Just Looking For Answers

[amromkey]

This is my first post anywhere. So, please bear with me. My 16 month old is cranky all the time, does not sleep very well. I've noticed recently that she really is the happiest after she has a bowel movement, which are almost always solid.

She has a distended stomach, skinny arms and legs and her feet have not grown very much. She has no other symptoms. I had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, but celiac does not run in my family that I know of.

Am I naive to think that my baby should have runny stools or rashes to have an allergy or celiacs? She's been a screamer since birth, however, and is usually calmed by me holder her. But, she does seem in distress sometimes....

I certainly hope I am not babbling and I'm really just looking for some insights. I'm thinking I should start to remove things from her diet and move on from there.....

Thank you for any help and support that you can give me.

[Simply-V]

Am I naive to think that my baby should have runny stools or rashes to have an allergy or celiacs? She's been a screamer since birth, however, and is usually calmed by me holder her. But, she does seem in distress sometimes....

Are you naive? Yes and no. Its possible that her solid stools are too solid and thus constipation which can be caused by food allergies and/or celiac. And yes, generally there are other problems such as rashes, fussiness, breathing problems, failure to thrive, etc that accompany allergic reactions and celiac.

Its really hard to say what the problem is from here, but it could simply be upset stomach or a personality issue with your daughter. And things like that happen from time to time.

That said, she could have a food intolerance (or even an allergy or celiac) which is causing her not to be able to digest her food properly. I would suspect Milk, Wheat, or Soy and put her on a diet avoiding those and see if there is improvement. Then add them back (one every three days) and see if you notice any problems when she eats them.

You should also keep a food journal during this time, if you're still breastfeeding then you need to keep one for you as well as her. Note any issues that occur that you notice: sleeping more or less than usual, fussiness, more or less gas than usual, stomach looks less or more distended, rashes, dark circles, wants food or doesn't want food, etc. Eventually you may start seeing patterns develop. In your food journal btw, I'd also make sure you list brand names where possible, as you may find that one brand of cereal is fine, but another brand of similar kind isn't... this will help you narrow down suspects.

Good Luck.

[RiceGuy]

I think the possibility of your child being gluten intolerant is high, and the best thing I can suggest is to start the gluten-free diet immediately. It is often helpful to avoid dairy and maybe soy at the same time.

Other members will also have plenty of good advice. I hope your child feels better soon.

Welcome to the Board!

[AliB]

Hiya. At least 80% of the population is carbohydrate intolerant, whether they know it or not. Gluten is certainly one of the largest culprits, the other being sugar, with intolerances to other foods like corn, soy, dairy etc., following up the rear!

Your poor baby is obviously not a very happy bunny with her digestion. Intolerance can take all kinds of forms from diarrhea to constipation, headaches, migraines, joint and bone pains, muscular aches, and many other presentations - not always stomach related. In children, with any kind of growth limitation or malformation, one of the first suspicions should be intolerance as the damage to the digestion stops the body from being able to absorb properly and any malabsorption issue will always impact on the body in some form or other.

Things like 'growing pains' have always just been put down to a normal childhood occurrence, but there is nothing 'normal' about it. It is the body's way of telling us something is wrong. It can be down to a deficiency of essential nutrients. Digestion problems will also impact on the legs causing restless leg syndrome and pain. Your daughter is too young to describe her symptoms so you are going to have to do some detective work.

One of my grandsons has been having stomach problems and diarrhea. He is six, so has been able to describe how he feels. In a baby although it in more difficult, there are still signs we can look for. The diarrhea or constipation, colic, wind, screaming, perhaps when you hold her you are subconsciously rubbing her back or stomach which would make it easier for her.

This week my grandsons have been to stay. I have managed to keep them off most gluten and dairy (although an odd bit has crept in here and there). This morning though, back home with his Mom, he had Weetabix with milk, and lo and behold, he had the stomach ache and diarrhea. My daughter is going to see the doctor tomorrow to see if he will sign a sheet for him to have gluten-free (I suspect he is also dairy intolerant too). The reaction to the Weetabix after going mainly gluten-free all week was pretty conclusive. I suspect it would be good for the 4 YO as well as he is small for his age and has learning delay and mild autistic spectrum tendencies.

He is addicted to sweet things particularly cookies and chocolate and eats very little in the way of veg or fruit, but we are going to have to try and wean him off the carbs and sugar as much as possible and try to get him to eat more good carbs in the way of veg and fruit. Sugar has gone from being an occasional treat to an overwhelming all day, every day consumption and it is killing us. Our bodies were never designed to eat the amount of carbohydrate that we consume and we are paying the price for it.

I have been gluten-free, dairy free, low carb and sugar for a month now and am feeling a lot better for it. I am sleeping better, have more energy, my stomach has settled and my stools are now virtually restored to normal (my body has been up and down over this time but I have been clearing out the last 50 years worth of rubbish which won't happen overnight!). My blood pressure is coming down, I do not need so much insulin (I am diabetic) and I am starting to finally shake off the fatigue that has been following me around for the last 50 years. It works, believe me!

I hope you manage to work out which foods are distressing your dear baby and help her to settle. It is wonderful reading the different posts on this forum to see how amazed people are by the difference in both themselves and their children just through changing their diet.

[kim26]

Hi! And welcome!

I am pretty new here as well, but my daughter has already received a diagnosis. I can assure you that you have found a WONDERFUL site! I am slowly but steadily working through all of the information there is out there to make this diet work for our family, but i will share what little knowledge i have with you. My little girl is 7 years old, she tested positive on her blood test and negative on her biopsy, which from what i understand is quite typical in children since they may not have had time to do a large amount of intestinal damage yet. We brought her to the doctor after years of struggling with unexplained nausea, diarrhea, gas, bloating, leg pains, and an extreme and seemingly worsening case of clingy-ness, to say nothing of how "sensitive" she was emotionally to the most benign things. She too was a "screamer" as a baby, my husband and i spent MANY and most nights up with her begging her to give us a sign of how to help her. And NOTHING ever did, it was heartbreaking. Fast forward to now... we have had her on the gluten free diet for only a month and EVERYTHING has gotten so much better. The gi symptoms have been cut in half. She's already a more confident, happier, stable and MUCH less clingy child. I think many of the kids that go undiagnosed do so because the word is not completely out yet about the presentation of this disease and many others as behavioral and not just gi or "physical". Just my opinion. You could have your child tested but i doubt it would be very accurate at this age. Elimination diet, though tedious is probably the best way to go. Also, the article written by Dr. Kenneth Fine of Enterolab about early diagnosis is a GREAT one to read, you can find it on this site. Hope this helps, and feel free to "babble" anytime! lol I know i do! Besides, that's why we are all here :-) Good luck~K