Tremendous Appetite

[Nic]

I am not sure if this has anything at all to do with the Celiac. I feel that my son, has an abnormally tremendous appetite since he has gone gluten free. But it isn't all day. It seems to be triggered by a meal. For example, he just ate gluten-free mac and cheese for lunch and had a pretty good helping. From that he wanted fruit snacks. I gave him one pack. Then he is crying that he wants a snack and is very hungry. I told him it has to be something healthy. He Chooses mandarin oranges. He finishes them in a second and asks for a bowl of cereal. All of this in about 1 hour. Does that seem odd to anyone else. Once you can get him to stop eating for a while, he is fine until dinner. Then after dinner he starts again but we limit it more due to being so close to bed time. We call it the feeding frenzy. Has anyone else experiences this?

Nicole

[TCA]

my son went through a big growth spurt (still is) after going gluten-free. Your son might just be trying to catch up if he got behind in his growth. My son eats a lot more when he hits a growth spurt. As long as he's not overweight, eating by habit, and eating healthy snacks, I say let him eat until he's full. His body is telling him to for some reason and with kids you never know. It may end after he gets through his spurt?????

[kabowman]

My youngest son (who is now 12 and is only 79 pounds at almost 5' tall) would eat all the time. He would eat (and still goes through spurts when he still does) 2 breakfasts, one at home and one at pre-school and we aren't talking small breakfasts but 5 full bowls of cereal, not junk but healthy stuff. The pre-school girls would also bring him doughnuts most mornings, the pre-school teachers would give him two mid-morning snacks and most days, two lunches, and two mid-afternoon snacks. For dinner, we would come home, he would snack then we would eat dinner and want a big bowl of ice cream for desert. He ate like that until he was 4 or 5, then he slowed down for a while but not completely.

Now, he eats a huge breakfast (down to one finally this year in the 6th grade - up until now, he has continued to eat 2 breakfasts), eat lunch at school and then come home and have 3 PBJs at 3:30, another snack around 5, and dinner at 6:30, snack before bed. He has not been tested for celiac disease but is lactose intolerant.

My oldest son never eaten like that - he still doesn't (except for breakfast)--he is 15 and weights 82 pounds at 5'1". He has tested negative for celiac disease.

[Canadian Karen]

Maybe now that his intestines are feeling better, he has gone on a feeding frenzy to catch up! Either way, I wouldn't worry too much - kids go through "growth spurts" then it tails off....... Sometimes I think my oldest is going to eat me out of house and home!!!

Hugs.

Karen

[mommajo]

  Nic said:

I am not sure if this has anything at all to do with the Celiac. I feel that my son, has an abnormally tremendous appetite since he has gone gluten free. But it isn't all day. It seems to be triggered by a meal. For example, he just ate gluten-free mac and cheese for lunch and had a pretty good helping. From that he wanted fruit snacks. I gave him one pack. Then he is crying that he wants a snack and is very hungry. I told him it has to be something healthy. He Chooses mandarin oranges. He finishes them in a second and asks for a bowl of cereal. All of this in about 1 hour. Does that seem odd to anyone else. Once you can get him to stop eating for a while, he is fine until dinner. Then after dinner he starts again but we limit it more due to being so close to bed time. We call it the feeding frenzy. Has anyone else experiences this?

Nicole

Nicole, Yes!! We go through the same thing daily. Funny we call it the feeding frenzy too!! LOL. My son is 3 and diagnosed last Nov. with blood test only. He has been on the gluten-free diet since. THe excessive hunger was one of his main symptoms. IT improved a little after starting the diet, but we still need a 24 hour kitchen!! My son will eat all day long if I let him. He has gotten bad about sneaking even. He too has been making good choices when he sneaks. It's not like he is raiding the pantry for junk. He is choosing pretzels, fruit etc. I often question if he is getting gluten somehow when he is like this. No other symptoms are presenting themselves.

[Nic]

  mommajo said:

Nicole, Yes!! We go through the same thing daily. Funny we call it the feeding frenzy too!! LOL. My son is 3 and diagnosed last Nov. with blood test only. He has been on the gluten-free diet since. THe excessive hunger was one of his main symptoms. IT improved a little after starting the diet, but we still need a 24 hour kitchen!! My son will eat all day long if I let him. He has gotten bad about sneaking even. He too has been making good choices when he sneaks. It's not like he is raiding the pantry for junk. He is choosing pretzels, fruit etc. I often question if he is getting gluten somehow when he is like this. No other symptoms are presenting themselves.

That is funny that your son is doing the same frenzy as mine. I haven't met many people who go through this too. Before he was gluten free he wasn't eating at all. His main symtom was constipation and it was so severe that he was in constant pain. When he ate it made it worse. Now that he is gluten-free, we see the feeding frenzy. He just goes from one thing to the next and as I said earlier, it seems to be triggered by eating. Once he starts, he can't turn it off. At his sickest last year, he was 45 lbs. Now, 11 months later, he is 53 lbs. That is considerable weight gain for this age. But he is not overweight. He is in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. So I don't get it. Well, I am glad to have met someone in similar circumstances .

