Getting Teenagers To Stop Eating Gluten

[confused]

How can i get my step-son to stop eating gluten. I keeep telling him he needs to make better choices, He does fine for like 2 days, then he goes back to eating what he wants. He figured in those 2 days that he feels better, that he is fine, so he goes back to eating gluten. Even if i get rid of everything that is gluten in the house, i know he will still eat it at school or when he is gone on wrestling meets. Without an official disgnosis, he just wont listen. But i know he acts and feels when he is not eating gluten. He is by far less moody and u can actually talk to him, but once a piece of gluten is back in his mouth, he is back to being moody and mean. I am just at my wits end trying to get him to take me seriously.

paula

[e&j0304]

Is he the one that had only his IgG elevated? I think it was you that posted on a different board. If that is the case I think the best thing that you can do for your son is to see a dr. who knows exactly what the test results for your son mean. His elevated IgG alone really does not indicate celiac disease. This is not to say that he isn't gluten intolerant but it is going to VERY hard to convince a teenage boy that he needs to be on this diet without an actual diagnosis. Quite honestly, I don't blame him.

I don't know what to tell you. I don't remember what his symptoms are or what lead you to think he had celiac but I think he will have a hard time being on a diet that someone just thinks he should be on without a medical diagnosis or reason.

Just my two cents. Feel free to blast me now...

[confused]

Is he the one that had only his IgG elevated? I think it was you that posted on a different board. If that is the case I think the best thing that you can do for your son is to see a dr. who knows exactly what the test results for your son mean. His elevated IgG alone really does not indicate celiac disease. This is not to say that he isn't gluten intolerant but it is going to VERY hard to convince a teenage boy that he needs to be on this diet without an actual diagnosis. Quite honestly, I don't blame him.

I don't know what to tell you. I don't remember what his symptoms are or what lead you to think he had celiac but I think he will have a hard time being on a diet that someone just thinks he should be on without a medical diagnosis or reason.

Just my two cents. Feel free to blast me now...

Oh i totally agree with you, it is hard to get him to do it. But i can see how much better he is when he is not being glutened.

His symptoms

have been

severe constipation

mouth sores all the time

very tired

moody

cant concentrate (he went from staight a's to c.d and f)

stomach pain that last for weeks on end for over an yr

bruises very easily

depressed

bouts of diaherri

dark circles around eyes

and very skinny, he is over 5 feet and weighs 80 pounds on a good day

when my husband was diagnosed with high blood pressure, we started to eat wheat bread, tortillas, everything they made in wheat, and that is when his stomach pains came much more severe, he had stoamch pains for an yr prior but those really made him in severe pain which led us to Er and drs for over an month.

Would it maybe just be a good idea to get him in to allergy dr, that maybe he is just allergic to wheat. or other foods that i am not looking at. His dad is lactose intolerant, and on his bio moms side, one sister is celiac and has graves disease. that is why i thought celiac.

paula

[celiacgirls]

My child is not yet a teenager and I do worry she will start cheating as a teenager. However, she was a very defiant 10 year old when we started the gluten-free diet. I feel like I've already experienced some of the teenage years. She also is not officially dx'ed and is doing the diet for behaviour/mood reasons.

I encourage her not to cheat by providing all kinds of gluten-free junk food and treats so she is not as tempted. I used to try to restrict that but I have backed way off and let her eat potato chips and candy regularly now. I send cookies and other treats with her. We plan ahead for the situations where others will have things she can't have and make sure she has something she really likes so she feels less like she is making do.

I also told her if I suspect she has been cheating that her activities will be restricted and/or I will have to go with her to make sure she stays gluten-free/cf. She really doesn't want me to go with her so I think that has motivated her. I know this is an extreme measure that you might not be willing to make but in my daughter's case, her behaviour was so extreme that I'm unwilling to just let it go when I know what she needs to do.

I agree it is a hard diet if you don't see the benefits yourself. Maybe if you can get him to do it for a couple of weeks, even he will see the benefit. My daughter now gets a stomach ache and very tired if she has gluten so even she is forced to admit it is a problem for her.

You could also get him the Enterolab test. He doesn't have to know that a lot of doctors don't accept it.

[confused]

My child is not yet a teenager and I do worry she will start cheating as a teenager. However, she was a very defiant 10 year old when we started the gluten-free diet. I feel like I've already experienced some of the teenage years. She also is not officially dx'ed and is doing the diet for behaviour/mood reasons.

I encourage her not to cheat by providing all kinds of gluten-free junk food and treats so she is not as tempted. I used to try to restrict that but I have backed way off and let her eat potato chips and candy regularly now. I send cookies and other treats with her. We plan ahead for the situations where others will have things she can't have and make sure she has something she really likes so she feels less like she is making do.

I also told her if I suspect she has been cheating that her activities will be restricted and/or I will have to go with her to make sure she stays gluten-free/cf. She really doesn't want me to go with her so I think that has motivated her. I know this is an extreme measure that you might not be willing to make but in my daughter's case, her behaviour was so extreme that I'm unwilling to just let it go when I know what she needs to do.

I agree it is a hard diet if you don't see the benefits yourself. Maybe if you can get him to do it for a couple of weeks, even he will see the benefit. My daughter now gets a stomach ache and very tired if she has gluten so even she is forced to admit it is a problem for her.

You could also get him the Enterolab test. He doesn't have to know that a lot of doctors don't accept it.

Thank you for those ideas. I was just telling my parents that i was going to threaten him with going everywhere with him. I think it would scare him.

