Will Resticting Gluten From A Non-sensitive Child Make Them Sensitive?

[e&j0304]

First, I have been trying to do some research on this, but haven't gotten far. My son has not shown any response to gluten either through enterolabs stool test, blood tests, or biopsy. He does however, have one of the main genes that predisposes to celiac. If we keep him gluten free for years while he's young, will he be more likely or less likely to have a problem with gluten when he's older? Like for instance if he eats a cookie for a treat in preschool or something? I realize there probably haven't been many studies on something like that so I'm probably not going to find too much info, but just wanted to see what others thought.

Also, 2 days ago Ell had what I think was a reaction to gluten and it was her strangest one yet! I did catch her eating regular cereal off the floor that someone dropped and I don't think it was more than a couple of pieces. So for the next day and a half or so she periodically screamed about her tummy hurting and saying, "You have to help me! My tummy hurts!" She would be that way for a little while and then she would be down playing and seem totally fine. This went on, off and on, all day. She did also develop a slight fever that night and it only lasted a couple of hours and went away without medication and never came back. Her stomach looked VERY bloated and swollen. It almost looked painful. Usually when Ella has a reaction (and I guess I don't know what "usually" is because she's only had a few) they have lasted several days and included diarrhea and constant complaints of not feeling well. This one did not include diarrhea. Only stomach cramps. She was also up screaming in the night several times.

Just wondering if I can expect every time to be different. It makes me always wonder if it's gluten or if it's just a stomach bug or something. It's so hard to tell!

thanks for any insight.

[Merika]

Hi,

There hasn't been any research specifically on this, I don't think. But if someone doesn't have a problem with gluten, whether they eat it or not, and when, shouldn't matter. So if your son doesn't have a gluten problem and he doesn't eat it for a while, it shouldn't matter when he starts.

The ONLY blip in this is some evidence that if is INITIALLY introduced to gluten WHILE BREASTFEEDING his potential bad reaction to gluten will be delayed or reduced. (They don't know which yet.)

But if you have gluten problems in the family, I wouldn't risk it and would just keep him off gluten until he's older (like 5) and you can run a proper gluten eating challenge for like 6 months.

As for Ella (so glad she is doing better these days!) if you saw her eat the cereal, that was probably the culprit. Symptoms could vary as she heals, or by age, or by product, or.....

Hope she's feeling better soon,

Merika

[e&j0304]

Thanks for your response, Merika.

I with there was more research out on this because I find it really interesting. Probably just because I have one child with a proven sensitivity and one without, so I'm curious!

Thanks for thinking of Ella. She is feeling better and overall is doing SO well. We have a totally different child now and it's such a blessing. It's my mission in life to educate everyone around me about our situation with Ella in the hopes that they can pass on the info to another family who is struggling so they don't have to go through as much as we did to find our answer. Ella is thriving and growing like a weed. Although she lost a lot of hair, it's growing back in and hopefully by the time she starts kindergarten it will look totally normal again.

Anyway, thanks for the response and I hope you're doing well too!

[chrissy]

shannon---i did read something about restricting gluten in a person that might have an undiagnosed problem with it. i can't remember it exactly, but i will try and find it again.

christine

[TCA]

I am nursing my daughter and she gets soooo sick if I eat gluten. i also read about introducing gluten via breastfeeding is good, so I'm in a catch 22. Please let me know if you find any conclusive articles!