Nicole

[Canadian Karen]

Nic,

It could be too that the terrible, bloated, disgusting, full feeling you have when you are constipated has been alleviated and now that he doesn't feel that anymore, he feels like a kid in a candy store! Either way, I would not worry in any way. It definitely sounds like his body is making up for lost time.......

Hugs.

Karen

[JakeARoosMommy]

I know that my son had an excessive appetite before we found out he was gluten intolerant. It seems like the body is in a growth spurt and just isn't getting enough nourishment. Many gluten free foods don't have much nutrition in them. I have been giving my son a vegetarian supplement with his fruit juice in the morning.

[Guest Jack's mom]

Nic -

I am noticing the same thing with my son Jack. We have only been on the diet for 1 week - his test for celiac was inconclusive. He is eating huge amounts of food everyday for lunch. He had 6 gluten free hot dogs and two bananas for lunch the past 3 days and he is begging for more. I don't know what is considered "normal" for this disease.

[lorka150]

I am not, by ANY means, discouraging feeding your kids (gotta make up for all lack of absorption!), but I do know that protein is more satisfying that foods with a higher glycemic index. Choosing something like pudding or nuts or a cheesestick will satisfy their appetites a little better.

[2Boys4Me]

Off Topic--Kabowman...how did my dog get in your avatar?

[Nic]

  JakeARoosMommy said:

I know that my son had an excessive appetite before we found out he was gluten intolerant. It seems like the body is in a growth spurt and just isn't getting enough nourishment. Many gluten free foods don't have much nutrition in them. I have been giving my son a vegetarian supplement with his fruit juice in the morning.

I know I get myself nervous over nothing. But I googled "excessive appetite and Celiac Disease" on line and every article that came up mentioned hypoglycemia or diabetes. Which of course scares me. One diet to follow is plenty for us. My aunt is both celiac and diabetic. One article said the hypoglycemia can be connected to gluten intolerance. Does that mean he is still getting gluten? I think I will call my doctor today just to run it by him.

Nicole

[Nic]

Hi again. I talked to the doctor and followed it up by saying "I know I am probably over reacting." He in turn said, actually," I am writing up the blood panel as you speak." He is sending us for blood work tomorrow checking for sugar, thyroid, and celiac antibodies. If anything comes up, I will post it.

Nicole

[Robix]

  Nic said:

he just ate gluten-free mac and cheese for lunch and had a pretty good helping. From that he wanted fruit snacks. He Chooses mandarin oranges. He finishes them in a second and asks for a bowl of cereal. All of

Nicole

Hi Nicole - am a mom too (and suspect my son also has celiac disease). I agree with everyone here, sounds like a growth spurt and sounds like he is perhaps catching up (so sounds normal - yeah!).

But also noticed that your son kept asking for carbs (part of my professional background is in sports nutrition) which would trigger an insulin response in anyone.

Mac & cheese - very high carb, high glycemic index

Mandarin - again carb, but lower glycemic index

Bowl of cereal, with milk - very high carb, very high glycemic index

You might want to encourage him to eat a bit more protein (especially if he is in a growth spurt, he needs protein to provide adequate tissue-building material). Provided he has no allergies: seeds, nuts, hardboiled eggs all are great and handy sources of protein.

(my son loves mac n' cheese too, but if I offer him fish sticks - or organic hot dogs (no buns) he will pick those too - its all about dunking food into ketchup and mustard!)

I keep a big bowl of hard boiled eggs in the fridge, and my 5 year old knows to grab one wheneve he wants. Plus he gets to draw a face on the shell, which he thinks is great fun, and then boy does he love smashing it on the table and cracking it open! I also keep a container of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and almonds handy.

That way when he hits a growth spurt, I know I am giving him the building blocks he needs to build up his frame.

Isn't it wonderful to see them eat with such gusto? I used to agonize over every meal and beg my son to eat, watch his weight go up one pound, come down two pounds...since going gluten free, he is finally growing and has developed an appetite. I could just cry when he gets on the scale and we are making progress...finally.

Hugs to you and your family

[kabowman]

Linda - about adding Duke's pic:

I snapped a pic with my phone the other day (I have actually taken about 5 pictures with my camera phone since I got it a year ago) and sent it to my e-mail address. I was able to crop the image to just Duke (who is 130 pounds but really doesn't look that big in the picture) and saved it locally. Then added my pic to my account.

[JakeARoosMommy]

It's interesting that someone brings up diabetes. My son's father's family is covered with diabetes. I am taking him back to the doctor next week. The GI at the Children's Hospital said that yeast infections are very common in Diabetics and Celiacs and also cause a heavy appetite.

[Nic]

  JakeARoosMommy said:

It's interesting that someone brings up diabetes. My son's father's family is covered with diabetes. I am taking him back to the doctor next week. The GI at the Children's Hospital said that yeast infections are very common in Diabetics and Celiacs and also cause a heavy appetite.

I actually go his blood results back yesterday. Everything was negative (thyroid and diabetes). I his antibody levels were normal as well. I am assuming that would be the case for a celiac who has been gluten free for a year, right?

Nicole

[flagbabyds]

Beofre I was diagnosed, I was starving to death, so once I got better, my body was scared that I was going to starve itself again, so I got very pudgey in 2 years, then started to eat less as the years went on. 15 and less that 100 pounds and 5'8".