Children Having Symtoms

[jmcbride4291]

My kids are having some weird like symtoms since gluten free a week ago. They are definatly becoming more energetic overall and more alert. Behavior is better. My wife is concerned because of one having some shakes and a weird sensation in head. I went through the same thing and read during recovery a lot of symtoms will arise because your body is starting to work properly for the first time. Is it due to something like sugar or anything that could cause this or this is exactly to be expected. Could anyone inject as to what will transpire during recovery?

[Ridgewalker]

My kids are having some weird like symtoms since gluten free a week ago. They are definatly becoming more energetic overall and more alert. Behavior is better. My wife is concerned because of one having some shakes and a weird sensation in head. I went through the same thing and read during recovery a lot of symtoms will arise because your body is starting to work properly for the first time. Is it due to something like sugar or anything that could cause this or this is exactly to be expected. Could anyone inject as to what will transpire during recovery?

Unfortunately, no one can tell you exactly what to expect, because there's no telling. Everyone reacts differently. I can tell you though, that my younger son (who I put on a gluten-free diet mostly because of neuro symptoms) had uncontrollable diarrhea and even vomitting for the first week to week and a half.

Like you say, odd symptoms at first aren't uncommon. I don't think they should last very long though-- maybe a couple weeks. If it continues much longer, I'd consider taking the child to the doctor, possibly for blood-sugar testing.

[Lizz7711]

Don't know the details, but gluten can cause opioid-like issues in our bodies, like an addiction...so as you go off of it, some people experience weird withdrawal symptoms temporarily. I'd google it on this website (gluten and opioids). Hope this is helpful!

Liz

My kids are having some weird like symtoms since gluten free a week ago. They are definatly becoming more energetic overall and more alert. Behavior is better. My wife is concerned because of one having some shakes and a weird sensation in head. I went through the same thing and read during recovery a lot of symtoms will arise because your body is starting to work properly for the first time. Is it due to something like sugar or anything that could cause this or this is exactly to be expected. Could anyone inject as to what will transpire during recovery?

[A&Z'S MOM]

Hi

I am a mom to two kids.Z's six and is improving with a gluten free diet,her asthama has almost dissapeared,her skin use to be very dry,its improving.She has been on this a diet for few weeks only.

As for A,he is twelve,his test came back positive[bloowork]recently,he is also on gluten free diet now,so there is still no apparent change,he is still grouchy,tired all the time.

I am haveing a difficult time with snacks,everything has MSG,or some kind of hidden gluten.The other meals are home cooked so easier to manage.The kids are adapting but its tough when your peers are just stuffing themselves with whatever they please.

I was wondering did your kids have biopsies,I am apprehensive of such an invasive procedure.Is the blood test not enough?

I too Z to doc,she was having constipation etc,and he just prescribed some blood tests and she came back positive for celiac.Though there has been no obviou symptom except for anemia[not severe]and allergic cough episodes.

[Lizz7711]

My daughter has not even been to a doctor about her gluten issues. I had her tested through enterolab.com, she was positive for gluten , casein, soy , and eggs...I was also positive through them and also through blood tests for celiac and I have the celiac gene DQ2 and gluten sensitive gene DQ3 (my daughter had genes dQ1 and dQ3). I opted not to have the biopsy, but have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, with positive stool and blood tests, I know we have celiac disease and the treatment is the same. But, the thing i'd want the biopsy for is to measure progress in the villi of the intestine, and i've heard they also can distinguish perhaps other concomitant issues that may be going on. I don't think it's too invasive..I believe it's outpatient...so for the 12 year old he'd probably do fine. I doubt i'd do it for my daughter unless she was extremely sick and had major malabsorption issues which she dosn't seem to have.

My daughter was having major behavioral issues that are way better now (gluten-free and casein free for 4 months). You may want to consider going dairy and soy free for a few weeks and see if there is any improvement. dairy is especially inflammatory for those with asthma as well.

For snacks, my daughter has fruit, trader joe's fruit rollups (100% fruit), millet toast with honey, banana, or whatever, Van's gluten-free waffles, frito's corn chips (original only) or Lays potato chips (but i'm skeptical of those), gluten-free pretzels on occasion, hummus and veggies, nuts and seeds. It's pretty hard...it's been a huge adjustment for me having to make her lunches every day and cook real meals all the time, lol. But it's getting easier and even though she still gets mad and cries on occasion about all the stuff she can't have, she's adjusting and is becoming an expert label reader.

Liz

Hi

I am a mom to two kids.Z's six and is improving with a gluten free diet,her asthama has almost dissapeared,her skin use to be very dry,its improving.She has been on this a diet for few weeks only.

