Confusing symptoms reappear

[Mtjawal]

My 2.5 year old grandson has had episodes of vomiting and diarrhea since he started solid foods. The episodes last about 8-10 days of daily vomiting (1-3 times) and diarrhea once or twice a day. After the episodes clear, they reappear somewhat randomly,  about every 6-8 weeks. After the last episode in early Dec,  he was put on a gluten free diet and symptoms cleared. Just last week a new episode began with no gluten in his diet. Has anyone else had experience with these symptoms?

[trents]

Doesn't sound like taking him off of gluten really changed the pattern. But it might be a good idea to have him tested for celiac disease. He would need to be back on regular amounts of gluten for 6-8 weeks before the test. It is a blood antibody test. Tell the doctor you want at least a tTG-IGA test, total IGA and a tTG test: https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/screening-and-diagnosis/screening/

A full celiac panel is important to run for young children because their immune systems aren't fully developed and can respond differently than the immune systems of adults.

[Scott Adams]

Is it possible that he might have gotten some gluten in his diet during the time you thought he was gluten-free? I also want to mention that he could have non-celiac gluten sensitivity and unfortunately there are no tests for it, even though perhaps 10x people have it compared with celiac disease.

Does anyone in your family have diagnosed celiac disease?

[Mtjawal]

Yes to both. He could've gotten some gluten during his gluten free period. The flare up was severe considering it would've been a small amount of gluten. His grandparents on his fathers side have gluten intolerance. Would gluten intolerance produce such a severe flare up?

[Scott Adams]

If he’s gluten sensitive and might have undiagnosed celiac disease, then yes, even small amounts can cause big symptoms, as well as a risk for more serious health issues such as an increased risk of additional autoimmune disorders.

[Mtjawal]

Thanks for your input. We are in the process of getting him tested for coeliac disease,  just hard to wait when symptoms are so severe.

[knitty kitty]

@Mtjawal,

Welcome to the forum!

Has your grandson continued to consume dairy products?  Dairy is known to cause continuing inflammation in people with Celiac Disease.  I understand he had improvement on a gluten free diet, but continued dairy can cause further symptoms.

You stated "The episodes last about 8-10 days of daily vomiting (1-3 times) and diarrhea once or twice a day. After the episodes clear, they reappear somewhat randomly,  about every 6-8 weeks."

I'm concerned your grandson may be deficient in the eight essential B vitamins.  Deficiency in several B vitamins can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  

Thiamine is Vitamin B1.  Thiamine cannot be stored for long (three weeks).  Deficiency can occur in as little as nine days.  Diarrhea and vomiting can deplete thiamine.  Deficiency symptoms might disappear if more thiamine is added to the diet, then reappear when thiamine becomes deficient again.  There's a fine line between sufficiency and deficiency.  This may explain the recurring symptoms.  

I had vitamin deficiencies.  I was deficient in Thiamine and experienced similar symptoms. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) says a thiamine deficiency can be diagnosed if improvement is seen after taking 300 mg (minimum) of thiamine HCl for several days.  Difficulty rising from a squat is also a sign of thiamine deficiency.  

Discuss with your doctor the benefits of supplementing with all eight B vitamins.   The B vitamins depend on each other to work properly.   Check Vitamin D level, too.  Checking for nutritional deficiencies is part of proper follow up care for people with Celiac Disease.  

Hope your grandson's health improves soon!  Keep us posted on his progress.