I'm New Here, Just Saying Hi

[jmomee99]

Hi Everyone,

To make a long story short. My 7 yr old has always had constipation problems. His has autism and his diet was very limited and he never ate fruits and vegggies.

WHen he was 5 he was so constipated he did not go for 13 days. We brought him to the ER and the dr there told us about Miralax. This does help his constipation but as soon as we stop he is constipated again.

Now at 7yr I took him to a GI dr because I need to find out whats going on. The GI dr did blood work and it came back negitive for celiac disese so I thought great. I kept trying to find out what the problem was.

My next step I took him to an allergist and had him tested for food allergies. Well she tested all the main things he eats and the only one that came back with an allergy was wheat. I was confused. She explained to me that the gi testing for celiac is to test to see if he had the enzimes to break down the wheat, so he does. She said she test for an allergy to the food.

Anyway since there is many people with autistic children who are on a gluten free diet I thought it was a good idea to go gluten free and not just wheat free.

I have been reading your posts to try and learn and get some info. I read on 1 of the other boards that if the person has a small amount of gluten they are constipated for a week. I wonder if gluten is his issue.

Well any info or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

Julie

[psawyer]

Welcome.

Many parents have found that a strict gluten- and casein-free diet is beneficial to children with autism. It does not cure the disease, but appears to make a significant difference in the severity of the symptoms.

The diet is challenging, but there is a huge amount of information here, and there are many experienced people to help with your questions.

[dandelionmom]

Welcome! This forum is so very helpful! I'd be lost without it! I'm eager to hear how your son responds to the diet. Best wishes!

[Darn210]

Welcome Julie . . . any questions, just ask! If you would like to know the best replacements for your sons favorite foods, just give us a list of what he likes. I wasted a lot of money in the beginning trying foods that weren't that great. I should have just asked . . . what's the best kind of chicken nugget? . . . or whatever . . . and I would have gotten a better idea where to start in the beginning. Lots of people are gluten-free/cf here, not necessarily because of autism but because so many have issues with both. Ask away, we are here to help.

[jmomee99]

Hi Everyone,

To make a long story short. My 7 yr old has always had constipation problems. His has autism and his diet was very limited and he never ate fruits and vegggies.

WHen he was 5 he was so constipated he did not go for 13 days. We brought him to the ER and the dr there told us about Miralax. This does help his constipation but as soon as we stop he is constipated again.

Now at 7yr I took him to a GI dr because I need to find out whats going on. The GI dr did blood work and it came back negitive for celiac disese so I thought great. I kept trying to find out what the problem was.

My next step I took him to an allergist and had him tested for food allergies. Well she tested all the main things he eats and the only one that came back with an allergy was wheat. I was confused. She explained to me that the gi testing for celiac is to test to see if he had the enzimes to break down the wheat, so he does. She said she test for an allergy to the food.

Anyway since there is many people with autistic children who are on a gluten free diet I thought it was a good idea to go gluten free and not just wheat free.

I have been reading your posts to try and learn and get some info. I read on 1 of the other boards that if the person has a small amount of gluten they are constipated for a week. I wonder if gluten is his issue.

Well any info or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

Julie

Thanks for all the info. I am basicly checking the ingrediants for wheat rye barley triticale spelt kamut mir farina. The companies that I have called so far say that if their products contain gluten it would be in one of these words.

I am trying to find regular foods that do not have gluten. I have found bologna and bacon that are gluten free. He likes choclate pudding, icing for cake. he likes pizza but I have not found a replacement yet that he likes. any info would be helpful for regular things to buy for kids in a regular food store.

[Cheri A]

Welcome to the boards. My daughter's celiac testing was inconclusive, but she is allergic to wheat. We decided to go gluten-free anyway, because I didn't want to put her through the scope.

For us, I fed her mostly meat, veggies, and fruit at the beginning. Others will have to help you with the store-bought brands, because the only things I really buy are Glutino pretzels and Tinkyada pasta.

I'll be interested to hear how he does on the diet too!