Hungry All The Time!

[Jerri Ward]

My brother who was 42 at the time was diagnosed with Celiac in Oct. of 20 of 2005. I am his sister and I was 45 and I was diagnosed in Nov. of 2005. He has 2 daughters who are 7 and 10. The 7 yr. old is very petite. The 10 year old is slightly overweight. They have not been tested for Celiac yet. The 10 year is hungry all of the time. All she thinks about costantly is eating. She is aways hungry. I was wondering if this could possibly have anything to do with Celiac? My brother does not follow a strict gluten-free diet. He doesn't see any harm in cheating here and there. He figures if he cannot feel any effects from it that it is not hurting him. He will not listen to me, therefore I have given up trying to make him understand. I would appreciate any opinions that anyone has to offer. My nieces mom is trying to solve the problem by making her wear pants that are a size too small. That way she cannot grow anymore, and also she will be uncomfortable sitting in school all day in pants that are too small. I think that is child abuse, but there is nothing I can do about it. I think that they both should be tested especially since they not only have a parent that has Celiac, but they have an Aunt, their dads sister and we were diagnosed at the same time. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

[Ursa Major]

Jerri, you may be right. Being hungry all the time could be a sign of malnutrition. My naturopathic doctor also told me that weight gain can be a sign of malnutrition, too, not just weight loss.

If her intestines aren't absorbing essential nutrients, your niece would constantly feel like eating, because really, she is starving! So, yes, she may well have celiac disease.

And I agree, making her wear pants that are too tight to stop her from eating is definitely abuse. They are punishing her for being overweight, and it is not even her fault! How cruel.

[MistressIsis]

Are there any other family memebers that can help you get them to see the light of day? And maybe warn them that if school finds out they're having her wear too small clothes to get her not to eat may very well call social services...

Is she mature enoughfor you to talk to her about elimanating gluten on her own?

As a kid I never ate bread, stuffing cereal etc, just because I didn;t like them...turns out my body knew what was good for me. I got greif but never punished!

[Tritty]

How sad Even if she doesn't have celiac - she's going to have a complex. The mom needs to be in charge of what she eats (making sure she gets a protein in the morning to stick with her, etc) - and make sure it's healthy - not make her diet at age 10! And not starve the poor kid either - let her eat if she's hungry! Activity, activity, activity. That's what my mom always said - keep them busy - good for their health - and not eating just because they're bored.

Since celiac is so prominent in your family - she definitely should be checked for that. I was SO HUNGRY all the time. I ate and ate and ate....

Good luck - I know it's hard to hear bad news about your own kids from someone else - maybe you could print off some articles or similar situations to help prove your point...?

[Jerri Ward]

How sad Even if she doesn't have celiac - she's going to have a complex. The mom needs to be in charge of what she eats (making sure she gets a protein in the morning to stick with her, etc) - and make sure it's healthy - not make her diet at age 10! And not starve the poor kid either - let her eat if she's hungry! Activity, activity, activity. That's what my mom always said - keep them busy - good for their health - and not eating just because they're bored.

Since celiac is so prominent in your family - she definitely should be checked for that. I was SO HUNGRY all the time. I ate and ate and ate....

Good luck - I know it's hard to hear bad news about your own kids from someone else - maybe you could print off some articles or similar situations to help prove your point...?

Thank you for your responses. It is sad to say that my brother and my sil are so consumed with work that both of my nieces come in second place. My sil is tall skinny and my other niece is skinny and so she sort of punishs Alyssa because she is not skinny. Yesterday when I picked the girls up from school, Alyssa had on one her skorts. They go to a private christian school. I went to my bedroom while she was undressing and she could hardly get it off it was soo tight. I was soo mad that I could hardly keep from screaming. I cannot say anything to my brother about it, because he will go straight to my sil and she despises me and myi mother and would stop letting us see the girls and that would kill both of us and them. They need us badly. Also, I could not get my brother to understand that she needs to be tested, because he does not follow the diet properly. He cheats all of the time. He thinks that because he doesn't feels any effects of cheating that it is o.k. It is a real mess. Thanks guys for listening.

[tarnalberry]

Gah! That IS disturbing. I'm not sure that child protective services wouldn't want to know... but then the family would *really* be pissed...

I'm sorry.

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Jerri,

Your SIL sounds like a complete idiot! People like that should not breed! I agree that your niece could be malnourished. You can still gain weight if you are malnourished. Your body craves more food because it needs nutrients. When it does not get them, it has you eat more and you take in excess calories. Her mother is being lazy. She does not want to deal with it. Let me guess...your SIL is not exactly the brightest crayon in the box?

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

[ravenwoodglass]

Thank you for your responses. It is sad to say that my brother and my sil are so consumed with work that both of my nieces come in second place. My sil is tall skinny and my other niece is skinny and so she sort of punishs Alyssa because she is not skinny. Yesterday when I picked the girls up from school, Alyssa had on one her skorts. They go to a private christian school. I went to my bedroom while she was undressing and she could hardly get it off it was soo tight. I was soo mad that I could hardly keep from screaming. I cannot say anything to my brother about it, because he will go straight to my sil and she despises me and myi mother and would stop letting us see the girls and that would kill both of us and them. They need us badly. Also, I could not get my brother to understand that she needs to be tested, because he does not follow the diet properly. He cheats all of the time. He thinks that because he doesn't feels any effects of cheating that it is o.k. It is a real mess. Thanks guys for listening.

On the issue of her clothing, you may be able to do something about that through the school. I would talk to a counselor or the priest, privately and express your concerns. She may be getting teased at school about it also. I would not involve child protective services unless she is in serious danger that can not be resolved in any other way. Her parents may not be perfect but the trauma of being taken away could have life long consequences. Talk to the child and always be available for her and her sister. Our society makes it very hard sometimes to raise children properly. In the past if a parent was not able to take complete care there was a extended family to take up the slack. You may need to do that. You can continue to advise on the diet but her parents may not listen, if that is the case any education and support you can provide is vital. She is lucky to have you caring about her, please don't risk her parents severing that relationship.