New And Wondering

[peetred]

Hello ladies! Lately I have been putting the puzzels together about my son and his iron deficiency and loose bowel movements. We have begun potty training (he is 24 months), and these issues just have always sorta bothered me but I was told they were normal and would get better.

DS was exclusively breastfed until about 6-7 months of age, and then breastfed with foods until 14 months. We first noticed his iron deficiency around the time he started solid foods. His iron even dropped after starting iron suppliments. He also had colic as a baby. We have never really had very many formed bowel movements from DS. If they are formed, it's usually not much. Some form, but definately nothing like an adults or other children's I have seen (I work in church nursery). We also have noticed some foods not being fully digested. Black specs in his bowel has been the most common and most recent problem. He eats 1-2 bananas a day and yet his bowel is still very loose.

I took DS into the doctor early today for his 2 year appt and to discuss these things with the Doc. The doc also seemed concerned. They took blood to test for anemia and will test for types of anemia or problems if that comes back positive. I also was told to try taking him off all lactose to see if that helps at all, since the doctor said that could be most common. He said the next step is to look to see if he maybe has Celiacs disease. My motherly instinct is telling me this could be it. My son has never really been a milk drinker. We do eat diary products cooked in our food and he used to eat cheese quite alot, but since withholding cheese and certain dairy products I have seen NO improvement in his bowel movements.

I guess I took the first step in joining this forum to try and find some support. It seems many of you have gone or are going through the same things, and I am interesting in hearing your stories or your thoughts on my son. Thanx!

Edited to add... My son also suffers from pretty bad Excema.

[dandelionmom]

That sounds very similar to my daughter's symptoms (anemia; eczema; bulky, unformed stools; and behavorial issues). Keep in mind, lactose intolerance can be a side effect of celiac disease. You'll want to keep him on gluten until after testing if you're hoping for accurate test results. But if you're content with a dietary response, it is fine to take him off of gluten now. Good luck! I hope you find answers soon!

[djdi]

Hello ladies! Lately I have been putting the puzzels together about my son and his iron deficiency and loose bowel movements. We have begun potty training (he is 24 months), and these issues just have always sorta bothered me but I was told they were normal and would get better.

DS was exclusively breastfed until about 6-7 months of age, and then breastfed with foods until 14 months. We first noticed his iron deficiency around the time he started solid foods. His iron even dropped after starting iron suppliments. He also had colic as a baby. We have never really had very many formed bowel movements from DS. If they are formed, it's usually not much. Some form, but definately nothing like an adults or other children's I have seen (I work in church nursery). We also have noticed some foods not being fully digested. Black specs in his bowel has been the most common and most recent problem. He eats 1-2 bananas a day and yet his bowel is still very loose.

I took DS into the doctor early today for his 2 year appt and to discuss these things with the Doc. The doc also seemed concerned. They took blood to test for anemia and will test for types of anemia or problems if that comes back positive. I also was told to try taking him off all lactose to see if that helps at all, since the doctor said that could be most common. He said the next step is to look to see if he maybe has Celiacs disease. My motherly instinct is telling me this could be it. My son has never really been a milk drinker. We do eat diary products cooked in our food and he used to eat cheese quite alot, but since withholding cheese and certain dairy products I have seen NO improvement in his bowel movements.

I guess I took the first step in joining this forum to try and find some support. It seems many of you have gone or are going through the same things, and I am interesting in hearing your stories or your thoughts on my son. Thanx!

Edited to add... My son also suffers from pretty bad Excema.

[djdi]

Hello ladies! Lately I have been putting the puzzels together about my son and his iron deficiency and loose bowel movements. We have begun potty training (he is 24 months), and these issues just have always sorta bothered me but I was told they were normal and would get better.

DS was exclusively breastfed until about 6-7 months of age, and then breastfed with foods until 14 months. We first noticed his iron deficiency around the time he started solid foods. His iron even dropped after starting iron suppliments. He also had colic as a baby. We have never really had very many formed bowel movements from DS. If they are formed, it's usually not much. Some form, but definately nothing like an adults or other children's I have seen (I work in church nursery). We also have noticed some foods not being fully digested. Black specs in his bowel has been the most common and most recent problem. He eats 1-2 bananas a day and yet his bowel is still very loose.

I took DS into the doctor early today for his 2 year appt and to discuss these things with the Doc. The doc also seemed concerned. They took blood to test for anemia and will test for types of anemia or problems if that comes back positive. I also was told to try taking him off all lactose to see if that helps at all, since the doctor said that could be most common. He said the next step is to look to see if he maybe has Celiacs disease. My motherly instinct is telling me this could be it. My son has never really been a milk drinker. We do eat diary products cooked in our food and he used to eat cheese quite alot, but since withholding cheese and certain dairy products I have seen NO improvement in his bowel movements.

I guess I took the first step in joining this forum to try and find some support. It seems many of you have gone or are going through the same things, and I am interesting in hearing your stories or your thoughts on my son. Thanx!

Edited to add... My son also suffers from pretty bad Excema.

[djdi]

My daughter is 9 and suffered with colic, constipation, belly aches excema, and weight loss since birth. We went to her doctor countless times only to have all the tests come back "normal". It took until this year to get our answer. She had a biopsy of her small intestine to confirm celiac.

Your sons symptoms sound like he may have celiac but like the person before me said, to get an accurate test result you'll need him back on gluten.

My daughter also has weak tooth enamel and permanent staining on her (permanent) front teeth. Her teeth are also sensitive to cold and hot liquids. This will never go away--her teeth are always going to be weak, stained and give her problems . Her dentist first thought it was from too many antibiotics as an infant and toddler. She did not have too many antibiotics (she rarely took them). After learning about celiac, I read in one article that it causes weak tooth enamel and tooth staining. If we could have gotten our diagnosis sooner, maybe her teeth would not be in such bad shape now.

I want to let parents of small children know this so hopefully permanent teeth will be healthy.

[djdi]

My daughter is 9 and suffered with colic, constipation, belly aches excema, and weight loss since birth. We went to her doctor countless times only to have all the tests come back "normal". It took until this year to get our answer. She had a biopsy of her small intestine to confirm celiac.

Your sons symptoms sound like he may have celiac but like the person before me said, to get an accurate test result you'll need him back on gluten.

My daughter also has weak tooth enamel and permanent staining on her (permanent) front teeth. Her teeth are also sensitive to cold and hot liquids. This will never go away--her teeth are always going to be weak, stained and give her problems . Her dentist first thought it was from too many antibiotics as an infant and toddler. She did not have too many antibiotics (she rarely took them). After learning about celiac, I read in one article that it causes weak tooth enamel and tooth staining. If we could have gotten our diagnosis sooner, maybe her teeth would not be in such bad shape now.

I want to let parents of small children know this so hopefully permanent teeth will be healthy.

[peetred]

That sounds very similar to my daughter's symptoms (anemia; eczema; bulky, unformed stools; and behavorial issues). Keep in mind, lactose intolerance can be a side effect of celiac disease. You'll want to keep him on gluten until after testing if you're hoping for accurate test results. But if you're content with a dietary response, it is fine to take him off of gluten now. Good luck! I hope you find answers soon!

Thanx for the reply. I havn't taken him off Gluten yet, and I don't plan to until we find out more about what is going on. I also forgot to mention that he has a small heart murmur. I read somewhere online that Iron Deficient Anemia (side effect of Celiacs obviously, lol) can cause a small heart murmur. I thought it an interesting connection.