Just Found Out I Have Be Glutening My Son

[Nic]

Back when my son was first diagnosed, I called all of the places we eat at or order from to see what he can still eat. I called my Chinese take out place and asked them if there is soy sauce in the fried rice. They said "no" only after a very difficult time of getting them to understand that I don't want to order any right now. So I went in to ask them in person and again they said there was no soy sauce in the rice. Now we eat with my mother every Friday night and have been alternating between the Chinese Food and one other place for the entire time he has been supposedly gluten free. About a month ago I noticed that the rice looked darker and I thought there has got to be soy sauce in here. I went back to the place and the same person said, "yes, there is soy sauce" in the rice. I asked to see it and they showed me those little packets. Surely you do not cook with these packets so then they show me a big bucket of soy sauce, second ingredient is "wheat". I almost fell over. This poor kid has been still symptomatic on and off for a year. No one knows why, we blame it on lactose (which I do believe he has a problem with) or IBS. No, it is probably the gluten I have been feeding him every other week. I am very upset with myself. What I do find odd though, is that he had a celiac panel run in the spring and it tested negative for antibodies. Why would he test negative if he certainly has been eating gluten at least 2 times a month for a year?

Nicole

[CarlaB]

Maybe the soy sauce is such a small amount that it's enough to cause symtoms/damage, but not enough for it to be in his bloodstream. I was tested by Enterolab and had both the antibodies and autoimmune antibodies and was gluten-free. However, the antibodies did not show up in my bloodwork. Since they're in the intestine, they are doing some damage, but not enough for them to leak into the bloodstream. You can read more about this at www.enterolab.com, but I'm not suggesting he needs to be tested by them as you already know he has it.

Don't feel bad, we all make mistakes.

[key]

I don't think you can feel bad, but I personally have discovered that I will stay sick if I eat out. I can't eat out without getting sick from gluten, so I have given up. It is very frustrating, because I think even products in the grocery store that are on shared lines can have a very high risk for cross contamination ,but it usually isn't listed.

I am trying to cook most of my food from scratch and eat mainly unprocessed foods, because it is better for my family and I am tired for feeling sick. So far it is working wonderfully.

I think if it was a small amount then it would make him test negative.

You didn't knowingly feed your child wheat, but I wouldn't eat there again. They can't be trusted.

Monica

[wonkabar]

Don't beat yourself up over it...mistakes happen. You did everything you could; it sounds like there was a communication barrier. We unknowingly gave our son gluten for an entire week by giving him Apple-Cinn Quaker Ricecake mini's. His poops became gross again and his behavior was just awful until we realized that the cross-contamination was what the problem was. Isn't "mother guilt" a wonderful thing??

[Nic]

The guilt is horrible. Of course we won't eat there again and I feel sorry for him because for some reason, fried rice is like his favorite take out food (nothing else, just the rice ). I have checked into a bigger restaraunt and they said they will cook according to the our dietary needs but I can't imagine it will taste the same without the soy sauce (that I obviously never knew was there).

Nicole

[penguin]

I have checked into a bigger restaraunt and they said they will cook according to the our dietary needs but I can't imagine it will taste the same without the soy sauce (that I obviously never knew was there).

Nicole

You could always ask them if they could use gluten-free soy sauce (kari-out has one) or use tamari when making things for your kid. Couldn't hurt to ask...

Even then, you could always add either of those things after the fact

[Sarah8793]

Sorry this happened to you. I know I feel guilty when I accidentally gluten myself, but when it is your kids it is even a worse feeling. The most important thing is that you are vigilant and when you suspected something you asked and took action. I'm finding more and more that I can't eat out, mainly because of cc. Don't be too hard on yourself, this is a learning process.

[TCA]

A good friend of mine said that there is one thing guaranteed to come with motherhood - GUILT!!! I gave my son syrup with gluten and felt terrible. I'm so glad you figured it out. Try not to beat yourself up too bad