New Member With Question About Daughter

[celiacgirls]

Hi. I am new here. I have 2 daughters and we have all been diagnosed with gluten intolerance by Enterolabs.

My 8 year old daughter has suffered from stomach problems since she was about 9 months old when I introduced wheat. I mentioned this to the pediatrician who mentioned celiac disease and said to get her tested when she was 1 year old. My grandmother had celiac disease so I was afraid she would have it but tests done at the time were negative. Since then she continued to complain about her stomach hurting but was told it was probably anxiety. She was periodically tested and always negative. She willingly tried the diet and said she felt better but I wasn't always convinced because she still would complain sometimes about her tummy. Now I know she was probably not totally gluten free. I was unconvinced she didn't have celiac disease so kept researching online and found Enterolab. I figured if she came back negative, I would be convinced. Of course, she came back positive.

Since she was positive, I tested myself and my other daughter and both of us were positive as well. We had no stomach issues. I have been gluten-free since the end of April and feel much better mentally than I ever have. I thought I had ADD, and an auditory processing problem, I was irritable, and I was taking medicine for depression. Within 2 days of starting the diet, all of that went away and I needed to get off from the antidepressant. Also, I noticed the brain fog (that I didn't even know I had) went away. Needless to say, I am a believer in the diet.

My 10 year old daughter has been diagnosed with depression and oppositional defiant disorder. When she started the diet, she seemed much better for about 10 days. She was easy to get along with and did what she was told. I thought the diet was the answer to her problems. Then she cheated and had a cupcake at a birthday party. She came home from the party and was sick and tired. The next morning when she woke up she had the old scowl back on her face. She was clearly in a fog too. Since then, she has been increasingly defiant and moody again. I am still hoping this diet will be the answer to her troubles since it worked so well for me but I find it hard to believe that the effects of her cheating would last for 3 or 4 weeks when she had only been gluten-free for about 10 days. There is always the possiblity of trace amounts of gluten but I have been aware of this diet and doing it off and on for my other daughter for years, so I think what she is eating is ok. I don't think she is cheating because she seems surprisingly compliant with the diet other than that one time. So my questions are:

Am I expecting too much from this diet as far as curing her moodiness?

Is it possible she is still reacting to the cupcake? How long could a reaction last?

Would eliminating the casein help her mood? I have hesitated to do this so far because she is a very picky eater and there wouldn't be much left that she likes.

Has anyone been glutened by Fruity Pebbles? She eats so much of this I can't help but be suspicious of them.

Is it possible she could feel better for 10 days and then get worse and then return to feeling better? I have read on here about people de-toxing. Could that be what this is?

Any other advice or positive experiences with behaviour changes would be appreciated. My husband is not really on board with this diet since her behaviour is what it always was.

[Nic]

Hi, my son is only 5 but he has been eating fruity pebbles since he was diagnosed a year ago. If you trust the ingredients, they are gluten free. So are cocoa pebbles and I now just discovered cocoa puffs as well. I am not sure if you can count on the diet completely curing your daughter of her moodiness. I do know that behavior is affected by the gluten but it would seem odd if it was still from just that 1 cupcake. Could she be cheating and you don't know it? I know a 12 year old with Celiac and one of his friends told his father that he had been sneaking chicken nuggets off of his friends trays at lunch time. Also, I am a teacher and taught 5th grade for 6 years. 10 year old girls on a good day can be moody. Especially if they are entering puberty early. Sorry I can't be any more help.

Nicole

[KayJay]

Welcome to the board,

Yes mood is changed by gluten. And after reading your post I would think that Casein could be a possible culprit and the fruity pebbles might have trace amount of gluten. I always feel funny from eating those but I think it is all the sugar. Also, are you positive she is not eating other foods at school or from your dh (you said he wasn't totally on board for it) I don't really have much advise just wanted to say hi and that I did read your post.