Changes In Appetite In A Toddler

[scorpionco]

Just curious if anyone out there had noticed anything like this. My son is 16 months old, and at his last checkup he had fallen off the growth curve for height. He had been more irritable then normal for a while, and has always had a bloated/distended stomach. I was diagnosed 3 years ago, and after reading this forum, we started him on the gluten free diet. One of the more dramatic changes we noticed is this: he used to eat everything in sight - his breakfast was often larger than mine. After going on the diet, he started to eat significantly less - more like we expected a toddler to eat. We took him to the pediatrician, and asked her about blood tests. She ordered the tests (which haven't been done yet), and told us in the meantime, to put him back on a regular diet. Since then, his appetite has skyrocketed again...every five minutes he is in the kitchen pulling his cereal or crackers out of the lazy susan. Has anyone seen anything like this? I wonder if the dramatic changes between being on and off the diet are proof enough, even if they are not textbook.

Chris

[Guest nini]

I'm gonna say yes... the appetite is a BIG clue...

also, there is NO NEED to put him back on gluten just for testing. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION the dietary response is significant enough for you to have your answer. If he has been off it for a while, any testing can be falsely negative, a Celiac Expert that spoke at our support group meeting said that she NEVER puts someone back on gluten just to do testing. My answer would be to take him off gluten and forego any more testing, you do already have your answer.

There was another mom that posted on here recently about her daughter's appetite while she was eating gluten and how it returns to normal on a gluten-free diet. Whenever she is glutened she can tell by the increase in appetite again. Maybe she will post a response for you.

[prinsessa]

Makes sense to me. My son has a huge appetite and he was under the 5% percentile at his last appointment. I hope he gains some weight when he goes on the gluten-free diet. Good luck!

[e&j0304]

My daughter had the exact thing happen with her. In fact, it was one of our main concerns with her. She had an absolutely insatiable appetite (eating for an hour at a time and HUGE portions) and had like your son, fallen off the growth chart. She also had a large distended tummy. Toward the end she was anemic and started losing much of her hair. We are still struggling with that.

Once gluten free, her appetite was back within a normal range by the 3rd day. If she does get gluten now she gets very hungry again along with some other symptoms.

I don't think that the hunger is one of the more "classic" symptoms because NO doctor would listen to us that it could be gluten. They actually told us that she had behavioral problems, that she was manipulating us to think she was hungry, and to send her to a psychiatrist. Needless to say, we just tried the diet and it worked. She did have a negative bloodtest, but not biopsy and ended up having postive stool tests through enterolab.

Please don't hesitate to e-mail me with any questions. It sounds as though you are going through exactly what we were not too long ago. I would be very happy to try to help you in any way that I can.

I also agree that you don't need to put him back on gluten for a test. You have your answer...

Shannon

[scorpionco]

Shannon-

I tried to send you an e-mail through the board, but I am not sure if it worked. I would love to hear more about your daughter and her diagnosis - it sounds very similar to what we are going through with our son. Please let me know if you got the e-mail - if not, I will try to re-send it.

Thanks!

Chris

[e&j0304]

I didn't get anything. You can just e-mail me at skilstrom@hotmail.com if you'd like and I'm sure I'll get that. I hope your little guy is doing well!

Shannon