12 Year Old Diabetic

[LYNKADY]

I HAVE A 12 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WHO WAS DIAGNOSED LAST MAY AS A TYPE 1 DIABETIC, TODAY AT HER DOCTORS APPT. THEY INFORMED ME THAT SHE POSSIBLY HAS CELIAC DISEASE. I DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND TOO MUCH HE SAID TO GO HOME AND THE DOCTOR WILL CONTACT ME AND SET UP FOR A SCOPE TEST! I AM SCARED TO DEATH, I HAVENT EVEN GOT OVER THE DIABETIC PART AND NOW THIS. SHE STILL STRUGGLES OVER THE THINGS SHE CANT EAT AS A DIABETIC AND NOW THIS. CAN ANYONE HELP! HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS TO MY DAUGHTER? SHOULD MY HUSBAND AND I BE CHECKED?

THANK YOU

[MelInWV]

Hello. I am new to this group as well, but my ten yr old son also has Juvenile Diabetes and we are doing an endoscopy on Friday to find out if he has Celiac. I know how you feel. It is so sad, our kids put up with so much already - needles all day long, every single day, watching what they eat - and now this on top of it!

I am hoping against all odds that it's just a big mistake, but the reality is that Diabetes and Celiac are connected somehow, and my MIL has Celiac as well. At least I have her as a support!

It breaks my heart to watch him go through all this. Kids have enough to worry about without chronic disease to add to it. Not to mention what we go through as parents trying to help them manage it!

Anyway I'm here to talk and commiserate. I don't know an incredible amount about the Celiac yet, but I have talked with a lady here in my town who has a daughter with it. She has managed to work around it and find suitable food substitutions and makes me feel like we will live through this!

Good luck to you and I wish the best for your child.

[celiac3270]

I'm sorry to hear about this. Celiac disease and diabetes are related, however, in that celiacs are more likely to get diabetes. To answer your questions, if your daughter tests positive, everyone in your family should be tested. Celiac is genetic, so someone in your family has had it before your daughter (you or your husband, grandparents, great grandparents--it has to come from somewhere, even though it may skip generations).

For research, I'd read some articles from the celiac.com site index. If she is diagnosed, this is a good spot to find ingredient and food lists, articles, etc.

I'm not diabetic, so I can't help you with integrating the gluten-free and diabetic diets.

[Boojca]

I don't have the diabetes to deal with, my MIL does, but I do have a 3 year old son recently diagnosed with Celiac and I can tell you that it's COMPLETELY overwhelming at first, you think they'll never eat anything "good" again. Now, 8 months after his diagnosis, I am here to tell you how wrong that is! You will feel like a pro at this very soon if you stick with the message boards and reading labels. My MIL does all her baking with Splenda and none of us can ever tell the difference, so that should help when doing your gluten-free baking (if, indeed, Celiac is diagnosed)

Bridget

[brdbntL]

Hi,

My daughter is 4. She was diagnosed with diabetes at 22 months (that was June of 2002) and then we found out she has Celiacs in Feb 2004. It is very overwhelming at first, but it is very managable. Even though some days I want to pull my hair out, but other days I know we have it under control. I have been fortunate enough to find a great Health Food store in my area that carries gluten free. If you need to talk or vent or have any questions please feel free to email me. I don't have all the answers, but I know how hard it is.

Laura

And just a sidenote about sugar free maple flavored syrup- a life saver when it comes to pancakes and waffles. Cary's has carmel color which is on the no-no list for celiacs, but I spoke with the gastro and endo and they both agreed as long as she didn't have any symptoms that the benefit of the low carbs outweighed the possibility that the carmel color has gluten. Her original test for transglutamanase was 56 after being gluten-free for 10 months it was less than 3(which is awesome according to docs), and she had been having the syrup throughout the 10 months. And I have a really good gluten-free pancake recipe if you are interested. Even my non celiac parents liked them.

[Hearts]

I have a 9 year old boy who just got diagnosed with diabetes and will likely test positive for celiacs. He screened positive for it and we'll do some bloodwork this weekend to confirm it. As we travel this road, I have found everyone knows a child with diabetes and some people know of celiac disease but I've yet to find a person who has a child with both. At this point, we are dealing with the daily insulin shots etc but I am at a loss as to where to start with the gluten free. If anyone can give some advice, I'm all ears. If anyone knows of a boy who has both conditions around my son's age, maybe I can start to believe he's not alone .. maybe even someone he might be interested in talking to someday. Thanks

[Boojca]

BRDBNTL,

If you call the company they may be able to tell you what the base of the caramel coloring is. CC made in the USA is generall sugar based, but made outside the USA has a higher chance of being barley based. But they should be able to tell you either way what it's made from.

Bridget

[brdbntL]

Thanks Bridget,

I will call and ask what the carmel color is made from. I initially asked if it was gluten free and got the legaleze- we can't say for sure because of.... Sounds like I was asking the wrong question.

Laura

[Boojca]

Yeah, most companies these days are so afraid of getting sued that they will hardly ever say something is gluten free. Often what they will say is that they do not contain any gluten-containing ingredients but they cannot guarantee the glute-free status of any of the ingredients they obtain from other companies. I understand why they do it, but boy is it frustrating!!!

There is a gluten-free mainstream product list at the Celiac support group at www.delphiforums.com and it's an AMAZING list and I know I've seen syrups on there, including the "lite" versions of them. Check it out!

Bridget

[tarnalberry]

Not being diabetic, I am not a lot of help there, but I wanted to let you know that the lifestyle changes need not be overwhelming. I'm a big proponent of eating gluten-free naturally - not buying processed, specially-made gluten-free foods, but rather buying, eating, and cooking whole foods that are naturally gluten-free. When you do that, it's easier to think about the fact that you're only eliminating four food items from your diet. All the natural fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, naturally gluten-free grains (like corn, rice, buckwheat, quinoa, etc.j, and meats that aren't altered in processing are gluten-free. I'm not sure the extent of the impact from her being diabetic will affect how much fruit and grain she can have, of course. It will take some time to learn how to do all the cooking from scratch with gluten-free ingredients if you aren't used to it, but it is a lifestyle change, and it's going to take a bit of time to get the hang of the gluten-free diet.