I agree with the bad beahviour, i know part of it is being an teenager, but he gets really mean and rude. And i have to worry about the 4 little ones in the house. But i know the few days he didnt eat gluten(or i thought he hadnt ate much), he was much better around the house. But then he ate hot lunch yesterday and came home yelling and screaming at his dad.

I told him this morning, that we are doing this cause we care, not that we are being mean. We had the same problem 3 yrs ago when they diagnosed him with low blod sugar, he was eating everything in the book, he wasnt supposed to.

I did just order the enterlab test for me, but maybe i will get it for him, waiting an month is better then waiitng 6-7 weeks for the ped gastrol

thank you for ur help

paula

[e&j0304]

Well I think you have very good reason to suspect celiac. His tests at the moment do not indicate celiac, but that is not to say that he is not gluten intolerant and could develop celiac in the future.

The problem as far as getting him to stick to the diet is likely that a teenage boy won't care whether he may or may not develop something in the future

I am sorry that he has so many health problems. I URGE you to find a dr. who will listen and try to get to the bottom of this for him. He has so many issues going on and although he may have a gluten intolerance, there is just as great a chance that he has other issues as well. I think it's easy to blame everything on gluten, but sometimes it something else.

Good luck to you!!

[confused]

Well I think you have very good reason to suspect celiac. His tests at the moment do not indicate celiac, but that is not to say that he is not gluten intolerant and could develop celiac in the future.

The problem as far as getting him to stick to the diet is likely that a teenage boy won't care whether he may or may not develop something in the future

I am sorry that he has so many health problems. I URGE you to find a dr. who will listen and try to get to the bottom of this for him. He has so many issues going on and although he may have a gluten intolerance, there is just as great a chance that he has other issues as well. I think it's easy to blame everything on gluten, but sometimes it something else.

Good luck to you!!

can i add u to my friends list or email u off the board

paula

[FeedIndy]

I do not have an official diagnosis for myself or my kids. It has been pretty easy with the girls to control their diet, but I was having a hard time at first. Then I was gluten free for 1 full week and cheated. After allowing my body to rest that long, my reaction was obvious and intense! That was all it took to have me fully on board. I walked right by Auntie Anne's the other day without so much as a glance-it just didn't interest me to have those feelings back. I'm wondering if something like that will happen for him-maybe over spring break when you have more control over what is available to him, he'll notice the difference more.

[CarlaB]

There are two things teenage boys want -- teenage girls and money.

How about telling him you'll give him x number of dollars if he'll be completely gluten-free for two months. At the end of two months, he can eat what he wants and decide for himself whether the diet helped.

My 13 year old daughter was gluten-free for six months, then over Christmas break we challenged it. After four days she was begging to end the gluten challenge.

Maybe if he has time to get used to feeling GOOD, he will notice more when he feels BAD and will make the decision for himself. Teenagers like making their own decisions.

[Generic]

I was a teenage celiac. Of the many reasons that kept me on the gluten-free diet, the top 2 were.

1. I got horribly sick.

2. They knew back then that other diseases such as multiple scherlosis and scitzofrinia were some how linked to celiac.

I didn't want to develop any thing like voices in my head or something that could put me in a wheel chair. Another you can now add is the risk of stomach cancer. Most people don't survive that. Maybe the scare tactic will work? It sure worked for me.

[confused]

I was a teenage celiac. Of the many reasons that kept me on the gluten-free diet, the top 2 were.

1. I got horribly sick.

2. They knew back then that other diseases such as multiple scherlosis and scitzofrinia were some how linked to celiac.

I didn't want to develop any thing like voices in my head or something that could put me in a wheel chair. Another you can now add is the risk of stomach cancer. Most people don't survive that. Maybe the scare tactic will work? It sure worked for me.

-Laurie

Thank you all for the ideas. I was thinking of using the tactic, that if he dont have celiac disease yet, that whatever he has can lead to celiac that will cause him not to be able to get into the military. I think i read here that if u are celiac you cant go into militray, and that has been his dream for years. And maybe ill talk to him about my uncle who is 39 and just got diadnosed with stomach cancer. I have been trying to get a hold of him and tell him to get tested for celiac.

paula

[confused]

Thank you all for the ideas. I was thinking of using the tactic, that if he dont have celiac disease yet, that whatever he has can lead to celiac that will cause him not to be able to get into the military. I think i read here that if u are celiac you cant go into militray, and that has been his dream for years. And maybe ill talk to him about my uncle who is 39 and just got diadnosed with stomach cancer. I have been trying to get a hold of him and tell him to get tested for celiac.

paula

Well i had an talk with him this morning. Yesterday he ate candy and pizza for lunch, and i asked him he felt and he said he felt terrible and he did terrible in wrestling practice. I was like so why do u continue to defy what im telling you to do. He started crying and said he just wants to eat what he wants, that he hates that he cant eat everything that taste good lol. So after a good long talk, he came up to me and said then what can i take for lunch. I am like are u ready to feel better to win your wrestling match tommorow. and he said yes, and that he would now listen to me, I told him just do this for a few months, then we put gluten back into your diet and see how u feel, unless we do see the dr before that to find out more. So he agreed, i so hope he stays clear of the bad stuff. He took a gluten free tortialla and put peanut butter in it and tostioes and an yogurt. And for breakfast he had gluten free cereal with soy milk. I really think he might listen to me this time. I told him i would even make little snacks that he can take with him tommorow to his wrestling meet. He even kissed me goodbue and told me he loved me.

paula

[Generic]

Good, I hope it sticks this time.

[chrissy]

paula, if the little talk you all had doesn't keep working, i think that carla's idea of using money is really good! it is hard enough raising a step-child without any health problems!!