As for A,he is twelve,his test came back positive[bloowork]recently,he is also on gluten free diet now,so there is still no apparent change,he is still grouchy,tired all the time.

I am haveing a difficult time with snacks,everything has MSG,or some kind of hidden gluten.The other meals are home cooked so easier to manage.The kids are adapting but its tough when your peers are just stuffing themselves with whatever they please.

I was wondering did your kids have biopsies,I am apprehensive of such an invasive procedure.Is the blood test not enough?

I too Z to doc,she was having constipation etc,and he just prescribed some blood tests and she came back positive for celiac.Though there has been no obviou symptom except for anemia[not severe]and allergic cough episodes.

[A&Z'S MOM]

Thanks Liz7711

I am learning something new every day,I am glad I found this forum online.There r no support groups or other tools to deal with what my kids have.I appreciate any kind of info.My kids r adjusting too but fruit and veggies are always difficult to sell to kids as snacks but they will accept it eventually.

What kind of choc is safe?I mean right now they have toblerone sometimes...but I am still learning to read the labels....so lots to learn and decipher

[Lizz7711]

Technically my daughter shouldn't have milk chocolate due to milk protein...but since she hardly ever eats it, I haven't been too strict on it yet..but she knows the day is soon coming when we will eliminate it completely...we were waiting till after easter...pretty soon all the chocolate will be gone. I've been slowly introducing her to dark chocolate which at 70% is usually milk free. She's starting to develop a taste for it..but you have to get the good stuff like Lindt, or Trader Joes' has some good dark choc. too. If you're still doing milk chocolate, just stick to high quality that doen'st have additives etc. Honestly, I have no idea if the dark choc. has any gluten in it, but I'm assuming not!

Fruit is no problem for my daughter...she loves it..but veggies can be hard. I've been giving her more meat than we used to eat, and more Gluten-free Casein-free treats (i'm pretty into health food, so never let her have much cookies etc before anyway, but now i'm indulging her a bit since she's so deprived of stuff she really likes!). Last night we made Pamela's chocolate chip cookies and they taste pretty good--still not the real thing, but does the trick! It just takes extra time and research, and helping your kids to appreciate the variety of foods they CAN still eat...because there really is still alot. Another thing she likes alot is Jimmy John's "unwich" sandwiches...they'll make their subs without bread but rolled in lettuce--we do that once a month or so and it's a special treat for her (but you have to understand, before celiac came along, she was only allowed to go to McDonald's once a year, lol...she agreed to this after we watched "Super Size Me" together a couple years ago!)

anyway, good luck and hang in there...it will get easier

Liz

Thanks Liz7711

I am learning something new every day,I am glad I found this forum online.There r no support groups or other tools to deal with what my kids have.I appreciate any kind of info.My kids r adjusting too but fruit and veggies are always difficult to sell to kids as snacks but they will accept it eventually.

What kind of choc is safe?I mean right now they have toblerone sometimes...but I am still learning to read the labels....so lots to learn and decipher

[A&Z'S MOM]

Well today has been difficult

My Z' has adjusted well to the new diet bc she spends alot of her time with me.My A 'has been a little more difficult,since he is older I guess he has to learn what to look out for.I feel so frustrated but should not really complain .I was lucky to find out that my kids have this condition.They might have suffered while I was totally clueless.

I am asian and stay at home mum.90% of our meals are home cooked and can be adjusted to be gluten free.Its the snacks that drive me nuts,But I am getting there.

A had quite a tantrum today,its hard understanding where I am going wrong.I have yet to see results since going gluten-free for A'..But its only been few weeks.I am keeping a food diary for the kids too.

[feedmykids]

It can be realty hard at first - I don'tknow anything about strange symptoms, we improved right away. But I do think that it helps to stop thinking about all of the "can't have's" and write out a list of all the foods she liked before that are just naturally gluten free that she "can have" my kids list included: popsickles, juice, cut up fruit, coco pebbles (Not coco crispies), cut up veggies. After that find some new foods to try! Read the labels of different brands - It can take a while but will be worth the time. If you really are craving a gluten-free "bread snack" try a pre-made gluten-free mix, they are easier to make until you learn how to make gluten-free foods from scratch and they really are very good.

[Lizz7711]

BEing Asian, do you use alot of soy sauce and fish sauces? If he has any sensitivity to soy that could be a problem (and as you probably know you need to use tamari since soy sauce has wheat in it also). Another thing with the asian sauces to look for is MSG or hidden MSG and other food additives, also food colorings in candy. Many people with digestive issues have a leaky gut which causes molecules that shouldn't to get into the blood stream and can go right to the brain. My daughter has major behavior issues if she has any form of MSG, aspartame, and the food coloring in candy so I occasionally buy organic dye-free candy from Whole Foods as a substitute. She loves Thai iced tea...but (well it has milk so she can't have it now anyway) it has alot of Yellow#5. An hour after having any of these substances and i've got a different child on my hands..it's like she's possessed and it's very hard to deal with--and it's all because her poor brain is being damaged by these chemicals. I'd try keeping a real good food diary as you mentioned, and ask your son about foods he may have had at friends' houses or candy etc.

