels, but  could be an a simpler option for some products…
    • Ginger38
      Food Allergies

      By Ginger38 · Posted

      So I recently had allergy testing for IGE antibodies in response to foods. My test results came back positive to corn, white potatoes, egg whites. Tomatoes, almonds and peanuts to name a few.  I have had obvious reactions to a few of these - particularly tomatoes and corn- both GI issues. I don’t really understand all this allergy versus celiac stuff. If the food allergies are mild do I have to avoid these foods entirely? I don’t know what I will eat if I can’t  have corn based gluten free products 
    • JForman
      7yo struggling!

      By JForman · Posted

      We have four children (7-14 yo), and our 7 year old was diagnosed with NCGS (though all Celiac labs were positive, her scope at 4 years old was negative so docs in the US won't call it celiac). We have started her on a Gluten Free diet after 3 years of major digestive issues and ruling out just about everything under the sun. Our home and kitchen and myself are all gluten-free. But I have not asked my husband/her dad or her other siblings to go completely gluten-free with us. They are at home, but not out of the home. This has led to situations when we are eating out where she has to consistently see others eating things she can't have and she has begun to say "Well, I can't have <fill in the blank>...stupid gluten."  How have you supported your gluten-free kiddos in the mental health space of this journey, especially young ones like her. I know it's hard for me as an adult sometimes to miss out, so I can't imagine being 7 and dealing with it! Any tips or ideas to help with this? 
×
×
  • Create New...