Is This Normal?

[ljb]

DS (25mos old) has been gluten-free since June 28. After 9 days of gluten-free, we noticed a HUGE improvement in his appetite! (Thank goodness!) And his features have started to fill out. He doesn't look sickly anymore. But he his bowel movements have changed. Prior to going gluten-free, he had one BM/day. It was hardly ever solid, but it was just once/day (on the rare occasion, twice.) Well, since about last Wed/Thursday (1.5 weeks into the gluten-free diet) he has been having 3 or 4 BMs a day. Very loose & foul smelling. (Always was pretty foul, though - LOL!) Since he has had loose stools for so long, I can't say whether this is new. But the number of times he goes is definitely new. He hadn't gone more than 2x in one day since he was an infant!

We are already on low-lactose foods/drinks (lactaid milk, lactose free ice cream) as well.

So, is this normal? Or is there something that I might be missing? Or is this par for the course?

Additionally, How do you know if your kid is actually getting better? The appetite is obvious to us, and the lack of vomitting, but other than that, we aren't sure how to know if just cutting out gluten and lactose is enough. He had only told us a couple of times that his belly hurt. So, it has been our best guess...

[dandelionmom]

It sounds to me like there's another food intolerance showing up. I'd cut out all dairy to see if that's the culprit. Both my daughter and I had to go entirely dairy-free for a couple of months after diagnosis.

[Amyleigh0007]

I knew my son was getting better because of his dramatic weight gain. He has gained 7 pounds in almost 4 months. Before he was dx he only gained one pound from March 2007-March 2008 (and the doctor did not think this was abnormal).

[ljb]

It sounds to me like there's another food intolerance showing up. I'd cut out all dairy to see if that's the culprit. Both my daughter and I had to go entirely dairy-free for a couple of months after diagnosis.

By cutting out all dairy, do you mean all milk, cheese, yogurt, etc? Or do you mean any breads or such that is made with milk? (Sorry for the ignorance, I haven't spoken to the nutritionist - soonest appt I could get is still two weeks away...)

[ljb]

I knew my son was getting better because of his dramatic weight gain. He has gained 7 pounds in almost 4 months. Before he was dx he only gained one pound from March 2007-March 2008 (and the doctor did not think this was abnormal).

WOW!! You must have been thrilled! I know that DS is feeling better because he is eating... tons! Whereas on gluten he ate so little it made me ill just thinking about it. I just fear we are not doing enough for him...

[Ursa Major]

Cutting out all dairy means to eliminate everything made from milk. Milk, yogourt, cheese, ice cream, whipping cream, whey, cream cheese, cottage cheese.......... every single thing that contains dairy. And an awful lot of processed foods contain either gluten or dairy (or both), so you need to read labels even more carefully.

[Anya78]

Just a random thought...maybe he's having more bowel movements because he's eating more. My (gluten-free) son is almost 2 and he has BMs sometimes 4 times a day and sometimes not too solid, though it's not loose. Doctor said that's normal. Maybe your son's system is just regulating itself to the increase in food while it is still recovering from damage. It does take awhile for the intestines to heal.

[B'sgirl]

My son is 20 months old and has been gluten-free for 4 months, but we had to cut out ALL dairy. He has been dairy free for 2 months and now we are seeing some improvement.