Liz

Well today has been difficult

My Z' has adjusted well to the new diet bc she spends alot of her time with me.My A 'has been a little more difficult,since he is older I guess he has to learn what to look out for.I feel so frustrated but should not really complain .I was lucky to find out that my kids have this condition.They might have suffered while I was totally clueless.

I am asian and stay at home mum.90% of our meals are home cooked and can be adjusted to be gluten free.Its the snacks that drive me nuts,But I am getting there.

A had quite a tantrum today,its hard understanding where I am going wrong.I have yet to see results since going gluten-free for A'..But its only been few weeks.I am keeping a food diary for the kids too.

[A&Z'S MOM]

I am from Pakistan,thats near India,Our curries are based on ground spices like corrainder,redchilli,cumin etc.I have started grounding my own spices at home.I just learnt that there could be hidden gluten in there too.Dairy is imp in our diet too.So far its limited to a glass of milk daily.Yoghurt is also a favourite.I am getting the kind with pectin which is gluten-free.

I live in the middle east and gluten-free products are hard to come by.When I do stumble upon some gluten-free cereal etc,I buy in bulk so it would last me kids for few weeks.I traced some gluten-free flour[not paticularly good],Thank God,which I use as base for pancakes for breakfast.I am new to this.So vanilla essence is also not safe ?other products like rice flour and corn flour are available too but am wondering if they r ok to use.

A' had mild cold for a week or so,suddenly it worsened and he is now on antibiotic and a bronchodilator.

Z's asthma also acted up last night.I needed to nebulize her.

The unsafe list on this site is quite helpful but do you know of a safe list for easy reference.Since you guys have been at it for longer than I ahve.I would appreciate any kind of info ....thnx

[Lizz7711]

Are you living in Pakistan still? I absolutely love Indian food as long as it's not too spicy.

ok, I think based on your kids' issues, that you really may want to cut out ALL dairy..even the one glass a day and the yogurt. You can do it for 3 weeks, then reintroduce it and see what happens. The other thing is that your son might have a leaky gut like my daughter which causes them to get super irritable because those molecules are getting to their brain...I deal with this with my daughter alot. He may be sensitive to the food colorings (and these could be in spices too), and he may also react to "salicylates"--this is a toxin that plants make to repel bugs...but some people are sensitive to it...it's in a lot of fruits and vegetables like apples, red grapes, but also highly in spices like chilis and curries. So another thing to try might be to cut out the spices for a couple weeks and see if you notice improvement. You'll have to search online for salicylates for a listing of foods. So far,. I think my daughter reacts to red grapes, but not some of the other things. I definitely have a problem with red chilis/cayenne, and perhaps curry/cumin, if I use too much of it.

I know it's difficult to decifer it all--that's why a food diary helps cuz then you can start to know what causes what. Hidden gluten can definitely be in those spices too so it's best if you can grind your own as you've started doing.

Have you had yourself tested for celiac? Is your whole house gluten free? Did you get rid of old utensils/cutting boards/colanders etc? They may be getting small amounts that way, but if they are super sensitive it will be enough...or going to other people's houses if they are baking bread etc and flour is floating around in the air could be a problem.

hope this helps, good luck!

Liz

I am from Pakistan,thats near India,Our curries are based on ground spices like corrainder,redchilli,cumin etc.I have started grounding my own spices at home.I just learnt that there could be hidden gluten in there too.Dairy is imp in our diet too.So far its limited to a glass of milk daily.Yoghurt is also a favourite.I am getting the kind with pectin which is gluten-free.

I live in the middle east and gluten-free products are hard to come by.When I do stumble upon some gluten-free cereal etc,I buy in bulk so it would last me kids for few weeks.I traced some gluten-free flour[not paticularly good],Thank God,which I use as base for pancakes for breakfast.I am new to this.So vanilla essence is also not safe ?other products like rice flour and corn flour are available too but am wondering if they r ok to use.

A' had mild cold for a week or so,suddenly it worsened and he is now on antibiotic and a bronchodilator.

Z's asthma also acted up last night.I needed to nebulize her.

The unsafe list on this site is quite helpful but do you know of a safe list for easy reference.Since you guys have been at it for longer than I ahve.I would appreciate any kind of info ....thnx