Child Weight Loss And Vomiting

[jjdarrough]

I have a 9 year old who was diagnosed at 3. She has been doing well on the gluten-free diet although still having problems with the constipation. She would throw up at least once a month when really backed up. Is this occuring with anyone else? She was put on adhd meds that after a year started making her not eat and she went from 47 lbs to 39. They took her off the meds and her appetite improbed greatly but she could not always keep it down. She is throwing up at times once a week or more but at least every 2 weeks. She had ultrasound which showed nothing. She is having an endoscopy this week. Any ideas what it could be?

[ShayFL]

Have you checked ALL possible sources of CC???

Her creams, hair care, meds, etc....are they confirmed gluten-free???

Is she possibly getting gluten at school from friends/teachers???

Do you have a gluten-free kitchen at home? Could she be getting some there???

Pets?? Does she handle gluteny dog/cat food/treats???

[jjdarrough]

We do have other foods in the house with gluten for my 2 younger kids but I am extremely careful about using different utensils and checking ingredients on things for dinner. She is in a self contained class at school and they are afraid to give her anything to eat there. She takes her lunch. She knows enough about it making her sick that she will not even try to eat anything with bread or crackers. I have not called the hair care company to check it but I will. Can the hair products really get in her system?

[MarsupialMama]

Our two year old has chronic constipation (since born) and the weight loss issue. Constipation is a very real issue that needs to be addressed because if she is not getting the toxins out of her body, it will cause "autointoxication" or, in other words, those toxins are being reabsorbed into her blood and will make her sick in various ways.

My first suggestion is good old fashioned prune juice. Initially, it make take a little wile for it to bust through whatever compactions she has, but if you keep her on a low dose (different for each child....for my two year old it's about 3 ounces) after that, she she be more regular. 5-10 prunes per day would do it too (again depending on her tolerance). There is also an herbal product (a syrup) that I bought for my baby called Children's Bowel Formula from ModernManna.org.

I have given this to her since she was 1 year old and never felt nervous about it. It is very gentle. I know my herbs enough to know that everything in it is fine, but I know not everyone is comfortable with herbs (though I would always prefer them over drugs). It is prune and fig based with just a minimal amount of herbs added to it. I would give my baby about a teaspoon every night and she did fine with that. We still use it, depending on if we have prune juice in the house, or her bowel habits. I take a larger dose myself when I am plugged and use it for my three year old as well. Both girls love the taste. It is very mild and doesn't cause cramping or anything like that like some drugs can do.

For more information about the bowel and how constipation can affect your body and what to do about it, here is a good link: www.dr-schulze.com

[Darn210]

May be too late to check during the endoscopy, but two things come to mind (both of which my daughter was checked for) . . . Gastroparesis (this finally cleared up about a year gluten free but some people have it for life) and Esonophilic Esophagitis (an allergeric type reaction).

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Is she eating large meals? If she has a history of reflux, or if she is like my kids, whose tummies don't get the "I'm full" message to the brain until they're OVER-full, then things can come back up. 6 small meals are better than 3 squares.

You might try keeping a food diary to see if there's a pattern.

Is there any possibility she might be sneaking something gluteny? It only takes once, and then it is truly like a drug addiction, and she won't be able to help herself, even if she knows the price. It might be better just to have the whole family gluten-free--it's a healthy diet anyway, and way easier on you cooking-wise. Besides, homemade gluten-free bread tastes SO much better than the premade crap,which usually tastes like styrofoam.

Other culprits might be things like her vitamin, or any other med she might be on? And vaccines are REALLY a potential problem for celiacs--they contain all kinds of horrible things that are not meant to cross through a leaky gut, and can cause MAJOR damage if they do.

[jjdarrough]

Is she eating large meals? If she has a history of reflux, or if she is like my kids, whose tummies don't get the "I'm full" message to the brain until they're OVER-full, then things can come back up. 6 small meals are better than 3 squares.

You might try keeping a food diary to see if there's a pattern.

Is there any possibility she might be sneaking something gluteny? It only takes once, and then it is truly like a drug addiction, and she won't be able to help herself, even if she knows the price. It might be better just to have the whole family gluten-free--it's a healthy diet anyway, and way easier on you cooking-wise. Besides, homemade gluten-free bread tastes SO much better than the premade crap,which usually tastes like styrofoam.

Other culprits might be things like her vitamin, or any other med she might be on? And vaccines are REALLY a potential problem for celiacs--they contain all kinds of horrible things that are not meant to cross through a leaky gut, and can cause MAJOR damage if they do.

[RissaRoo]

My son (11 yr old) has GERD...acid reflux disease. He gets much worse if he gets glutened, but unmedicated it's still pretty bad even w/out the gluten. GERD can cause frequent tummy aches, vomiting, picky eating (or reduced eating) and weight loss. When does she throw up mostly? Does it happen mostly in the evening? After meals? Does she eat a little bit, then feel full right away? Is it worse with fried/fatty/acid-y foods? Sometimes, GERD isn't so easy to see because it can look a little different in a child than it does in an adult. Apparently, reflux is common with Celiac's (it's now on a lot of the lists of symptoms) and also with other food allergies. A lactose allergy/intollerance also comes to mind, that can cause both constipation and vomiting and weight loss. (((hugs))), I know how it feels to have a kid who's too darn skinny, I hate that!