Newbie

[lilly22278]

Hi all.

I am new to this whole concept. My children and I have decided to go gluten free(ok I made the decision for them) My aunt has the gluten allergy and since its genetic...and we sem to have many of the smptoms...we are giving it a try.

I think the main thing that prompted going gluten free was my sons ezcema. Its a whole body thing and hs been since I quit breastfeeding him. He is 5 now and I was at my whits end dealing with the constant open sores all over his body. We has emlinaited red dye, all soaps, shampoo, went thru every laundry detergent know to man and still no success. Of couse his diet otherwise was chicken nuggets and pudding. He is little for his age... and so skinny even though he eats nonstop. My daughter has ADD. And both of them always seem to have runny noses. My daughter always seems to have bowl problems either contipation or diarrhea. I have a whole assorted list of problems that the doctors just wanna drug up. I've had bowl problems since I was a child. any....maybe TMI there. The list seems to go on and on.

I guess as of right now I'd like to know how soon we will see resuts. It's been 11 days since we started the diet. His ezcema had another major flare up and my stomach is still in turmoil.

We didnt get diagnosed by a dr b/c our doctors (we went to 3 different ones) wouldnt even consider it. It's just ezcema they said...wouldnt even listen to the idea. Told me to go to a dermatologist who in turn gave him an antibiotic that did nothing for him.

[dlp252]

I just wanted to officially welcome you to the boards! Just eczema...aren't doctors frustrating?! When I was a baby wheat actually CAUSED my eczema, so I don't know why they were so quick to dismiss your idea. It can take a while to really see major improvement on a gluten free diet--in some people it can take months unfortunately.

[CarlaB]

Welcome!

How long it takes varies from person to person.

Are you sure you have all the gluten out of your diet? It's quite a challenge to get 100% gluten-free, and it takes most of us a couple months to figure out where all the gluten is. You may not feel better until it's all out of your diet. Gluten hides in many places ... toasters, wooden spoons, body lotions, shampoo, soy sauce, teflon, etc.

Were any of the doctors willing to allergy test your son? There may be other allergies involved.

[The One]

It definitely takes time to eliminate all the gluten products and finding replacement! but it can be done.

I understand completely why you would want your kids to go gluten free. The eczema practically gives it away, ADD is very common in celiac children, so is failure to thrive and growth problems, tell me about it, I

[TCA]

Welcome!

My daughter's eczema improved going gluten-free, but didn't go away completely. Her other GI symptom and FTT are no longer an issue. My son is doing great too. We did go through testing, which was inconclusive, so we just tried the diet and the results were miraculous.

I also wanted to let you know that a good friend of mine has a daughter with similar eczema. She was miserable. They ended up going to an allergist who found she was allergic to peanuts, milk and eggs. They eliminated those foods and she's now eczema free! You might want to go to an allergist to make sure there aren't other foods involved.

There is a list in my sig line that might have some inof that would help you get started.

Good luck!

[Creative-Soul]

I just wanted to say hello and welcome; I hope you all feel better soon!