Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Timing


calligraph

Recommended Posts

calligraph Newbie

Hello to all. This is my first post. My son, 16 years old has tested positive for celiac via the gliadin antibody test. He has lost 15 pounds over the past several months. I started a gluten/wheat free diet for the past two weeks and he has not improved at all. (Still watery diahrrea) How long does it take to see improvement with stools?

I am taking him to a gastro next week.

Any help is appreciated.

Candy


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



wifeofceliac Newbie

Candy:

Hang in there. Remember it took a long time (probably) for your son's system to get to where it is. It will take some time for his system to get back to normal. My husband has been a celiac now for about 3 or 4 years and he was at that same point as your son. The key I believe is a very strict diet. My husband NEVER cheats. It's hard, but read every label, and don't eat out for a long time. Remember he may be allergic to other things than just wheat/gluten, so one step is to find that out as well. Obviously have him stay away from liquids that can cause loose stools ie, coffee, soda, juice even some raw fruits like apples. My husband when first diagnosed went to white rice, bananas, home made banana bread (gluten-free of course), unprocessed meats, veges, potatoes etc. My husbands villi were completely colapsed, he now has no problems, and he's gone from about 175 down to 140 back up to 175. He works out every day. He eats very little sweets and loves Qdoba for a main staple (the naked burritos). Seeing a Gastroenterologist to rule out anything else, and make an appt. with a dietician, I can only believe it can help (personally we didn't see a dietician) I just strictly modified my cooking, and it seemed to do the trick for my husband. Remember every celiac is different, what works for one, may not work as well for another. There are several on-line sites to order premade breads, buns, cookies, tortillas, pastas etc., so be sure to use all of your resources. And visit this forum often, it will help you to feel not so alone. I know as a mother/wife that we feel responsible for what our loved ones take in, so it's a heavy burden to carry, but it will get better, - hang in there! To be honest, we feel being gluten-free is a better diet for our general health (those of us that aren't gluten-free), I have a hard time keeping my 3 kids from eating my husbands stuff half of the time!

Carriefaith Enthusiast

It could be 3 weeks or possibly months. I know it's annoying (trust me I'm 7 months into the diet and still sick) but sometimes it just takes patience.

If he's still having problems after 6 months than maybe ask for a follow up endoscopy to see if his intestines are healing (That's what I'm going to do).

Hopefully he will be better before then though!

lovegrov Collaborator

If your son is going for the biopsy he should continue eating gluten until after it's been done.

richard

lilliexx Contributor

I am coming up on being 3 months gluten free, and my stools are just starting to be normal again. I know its different for everyone so i can not say it will be the same for your son!! But as long as he stays gluten free after being tested, it will happen eventually. Just make sure he sticks w/ the diet!! I hadnt had a normal BM for a few yrs so i KNOW the gluten free diet is working. Its amazing.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    2. - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      49

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

    3. - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

    4. - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    5. - cristiana replied to hjayne19's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      21

      Insomnia help

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,354
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Gracieruizzz
    Newest Member
    Gracieruizzz
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.  
    • knitty kitty
      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @nanny marley It is interesting what you say about 'It's OK not to sleep'. Worrying about sleeping only makes it much harder to sleep.  One of my relatives is an insomniac and I am sure that is part of the problem.  Whereas I once had a neighbour who, if she couldn't sleep, would simply get up again, make a cup of tea, read, do a sudoku or some other small task, and then go back to bed when she felt sleepy again.  I can't think it did her any harm - she lived  well into her nineties. Last week I decided to try a Floradix Magnesium supplement which seems to be helping me to sleep better.  It is a liquid magnesium supplement, so easy to take.  It is gluten free (unlike the Floradix iron supplement).  Might be worth a try.        
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.