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Sleep Issues Related To Celiac?

stomica

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stomica Rookie
stomica
Posted

My 2 1/2 year old daughter hasn't formally been diagnosed with celiac, though her anti-gliadin IgA's and IgG's were both elevated. (The other two were negative.) She's going to be retested via blood work again in the next few weeks. I was just wondering if any of you have found a connection between sleep and gluten. She's a horrible sleeper! She goes to sleep on her own, which she's been doing since she was 6 months old. However, she is a very fitful sleeper and wakes numerous times in the night. She also seems to have frequent nightmares with an occasional night terror. She's been like this since she was 1 1/2 years old. She seems to be frightened most of the time she wakes. I haven't done the elimination diet yet because of her second test coming up. I was just wondering if any of you have had similar experiences. Thanks for any input!

Sue

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CarolynM Newbie
CarolynM
Posted

Sue

You gave me some input previously - I am happy to say there is hope for a good night's rest! In my house, it is the gluten-free diet. After 3 days, my dd was waking only once a night and falling back to sleep easier. Then she slept through the night 3 nights straight - I don't think she had ever done that in her life (she is 3 next week). Her digestive problems started about a year ago and prior to that she was only off the breast for 6 months.

She had the same scared wake-ups you describe, crying out for me and ocassionally taking an hour or more to fall back to sleep. She would lay down but could not fall asleep it seemed. Other times, she would wake and come get me quietly. She is still doing that some but not as much the past week as in a night previously. She falls back to sleep easily.

Good luck and good rest. :D

kathyhay Apprentice
kathyhay
Posted

My son is undiagnosed, and he has never come even vaguely close to sleeping through the night. He wakes up crying for me more often than not. I have a feeling that his sleeping is abnormal due to celiac or some other problem.

cdobbs Rookie
cdobbs
Posted

hello,

I was just diagnosed with celiac with my 2yr old son. my 5 yr old son has gluten sensitivity. my side of the family are big dreamers. but i had noticed last yr my 5yr old started having night terrors and then they stopped. well since we have gone gluten-free in home, i dont know if its the change or what but they have started back up again. i read a little on night terrors when he first started and it said that if your child falls asleep pretty fast on their own then they are more likely to have night terrors, so they said to disturb the child after about 20 minutes of sleep. like make them role over, just make them move some how and that should stop them. so maybe give that a try and see if it helps out a little. its something about the first 30 min after they go to sleep that could possibly cause that. but who knows what all happens with celiac. there are just so many things that are affected by it. goodluck

christi

TaylorsMom Rookie
TaylorsMom
Posted

My dd, just turned two, rarely sleeps through the night. She just saw a ped. GI today and he is testing her for Celiac. A normal night for her consists of falling asleep on her own, but then she wakes up at least 2 times usually more. She does a lot of whining and moaning in her sleep also. There have been many times that she wakes up and seems very uncomfortable. She will act like she wants to be held but then scream to get down, so you put her down and she screams to be held, it usually takes 30min to an hour to get her to settle down enough to go back to sleep. So, in my opinion, yes there is some kind of connection between sleep issues and Celiac.

Megan

rgeelan Apprentice
rgeelan
Posted

WOW! That sounds so much like both my kids. And myself for that matter... We are all horrible sleepers. I always blamed it on my mom's theory that the house had to be pitch black and silent for a baby to sleep so I tried to let my kids sleep with noise and lights as much as possible and nothing helps... I am hoping it is one of the problems that is fixed for us... We still haven't all been completely diagnosed as celiac disease but my son has his scope tomorrow and if it is positive then my daughter and myself will be tested...

kirst4588 Apprentice
kirst4588
Posted

My two yr old, justin, has been sleeping through the night since shortly after going gluten free 6 months ago - prior to that, he hadn't slept through the night, not ONCE!

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stomica Rookie
stomica
Posted
  • Author

So there's hope for me yet! We still have to get the bloodwork done, I'm just dragging my feet. I'll start the gluten free diet within the next few weeks. Here's hoping it works in all areas! Thanks!

Sue

kirst4588 Apprentice
kirst4588
Posted

There's hope sweetie - the dark, heavy suitcases that once lived under my eyes are long gone - well, except for when I'm on the computer all night long - now that's no excuse! Good luck and keep us informed.

God Bless,

Kirst

KimCrocker Newbie
KimCrocker
Posted

My daughter would sleepwalk every night, sometimes 2 or 3 times. There are a lot of symptoms besides stomach pain and loose stools. Many of which are neurological. Absolutely, it can affect a child's sleeping habits.

Kim Crocker

gluten-free since 2002

azedazobollis Apprentice
azedazobollis
Posted

It is interesting to see how different gluten symptoms can be. My daughter was always tired and could sleep all day and night before cutting the gluten. Now, she has energy in the day and still sleeps at night. She was always so tired and didnt want to do anything.

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    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
    • lizzie42
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      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
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    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

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