Overweight Child And Celiac?

[landkwold]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this whole thing, and I'm wondering if any of you can help me out with the possible link to my daughter's weight problems and a gluten intolerance or Celiac? She has had a whole list of unexplained medical issues starting at about 8 months (She's almost 9 now) including seizures (which she luckily hasn't had since she was three, but the doctors never did determine what was causing them), chronic infections (she had her tonsils removed at 7 after having strep 14 times in 12 months), and most recently severe stomach upset including regular diarrhea and vomiting. She also has bouts of unexplained depression and mini-meltdowns where she will cry for hours with no explanation. These symptoms come and go but they seem to be occuring more frequently. Her doctors have been of no help at all. Recently 2 of her family members have been diagnosed celiac (grandfather and aunt), which has caused me to start looking into it. My question, though-is there a connection with this and being overweight? Her two brothers are pencil thin, and they eat pretty much the same diet as she does-but she is 8 years old and outweighs her 13 year old brother by over 20 lbs. I'm ordering the tests from enterolab for her (as well as for the rest of the family-I've been anemic all my life and am relating to many of the other symptoms as well), but it seems that everything Ive seen about Celiac and children talks about being underweight and small for their age, which she most definitely isn't. Thank you for your replies....I'm so glad I found this site-there's so much helpful information!

Kristi

[nora-n]

There is an article in the bmj (british medical journal) online that says that 30% of celiacs are obese (and probably will lose the extra weight off gluten).

nora

[HouseKat]

There is an article in the bmj (british medical journal) online that says that 30% of celiacs are obese (and probably will lose the extra weight off gluten).

nora

Here are some articles mentioning overweight celiacs, I think one of them is the one Nora mentioned:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Kate

[NewGFMom]

My husband just tested positive for Celiac, and he's a Big Guy. He weighs over 250 lbs. We're confirming via biopsy in February (hopefully). But it's common, but doctors NEVER think to test for it in overweight people. We only got tested because our son has it.

It's a weird disease. It can cause lots of symptoms or almost none. My son was starting to get sick when we figured it out. My husband is just about as healthy as a 33 year old man can be. No stomach problems whatsoever.

If you can, I'd get the ELISA panel run at the doctor. I think enterolab sounds a bit sketchy. Pretty much everybody who sends their poop in is told they're intolerant to something or other.

[silk]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this whole thing, and I'm wondering if any of you can help me out with the possible link to my daughter's weight problems and a gluten intolerance or Celiac?"

Kristi;

I am really sorry for your daughter. She is at such a tender age and being overweight is so hard even as an adult but other children can be so thoughtless and cruel and rarely consider why a person

my look the way they do. And I'm sure that your daughter is as confused and frustrated as you are at something that is not in her control.

I am very new to this whole thing myself, having just started to put the puzzle pieces in place for myself in this past week but I can tell you that I was a skinny twig as a child and then as an adult have always dealt with being overweight. About two years ago I lost 40 pounds through diet and exercise and still remain an avid exerciser. However, in this past year I have started to put back on some of the weight I had lost. At first I thought it was because my back and hip were causing such pain that I was not able to be as active as I had been but then that cleared up and I resumed the exercise and continued to gain the weight. At about the same time I started adding 'whole grained goodness' into my diet in earnest, trying to add fiber to help with my constipation problem. In the past 2 months alone, I have gained 6 lbs. and my Dr. was as perplexed as I was because I have been walking 3-5 miles a day 4-5 times a week and lifting weights!

In just the little bit of information that I have read about this disease, I have come across other things in other places that mention problems with weight being one of the symptoms. I have been gluten free for a week now and already feel so much better and I was down 2 lbs. this a.m., which could be clothing or water weight, but I am truly hoping that I have found an answer here and I really pray that your daughter does as well.

I have sometimes asked myself why I got to be the lucky child from our family to be a diabetic and now there is this. I honestly think that sometimes we are 'afflicted' with something because we are more capable of coping with it that others and because we are to be instruments or examples, if you will, to others who may not be able to deal or who don't even know about what is happening to them. I have grandchildren. If I am able through my experience to save even one of them from going through a lifetime of needless suffering...it would be worth all of this to me.

There are so many nice people here who came before me and are now helping me to understand what is happening. Someday perhaps you or your daughter will be able to do the same for someone else. One of the most comforting things that I have found here is the knowledge that I am not alone. If your daughter is able, at her age, to post here, maybe she could tell us about what she is going through. I wonder if there are other children who visit here as well?

Oprah says we should all love the bodies we are in....but wouldn't it be great if our bodies loved us back for a change!