New To All Of This...

[SafeSpuds]

My little girl (will be 3 years old in October) has just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. She has been having problems since she was 13 months old and after allergy testing came up empty, the ped sent us to a GI doc who did a coloscopy and endoscopy. The blood test and biopsy was negative for Celiac (and everything else...) All they could find was colitis and acid reflux, which the doctor said was caused by the colitis, so he treated the colitis and not the reflux. Nothing changed. We moved to another state and was finally seen by another GI doctor (After 2 months of waiting to get in and then another month waiting for another colonoscopy and endoscopy). He put her on Prevacid which helped with a lot right off. The doctor called me on Monday and let me know that the biopsy came back positive for Celiac this time. I immedately put her on a Gluten-Free diet, so she hasn't had any gluten since Monday around lunchtime.

Today her diarrhea is much worse. I don't know if she's got a virus or something or if she's not reacting well to the diet or what. We haven't taken her off dairy yet. Should I wait a few days before doing that or just jump into that too?

This is all a bit overwhelming at first, although the Gluten Free hasn't been as difficult as I had feared.

Alicia

[Guest j_mommy]

Be sure to be concious of any hidden gluten or CC. But that said the same thing happened to be after a few days of gluten-free. It takes awhile for your body to get straightened out!

My Dr suggested to go off dairy for awhile and then add it back after awhile(a month or so of no symptoms of celiac). I knew I was lactose intolerant before going gluten-free. I can handle a glass of milk a day, anymore than that and it's too teh potty!

Many people don't know they are Lactose intolerant until after they start the diet b/c teh sypmtoms are very similar.

I hope your little one feels better soon!!!!!

[Guhlia]

Lactose is processed on the ends of the villi. The villi are what is damaged by Celiac Disease. Many Celiacs are lactose intolerant until they have reached a certain level of healing. I would say to go ahead and eliminate lactose for the time being and reintroduce it in a few months. You also may be witnessing a slight gluten withdrawal. Keep her on the diet if she was diagnosed with Celiac. False positives are virtually unheard of.

Some people take longer to heal than others. There are some people who take months to notice any benefits with the gluten free diet. Others react almost instantly, like I did. Give her time to heal. The next few weeks or months will likely be a little rocky, but she'll be SO much healthier and happier for it.

[debmom]

My little girl (will be 3 years old in October) has just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. She has been having problems since she was 13 months old and after allergy testing came up empty, the ped sent us to a GI doc who did a coloscopy and endoscopy. The blood test and biopsy was negative for Celiac (and everything else...) All they could find was colitis and acid reflux, which the doctor said was caused by the colitis, so he treated the colitis and not the reflux. Nothing changed. We moved to another state and was finally seen by another GI doctor (After 2 months of waiting to get in and then another month waiting for another colonoscopy and endoscopy). He put her on Prevacid which helped with a lot right off. The doctor called me on Monday and let me know that the biopsy came back positive for Celiac this time. I immedately put her on a Gluten-Free diet, so she hasn't had any gluten since Monday around lunchtime.

Today her diarrhea is much worse. I don't know if she's got a virus or something or if she's not reacting well to the diet or what. We haven't taken her off dairy yet. Should I wait a few days before doing that or just jump into that too?

This is all a bit overwhelming at first, although the Gluten Free hasn't been as difficult as I had feared.

Alicia

[cruelshoes]

When I first went gluten-free, it took me 3 days before I started to notice any difference at all. It took a good 3 months before my symptoms were mostly gone. Additionally, it sometimes seemed that I would slide backwards in my healing occasionally, and then start getting better again. I don't believe it was gluten exposure but, rather, my body trying like heck to normalize itself.

So be patient and watch out for the hidden gluten and CC.