Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • 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

Symptoms Of Celiac In Babies? Experiences?


oscarsmom

Recommended Posts

oscarsmom Newbie

Hi I'm new and desperately looking for any possible explanations of my baby's diagnosis as failure-to-thrive.

He's 10 1/2 months old, and the size of a 4 month old. He literally appears to have stopped growing. He's never had diarrhea, but his BMs have always smelled bad and he has bad-smelling gas sometimes. He was exclusively breastfed until now, with table foods added around 7-8 months.

I don't think he has cystic fibrosis, he's never been sick or had any other symptoms, but he DOES spit up a lot. (reflux). He's on medication for the reflux but so far he still spits up.

We've had blood work - he looks pretty normal, nutritionally speaking. Slightly low on iron and things, but not starving.

He's very happy baby and met all of his milestones (sitting up, crawling, etc). He's just way tiny. We are being sent for an ultrasound of his head, abdomen, and a chest x-ray next week. I'm desperately trying to get him to switch to formula because I think my breastmilk supply has been dangerously low the last 2 months.

For those of you who had babies with celiac disease, could this be a possibility? And if so, what should I do? thanks in advance for any help. He only weighs 14 lbs right now - he is very short, underweight, and small head circumference. He basically took a nosedive and fell off the growth chart starting around 5-6 months.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



MySuicidalTurtle Enthusiast

I don't know if this will help by my symptoms as a baby were diarrhea and my borther had projectile vomiting.

I hope your baby gets better.

JennyC Enthusiast

My son also had diarrhea, but not everyone does. When he was a young infant he was actually constipated. He was also exclusively breastfed and had horrible smelling bowl movements and gas. As an infant he could clear a room! He also spit up a lot. So much so that he would go through multiple bibs/shirts a day. My son was a big baby but his growth slowed down by about 6-9 months and had about stopped when he was diagnosed at three. He also had terrible sleep habits.

The tests for celiac disease are not reliable until the child is at least 24 months old, so you may want to try the gluten free diet to see if it helps.

oscarsmom Newbie

thanks for the replies!

I've been thinking.....his sister had projectile vomiting as a baby too. But she outgrew it.

My son's gas could clear a room too - so weird for such a young infant! And as I was looking at his baby pictures this year, I realize that he looks like he started losing weight/not growing around the time I started letting him eat cheerios and crackers - all made from wheat!

The other weird symptom I want to ask about: I read that Celiac's have pale skin.... my baby's skin color changed. He used to be olive skinned. (I'm white but my husband is asian). After he stopped growing he became extremely pale-skinned. Has anyone else noticed this in their children?

I have this weird feeling that I might be dealing with Celiac's... I'm going gluten-free tomorrow, just to see what happens!

Adelle Enthusiast

My husband projectile vomited as an infant. Breast milk, formula, everything. He was finally able to have goat milk. After the goat milk he grew normally but continued to have symptoms until I was DXed and we both went gluten-free. Within a few days he felt better and his symptoms dissapeared!!

I don't care what anyone says IMHO gluten goes thru breastmilk. I wish you luck!! Hope going gluten-free does the trick!!

JennyC Enthusiast

My son was very pale too. I think trying the gluten free diet is a good idea.

  • 8 months later...
MarsupialMama Apprentice

I know this is an older post, but I thought I would reply, in case others out there are looking and come across it. It is not always easy to find information on babies and celiac when they are very young.

The EXACT same thing happened with our baby - was almost 2 years old, but comparing with a one year old in size, weight, etc. I searched up "failure-to-thrive" and cystic fibrosis.....all the things that are normally diagnosed... but it just didn't match up. I always keep coming back to the gluten issue. Our daughter is very short, underweight, little emaciated looking thing. Started dropping on growth chart around 9 months and eventually fell off.

Blood work was okay, except low in B12 and iron (anemia), obviously from not being able to absorb anything.

But as you say, she was "just tiny"!

At almost 2 years she was around 16 pounds.

We started the gluten free diet and noticed improvement in her overall look in about 3 weeks- she started getting a thin layer of fat on her body - very slight, but you could tell SOME kind of improvement. After three weeks we had an "accident" which made it drop back off, which was very discouraging and started making me second guess myself (EVERY DAY!)

From everything I've researched, and the experiences we've had in switching her to gluten-free, this is really it.

She went from NO appetite (having to force feed her practically) to coming to me with a bowl several times a day wanting food. Started sleeping through the night for the first time. Attitude improved tremendously.

Meeting milestones mentally and everything else seemed fine other than the weight and malnourishment issue - meaning it didn't appear to be affecting her mental status. Everything else seemed "normal".

She didn't have the vomiting or diarreah that most experience - rather chronic constipation.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



B'sgirl Explorer

I've posted this before, but here again is my complete symptoms list for my son:

[*] the father's sister has Celiac's Disease (undiscovered until she was 20 years old)

[*] we read that a parent with an autoimmune disease is more likely to have a child with Celiac

  • 2 years later...
nikabe Newbie
  On 7/31/2008 at 1:04 AM, B said:

I've posted this before, but here again is my complete symptoms list for my son:

[*] the father's sister has Celiac's Disease (undiscovered until she was 20 years old)

[*] we read that a parent with an autoimmune disease is more likely to have a child with Celiac

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      130,551
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Bethann Sheridan
    Newest Member
    Bethann Sheridan
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      @LynnM, when you say, "today, his numbers were high", what numbers do you refer to? Are you speaking of celiac antibody scores? Can you be more specific and can you post the test names, the numbers and the reference ranges for the tests? So, I am understanding you to say that topical exposure to gluten doesn't cause him GI reactions but ingestion of gluten does but at the same time you are attributing the "high numbers" to the topical exposure?
    • Ginger38
      So I recently had blood work and my hemoglobin, hematocrit, protein and alkaline phosphatase were all low. They have never been low in the past but since august of last year I have been on the in and off gluten rollercoaster as I mentioned in previous posts. Should I be concerned with these new findings? I am worried I have made myself really sick and done damage or something this past year 
    • LynnM
      Thank you Scott. My son doesn't have a reaction topically, only when ingested. Interestingly though, the doc told us the face cream getting gluten into his bloodstream doesn't do the damage akin to when gluten is ingested. He had no reaction when using the face cream, it only presented in blood-work. I'm hopeful from all the comments today and will wait for the GI doc to reply. If he is cleared to use it, I will encourage SHIELD to get a gluten-free certification 
    • Scott Adams
      It’s great that you’re taking the time to research products carefully for your son with celiac disease—especially since accidental gluten exposure through skincare can be a real concern for sensitive individuals. Based on the ingredient lists you’ve shared, none of the products appear to contain obvious sources of gluten like wheat, barley, or rye derivatives. Ingredients like glycerin and tocopherols (not listed here but often a concern) can sometimes be derived from wheat, but many manufacturers use plant-based or synthetic sources. SHIELD’s transparency and willingness to share their full ingredient list is a good sign, and their note about not intentionally adding gluten is reassuring. Still...
    • LynnM
      Greetings Trents and Scott. This is the first time I'm posting here so I apologize in advance if I'm not replying properly. My 13 YO was diagnosed at age 5 and once gluten was removed from his diet, he grew 3" in a year, skin became much better and dark circles around his eyes disappeared. Today his numbers were very high and our new dietician discovered his face cream (Clinique dramatically different lotion) contained gluten. My fault for not checking.    His acne really has only just started and he's using OCT gluten-free products but the SHIELD is nothing short of miraculous for my 16 YO son and the 13 YO is eager to start. I will await his dietician's reply or google each...
×
×
  • Create New...