So Excited!

[kathyhay]

I just want to express my joy. My son has solid turds in his diaper when he is gluten free. I feel that I have solved the mysteries of my husband's health problems, and my son's behavioral issues. I gave my son a granola bar (without wheat) to see if oatmeal would do the same thing as wheat. I discovered that oatmeal makes the nastiest smelling green poop. I had never been able to make the connection before between those nasty poops and which food he ate. My husband still isn't convinced, though. I don't blame him, though. I'm always watching those medical tv shows about weird diseases and surgery and things. So he thinks that I'm looking for something that isn't there. Or that it isn't what I think it is. He's not seeing every day what I see in our son, so he's not really a witness to the changes that I have seen in him. I know that if I am right about all of this gluten intolerance stuff, that eventually my suspicions will be confirmed by a diagnosis. I think that a doctor is the only thing that will really convince my husband. So for now, my husband is eating wheat based food still when I'm not cooking, but he complies with my wishes that our son not eat any wheat products. My ego is secretly SO BIG right now that I could just explode! My son's changes are tangible evidence (to me) that he has a gluten intolerance. When he has been eating gluten, he has those very mushy poops, and he asks to nurse at least 2-3 times an hour(and has a major meltdown if I say no), and it is very difficult to get him to eat anything. When he is gluten-free, he has real turds, he asks to nurse every 2-3 hours, and he eats when I give him food. It excites me so much that I found the problem, when our doctor didn't want to even consider that gluten intolerance could be the problem. I feel like I accomplished something important, against the odds. I want to make more people, especially doctors, aware that this problem exists more commonly than anybody ever imagined. I feel sorry for the people who grow wheat as a living, but maybe they can grow a different kind of grain? Anyway, I just really wanted to share my feelings with someone who might appreciate them on some level. I would appreciate others' thoughts, too! Thank you for your support!

[CarolynM]

It does feel great to be able to help our children feel better! Stick to your guns about what you have observed and document what he is eating and his stools to show the doctor.

I had my husband convinced and we were going to go gluten-free on just positive bloodwork and my observations. The doctor convinced me that while they had already tested for numerous other things, that she needed the biopsy - we could be overlooking something else. He found nothing - including no intestinal damage. Maybe I had cut back on the wheat already too much, maybe too soon, maybe different part of her intestine is damaged. I put her back on a gluten-filled diet to go back to the stools and behavioral issues. Then we went gluten-free to see incredible changes quickly.

I am just trying to say - the doctor may want you to put your son back on gluten and even then with the biopsy, you may not get the results you already know. In hindsight, I wish I had been firmer and just gone gluten-free and stayed that way. I hope you have the confidence to stand up to the doctor and your husband if need be. Maybe your husband could go through the tests rather than your son since hubby is still consuming gluten.

[celiac3270]

That's terrific! Diagnosing it yourself is a big deal and you should be proud of it! And, it wasn't even a self-diagnosis; you diagnosed it for two other people! I had all the signs of celiac disease for years and I didn't find celiac, my doc. didn't find celiac until sending me to a GI who ran MANY tests......good job!

[kathyhay]

I AM thinking that once my husband gets diagnosed that that will make it obvious to him that our son has it too. I don't really care if my son ever gets officially diagnosed because I feel like I already know for sure. My husband's condition is more progressed, so it would take longer to see a difference in his health. And since he doesn't have the dramatic symptoms of diarrhea and major abdominal pain, he doesn't see a difference in how he feels when he is gluten-free. Since he has gone back on gluten, however, he says he has had a constant migraine(for 6 days!) and nausea. Of course, he doesn't see the connection there though. He thinks it's coincidence. I will certainly remain diligent.

[kirst4588]

Kathy,

With all the skepticism that we have to face by doctors, friends and family alike, it is great to get the support we get here in the virtual world

[FreyaUSA]

...he doesn't see a difference in how he feels when he is gluten-free.  Since he has gone back on gluten, however, he says he has had a constant migraine(for 6 days!) and nausea.

I have suffered from headaches constantly. I'd wake in the morning with a mild headache, by mid afternoon, VERY often I would have a migraine. I can't eat beef or anything with heavy fats (like cream sauces...ugh, just the thought makes my stomach hurt.) I'd never even heard of celiac disease before I went gluten-free. I just started a diet (south beach.) The first two weeks you cut out all grains. Omg, my headaches COMPLETELY CLEARED! I thought it was the dream diet of the century. Just for that, I would gladly remain gluten free forever. But, added to that, all my allergy symptoms cleared up too. I stopped the allegra, stopped the psuedophed, no more nyquil, etc. Now, when I eat something with gluten in it, I get a migraine followed by a dull headache that lasts about 36 hours. Every time.

[StormyWen]

It's funny how excited we moms can get when our child has solid poop! My three year old has almost had solid poop on two occasions, but the rest of the time it's foamy and green. We're on an elimination diet right now and when he doesn't sneak forbidden food his stool is a normal color....but still not solid. It was very interesting to me that your son had green stool when consuming gluten. My son's poop is always green when he has something he's not supposed to have.

Wendy

[CarolynM]

We sing, "Turds, Glorious Turds!"

[kathyhay]

I always say, "What a beautiful turd!"