Started 3 Weeks Ago

[averyevansmom]

Hi everyone. Started my son's gluten-free diet 3 weeks ago Monday. The whole family has actually. My question to you all is, because the consistancy of his poop has changed and he has had 3 intermittent solid bowel movements, with one or two bouts of diarrhea, should I be looking at this as a positive sign? In his 3 year existence, he has never had a formed solid bowel movement so the first one after only 6 days on the diet brought me to tears. Any opinions? I'm confused.

Becky

[Guest nini]

Hi everyone. Started my son's gluten-free diet 3 weeks ago Monday. The whole family has actually. My question to you all is, because the consistancy of his poop has changed and he has had 3 intermittent solid bowel movements, with one or two bouts of diarrhea, should I be looking at this as a positive sign? In his 3 year existence, he has never had a formed solid bowel movement so the first one after only 6 days on the diet brought me to tears. Any opinions? I'm confused.

Becky

absolutely it's a positive sign... it may take him a while to have completely normal bm's, and he may need to be off of dairy at least until he's doing better... I was able to reintroduce dairy into my diet after about 6 months... Give it some time hon. I know the first time my daughter had a solid formed poop after going gluten-free, she had NEVER had a formed poop in her first 3 1/2 years of life, I called my entire family! I was so excited! Now she has a loose stool every once in a great while, but most of her bm's are formed now... and she's been gluten-free about 2 1/2 years.

What are you confused about? That he still had some diarrhea? Don't worry... I still have diarrhea to this day (not all the time but once every few weeks or so) and it's either cos I got some accidental gluten or my body didn't like something else or I had a virus...I was sick for 33 years before being dx'ed so I still have a lot of healing to do!

[Jen H]

I had a similar experience when I first started the gluten-free diet. After about a month my bms were more solid and I gradually began to feel better. It sounds like a good sign. Nini mentioned that she had to steer clear of dairy for 6 months. I did as well and have just begun adding it back into my diet. When I did eat/drink dairy I got a lot of bloating and D. Sounds like you're off to a great start!

[averyevansmom]

Thanks. You know, I think I inadvertently glutened him myself this week a couple of times. First I gave him Rice Dream rice milk, duh, it says right on the back contains traces of gluten, then I gave him miniature hershey bars. I just read those weren't safe either. Plus he's been having ice cream here and there and a little yogurt. It's so hard to say no to thing because he seems so limited to so much. He's not much of a meat eater so macaroni and cheese are a big staple for him, luckily he will on occasion (3-4x a week) eat broccoli and salad greens or frozen peas. He will eat dry cereal sometimes, maybe 1/2 a waffle or an apple but not often. I know I'm not alone in this battle. I just sometimes feel guilty restricting him so much and feeling as though I'm filling him with junk. The one good thing is I don't think he's dropped any weight. I'm waiting to hear from a nutitionist. He loves slices of cheddar cheese. Do you consider cheese as bothersome as milk in the beginning? I also called numerous family members about his poop. They probably thought I was nuts. But who cares as long as he's getting better.

[Becky6]

That is a great sign! I felt the same way with Belle because she would be doing better then she would not. I looked very carefully at her diet and made sure I got all gluten out. She is finally having soild bms every day! She is doing great after 2 months gluten-free. And I used to feel bad about restricting her but then if she got something and got d I would feel worse. Now we are very strict and she is fine about it.

[Jen H]

Hi Averyevansmom,

It's a great idea to meet with a nutrionist. When I was first diagnosed I felt so alone. No one I know had ever heard of celiac disease and therefore could not help me with my diet. When you schedule the appointment make sure the nutrionist has experience with the disorder so you make the most of your time.

I had a hard time with cheese at first, but that's could just be me. My nutritionist and GI doctor both recommended to steer clear of dairy for the first 6 months because the villi have to heal in order to digest milk. Maybe you could ask your nutrionist about it. I eat Rice Slices, which is a gluten free, soy free, lactose free cheese. It's pretty good and comes in a few different flavors.