3 Year Old Diabetic Daughter Tested Positive For Celiac

[Noor's Mom]

Hello,

My name is Rola, I am registered as Noor's mom, my 3 year old diabetic daughter.

Noor tested positive for celiac and is having a biopsy in January 2008. The truth, I am more worried about the celiac than diabetis, Noor is a very fussy eater, her favorites are pretzels, cherios and pita bread.

I don't know where to start; should I buy bread or make my own, and how do I get the correct grams of carbs I need to manage diabetes if I bake my own......

My biggest concern, did anyone with siblings of celiacs go gluten free for the whole family? she is very jeolous of her 15 month old brother, is it fair to deprive him of regular food?

I have a million other questions, your previous posts and topics are helping a lot.

I am so worried , I really dread the future!

Noor's Mom

[Darn210]

Hello,

My name is Rola, I am registered as Noor's mom, my 3 year old diabetic daughter.

Noor tested positive for celiac and is having a biopsy in January 2008. The truth, I am more worried about the celiac than diabetis, Noor is a very fussy eater, her favorites are pretzels, cherios and pita bread.

I don't know where to start; should I buy bread or make my own, and how do I get the correct grams of carbs I need to manage diabetes if I bake my own......

My biggest concern, did anyone with siblings of celiacs go gluten free for the whole family? she is very jeolous of her 15 month old brother, is it fair to deprive him of regular food?

I have a million other questions, your previous posts and topics are helping a lot.

I am so worried , I really dread the future!

Noor's Mom

Welcome Rola,

First let me say that you need to keep your daughter on gluten until she has had her biopsy. Second, there are gluten free pretzels and gluten free cheerio-type cereal. I'm not sure about a gluten free pita bread but maybe someone else can answer that. Also, there are many diabetic celiacs on this forum so hopefully they can address managing the carbs.

When my daughter was diagnosed, she was the only one that went gluten free. However, most of the family meals were converted to gluten-free (because I didn't want the hassle of managing cross contamination and the labor of two separate meals). My son was allowed bread and some crackers and cereal. If it was something that was going to upset my daughter if she couldn't have it, then he couldn't have it either (at least at home). That worked pretty well for us. And now that my son is gluten free also (at least for the next four months), I am using the same policy on my husband. Everything in the house is now gluten-free except for my husband's cereal (my kids NEVER wanted it anyway) and a few freezer/microwaveable items. I told him the first time one of them asks if they can have what dad is having, then it's gone.

I didn't consider it depriving my son of regular food. We still had all the things that a kid would want: chips, cookies, cupcakes, hotdogs, fries . . . and ALL those things that they don't want: chicken, meatloaf, casseroles and of course the dreaded fruits and vegetables ALL of those things being gluten free, of course!

Spend your time before the biopsy doing your research. Finding the brand names that are gluten free. Looking for recipes to convert their favorite items to gluten-free. A little self-education will go a long way to getting rid of any anxiety/worry.

Good Luck. . . Ask Questions!!

[taweavmo3]

Welcome to the board! This is a great site, loads of friendly people with good information.

As far as your questions...I can help with a few! We have a large family, and at first I tried having regular snacks around for the other kids. But then I had to watch my Celiac like a hawk (who was 3 at the time), and stress about crumbs and gluten fingers everywhere. It got to be too much, so I made the house gluten free. Eventually, I put all the kids on the diet after various symptoms showed up.

There are some great food subs out there (and not so great, but that's why you're here, lol). Glutino makes GREAT pretzels, and there are quite a few Cheerio-like cereals out on the market that are pretty good. One of my favorite companies is Kinnikinnick....you can trust anything they make to taste great and be very kid friendly. I'm not sure how diabetic friendly their foods are, but I know there are few other moms on this board with children who have both, so hopefully they can help you out there.

Good luck, you've come to the right place!

[kbtoyssni]

One thing to keep in mind is she needs to still be eating gluten when she gets her biopsy or it will be negative. I'm assuming you have a positive blood test which is a valid diagnosis, so you could opt to go gluten-free now and skip the biopsy.

Many celiacs are addicted to gluten so you may find her desire for bread-based foods decreases after she's on the gluten-free diet for a while. The Gluten Free Gourmet is a great cookbook if you want to make your own bread. There is one common gluten-free cookbook out there that has nutritional info for each recipe - unfortunately this is not the one. Maybe someone else can chime in with the name of the book.

I buy mostly "regular" food but just make sure I get safe brands. I would try to go for the naturally gluten-free brands so the whole family can eat it. There may be a few gluten items you want to still buy for your son like crackers, but I doubt he will feel deprived if you just watch the brands you buy. A lot of families have a gluten-free (or 99% gluten-free) household even when only one or two members have celiac to avoid CC and to create a completely inclusive atmosphere. It's a personal decision, but I've always thought who cares if you eat Lays Stax (gluten-free) instead of Pringles (not gluten-free)???

[cyberprof]

Hi Rola,

I'm not too qualified to answer about diabetes but I do know a good cookbook. "Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults" by Connie Sarros is has some great recipes PLUS it has carbs, calories etc for each recipe. Even better, it has a diabetic adjustment for a lot of the recipes - for example using unsweetened apple sauce instead of sweetened and using 2 egg whites instead of one whole egg. There's something for everyone here. It's cheap too, only $12 at amazon.

For counting calories and carbs, you might need a PC based software program or try www.fitday.com, which is a free site. You can enter full recipes and it calculates info for each serving. Try it out.

Good luck!

~Laura

[2kids4me]

Welcome Rola,

It will be an adjustment for sure - my son is 13 and has been diabetic since age 9. He was diagnosed celiac 10 months after the diabetes. He likes the glutino pretzels and the gluten free cheerio type cereals, we make "rice krispie squares" using the gluten free Crispy rice cereal ( I find in health food stores). He likes the EnerG brand crackers

Try not to think of it as depriving one child or anyone of "regular food". I think of it as eating food made with different flours, and that is what we teach the kids. I bought a cookie scoop for when I make homemade cookies with gluten free flours - each cookie is roughly 10 grams that way.

Our son is managed by a team at a childrens hospital...the dietician is very familiar with helping us navigate the carb counting for a diabetic celiac. With young children - they do not worry about reducing fat as much because the growing brain needs fat to develop.

Fruit and veges, most hard cheeses, cottage cheese, eggs, most yogurt, unprocessed meat are gluten feee. Freybes and Grimms both have processed sandwich meat that is gluten free.

I use the Kinnnickinnick brand cake mixes and make cupcakes (just easier for carb counting) when birthdays come along. My kids like the tapioca bread for sandwiches and toast. We use the KinnickKwik mix for hamburger buns and hot dog buns.

Check out the local bookstore for gluten free cookbooks or check with your child's dietician for recomendations of books that include carb counts.

There are few mother besides me with young children who have diabetes and celiac on this forum.

You are not alone. Come often and post when you need help.

[ShayBraMom]

Well, I'm so sorry! There is a good chance that the Celiac is actually the Culprit that caused her Diabetes in the first place! Sadly enough, while damage in the small intenstine due to celiac is fully reversible just with the glutenfree diet, the Diabetes is not!

Since you said somethign asobut that she loves Pretzels, go get her the Pretzels from Glutino, they are awesome and actually taste like the wheatpretzels she got so far. Their Pretzelsticks are good too, but the Pretzels taste better!

good luck!