Hello New Here With A Question

[angelsmummy]

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, I am Jacinda from Australia and we are thinking that our son Thayne may have Celiac's as well as a dairy protein and soy allergy. I have a question for you all.

Today he has begun the elimination diet to attempt and find some answers to his problems. My question to you all is this, "how did you deal with other family members while another family member is undertaking the elimination diet eg siblings and husbands?"

I am just freaking myself out at the prospect of the next couple of weeks, this boy today drove us all mad asking for cheese, how do you manage other foods that other people can have when a 2 year old cannot have it?

Thanks for any replies, take care Jacinda

[chrissy]

jacinda----if you are going to have him tested, don't put him gluten free until after the tests are done.

at our house, i cook gluten free for the entire family----it's just easier that way. we do keep some crackers and cereal around for the other kids, but i have removed all wheat flour from the kitchen. i can't help you with the dairy and soy issue----no one seems to have a problem with these things at our house.

if everyone is older than him, enlist their help by asking them to only eat "forbidden" foods when he can not see.

MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance) is often times outgrown---maybe this won't be an issue for you at some point.

[angelsmummy]

Thanks for that Chrissy, we aren't going the tests route just yet, the paeditrician thought that the gluten free diet would be better than submitting him to biopsies so fingers crossed that we get the results purely from dietary change.

I am so confused with this all, I went and bought him all that he needs last night, pretty boring diet, but if it helps him that is all that matters.

Thanks again Chrissy, Jacinda

[Esther Sparhawk]

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, I am Jacinda from Australia and we are thinking that our son Thayne may have Celiac's as well as a dairy protein and soy allergy. I have a question for you all.

Today he has begun the elimination diet to attempt and find some answers to his problems. My question to you all is this, "how did you deal with other family members while another family member is undertaking the elimination diet eg siblings and husbands?"

I am just freaking myself out at the prospect of the next couple of weeks, this boy today drove us all mad asking for cheese, how do you manage other foods that other people can have when a 2 year old cannot have it?

Thanks for any replies, take care Jacinda

Hello Jacinda,

I have a daughter, age 5 who is not gluten-free; and then there's Annie, age 3, who is gluten-free. It's tough to maintain two seperate menus sometimes, but the best thing I've found is to offer Annie a comparable food item, at meal or treat times. We aren't soy or milk intolerant (though Annie was lactose intolerant before she began the gluten-free diet).

One of the best tools I've found is a book called, "Kids with Celiac Disease" by Danna Korn. It gave me lots of great ideas on sack lunches for school, parties, and it has a whole list of suggested treats (though you must call and continue to check labels, as ingredients do change from time to time). This book has been a life saver for me! I've ordered copies for all of the kids' grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

My kids' dad was a non-believer at first. It seemed like too much trouble to him, I think. Then the diarrhea started to ease up, and Annie's whole personality changed. She went from being a shy, moody, cling-to-mommy child, to being spunky, clever, and outgoing. The personality change was one of the first indications that gave my husband faith in the diet. The next thing that helped was this: after we had been following the diet for a month or two, Annie played with Playdough (a wheat-based clay product), which caused her to have an immediate attack of diarrhea. She had gotten the Playdough under her fingernails, ingested it somehow, and within minutes, she had this sudden diarrhea attack while my husband was at home, witnessing it. Then my husband was sold. From that moment foreward, he started asking more questions about the diet and really tried to help out. Sometimes it just takes time and patience with husbands. They want their own proof, when we wives have already sorted the whole business out and are more sure of our conclusions.

Hang in there. Best of luck to you.

Mechelle

[Carriefaith]

The longer your son is gluten-free the more likely he will get a false negative result on a celiac disease test. If you want him tested for celiac disease, I would ask for tests ASAP. Also, if you are suspecting allergies, maybe ask for an allergy test?

About the food in the house issue, I don't know what I'd do because I don't have kids. I would probably limit the amount of gluten, dairy, and soy in the house and make sure that there are lots of other foods that everyone can enjoy. Maybe have some safe foods around that your son really enjoys so he doen't feel left out.

[AndreaB]

My husband and I are soy intolerant, my two oldest were just below the intolerant line. I am dairy allergic (low), but no one is intolerant. My two oldest and I are gluten intolerant. Haven't had the baby tested yet. My whole house is gluten, soy and dairy free. There are numerous substitutes for gluten. I had replaced dairy with soy and then soy with dairy. Still have butter in the house but will be going back off that. I have recipes I would be glad to type out for you. I've typed quite a few already in the recipe section for dairy replacement. Cashews do real well for replacing things. If you like rice milk that is a good substitute. I blend up cashews to make a cashew milk for baking and mashed potatoes. It's unsweetened, just cashews and water. It can be sweetened for cereal. I also have recipes for cashew based cheeses for macaroni and cheese for instance. It is doable but just like the gluten free diet, takes retraining. I also have a butter recipe that originally had some soy in it but it works just fine without it. That base is coconut oil (refined).