Strange Symptoms, Any Ideas?

[taweavmo3]

My 5 year old was glutened about 10 days ago while at my parents, my poor dad bought Vans regular waffles instead of the gluten free ones. So she ate TWO, and was very sick that day. It was a typical gluten reaction for her....vomiting for about 6 hours, then just really tired and moody for a few days after.

Over the weekend, she was back to her old self, and even had enough energy to go to a birthday party. Now she's running a fever, which at first was 102, but now it's been running 99 for a couple of days.

She also has a double ureter and grade II reflux, so I went ahead and brought her in for a urine culture yesterday since she didn't have any other symptoms besides the fever. Urine looked clear, still waiting to hear back about the culture. My big concern is that she is drinking a ton of water, and not making much urine. Yesterday she went 18 hours before she voided, and she had been drinking alot of water. She's also been complaining that her eyes feel funny, and things look blurry. Today, she's vomiting again and is really, really lethargic.

If this keeps up, I'll bring her back in. I just don't know if this is gluten related, or possibly a kidney problem. ARGH! Her reactions typically do not last this long, or come back suddenly after she seemed to be recovered. The doctor really didn't have a clue, but said if she gets worse to bring her back. Any ideas guys?

[RiceGuy]

Wow, poor child!

My first thought is that maybe the waffles got stuck in the intestines. That would make me drink a lot, and would also explain the fewer bathroom visits. I'm guessing the party was all gluten-free, since you didn't mention any possible second glutening?

I do know magnesium draws water into the intestines, but what I don't know is if that would be wise right now, and just how much to give. That might be a question for the doctor, but I would expect some sort of scan be done first, to see if there's some obstruction in the digestive tract.

I don't doubt she'll be reading the packages herself from now on.

HTH

[taweavmo3]

I'm pretty certain she didn't get glutened at the party.....I brought her a safe cupcake, but there's always the possibility of crumbs being left somewhere. And it was at one of those indoor bounce house places, so there's always the chance of gluteny fingers touching things.

She could have also picked up a regular old bug at the b-day party I suppose. It's so hard to differentiate between a glutening, urinary tract problems (although at least those are easy to rule out), or just a plain bug like other kids get! The only reason I got a tad bit worried was b/c she didn't pee when she woke up yesterday morning, and didn't end up going until about 10am. Even then it was only a little bit, not even 1/4 cup (I only know b/c that's when I took the sample, lol) Then today, she didn't want to get out of bed.....and has just been extremely lethargic all day.

When she said her eyes felt blurry (of course, she is only five, so who knows what this means, lol), I thought the low urine output, thirst, lethargy, and nausea didn't sound too great. But maybe she's also just sleeping off a bug and is a bit dehydrated. Anyway, we'll see what happens! Thanks.

[jerseyangel]

Could she have a virus or the flu? That would make her dehydrated and that's why she's not eliminating all the water she's drinking. Being glutened could have made her more vulnerable to getting sick--especially this time of year...just a thought.

If the vomiting continues with the low grade fever, definately check back with the doctor to rule out a kidney infection.

[kbtoyssni]

I was also thinking some sort of virus. Getting glutened is rough on the immune system; I find I get every little bug going around when I'm glutened. I'll get things that no one else had, probably because their immune system could fight it off before they got really sick from it.

[Darn210]

Not sure of where you live but here in Indiana, we are getting our butts kicked by the flu . . . even those that have had flu shots (like my daughter) are coming down with it. One the nearby elementary schools had about a 100 kids out with the flu (out of about 650).

Hope she's feeling better soon!!

[taweavmo3]

Yep, ya'll hit the nail on the head, I think it is the flu. It's been a few years since we've had to deal with it, so I completely forgot how much it can wipe you out. I really worry too much over her, I always assume it's something worse. We haven't had a year yet where she doesn't get diagnosed with something new, so I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now I can rest...it's just the flu, lol.