Green Pooh

[Guest Kimberly81]

Its been a while since I've posted, but I have a question. Do green stools equal gluten for anyone else? My dd is diagnosed thru bloodwork and is doing great, we've determined she got it from me, I've had an UNBELIEVEABLE response to the diet! I'm literally a new person! I KNOW without a doubt I'm Celiac, no question. My son is 4 and we tested him and of course he came back negative, no surprise there since he's so young. I know that when I'm glutened my stool will be green until I get it out of my system, same for my dd...anyway, my son started having stools that were sometimes green, sometimes orange and sometimes pale yellow or almost white. For about the past few months, say 3 or so, his poop his green EVERYDAY, no exceptions. He's not on the diet. His stools are always either dry or pellets, with the occasional mushy poops. He's very volatile, doesn't take much to upset him at all, he's becoming increasingly clingy to my, like dd used to be the list goes on. Does this sound like Celiac to anyone but me? Just looking for some validation I guess lol. I want to put him on the diet, it will be a struggle as he's a very, very picky eater, tho he didn't used to be. I would appreciate ANY advice or feedback. Thx~K

[April in KC]

My son's GI said that green doesn't necessarily mean bad, but that it can mean a rapid transit time through the GI system - something about the bile not being fully removed in the colon. Not sure if that helps.

Here are some other reasons I found elsewhere (not sure about accuracy):

Here are the most common causes of green stools:

- large amounts of green, leafy vegetables

- green or purple artificial coloring (popsicles, Kool-Aid, gelatin)

- iron supplements

- rapid transit or decreased colonic transit time.

any vitamins or supplements you took

[Guest Kimberly81]

Thx for the quick reply! "Rapid transit" was definately an issue for my dd and I pre-diagnosis, not so much anymore. Lol. He hasn't been ingesting anything at all that would change the color of his stools, same diet he's always had, the strange colors have just become an everyday thing instead of a intermittent thing like it used to be. Just trying to make sure if he has Celiac we catch it early, rather than let him suffer for 7 years like my dd, or worse yet 27 years like me.

[GFinDC]

I had the greens for years following a trip to Korea in the military. Not sure it had anything to do with celiac and it wasn't related to too fast trips through the colon. My scariest colors were black and red actually. I have no idea if green is related to celiac. I didn't find out about celiac until years later. I guess that's not much help.

[NewGFMom]

my son's poop was BRIGHT green, like he'd eaten paint until we figured out that he had celiac. Now we know if he gets some cc because his stool will become pale yellow.

He's also a super picky eater. But we found enough stuff on the gluten-free diet that he like that he's happy.

BUT it took over six months for the stomach/poop issues to abate on the gluten-free diet. So, it might be LONG trial with your son if you choose to go that route. Right now, our house is gluten-free all the time, so perhaps you could keep him gluten-free at home and see if you notice any changes after you've only had him eat at home for a few days.

-Margaret

[crittermom]

Wow, it's like reading about my ds all over again. Michael was having green poop 8 times per day sometimes with completely undigested food in it sometimes not. Sometimes hard sometimes a mess but ALWAYS green or yellow. I heard and was told the same as your first response. Michael like your son was tested very early since Katharine is positive. He was tested at 3 yo and came back negative. He was volatile, cried at everything, dark circles under his eyes, appetite way down, hurting tummy complaints all the time, distended tummy and between 6-9 bms per day. He was a mess. After the biopsy I took him off gluten even before the tests came back. When they were negative I was floored. I left him gluten-free and EVERYTHING went away and has never returned unless contaminated. He gained weight too. He is still a picky eater but now at least he actually eats a plateful. I did 2 small gluten challenges on him as I kept a food journal for about 2 months. Both times all of the symptoms came flooding back. Our GI said, well the tests were negative but if the diet is taking care of everything then thats what you need to do. BTW we had done a series of tests to make sure there were no other problems with his GI tract as well during the diagnostic period so we were sure there were no other problems or causes. Even though we did that I was fairly positive it was the Gluten from the start.

I hope this helps and if taking him gluten-free stops everything, go with it. Trust your mommy gut, we are rarely wrong about our little ones!

[Guest Kimberly81]

Our pediatrician that discovered my dd's Celiac has said that green poop could just be normal for him, but just keep our eye on him since his sister is diagnosed, and she said if we remain suspicious to try the diet...we LOVE her. Anyway, he's nowhere near the condition that my dd was in when she was finally diagnosed, but I don't want him to suffer at all if we can help it. My daughter, isabelle was having daily large greasy stools that were very foul, gas, bloating, almost constant nausea,random and frequent bouts of vomiting, VERY moody, whiny, over-sensitive etc, etc. The list goes on. My son, Landon is not near as bad physically, no bloating or foul gas. He complains of tummy aches usually at least once a week, but nothing alarming...mainly its the weird stools and his personality/temperment issues. He's actually a very loving and sweet and affectionate boy, but when things don't go his way..well let's just call it a melt down. We are firm and consistant with positive discipline, he just seems to have absolutely NO coping skills. He's very anal retentive about things as well. Its just a hard decision to make with no confirmation, on the other hand, I know what the diet can do...I have never been happier, I'm truly a new person BC of this diet, I'm me again, and that's worth giving up, or tweeking the foods I used to eat. Ugh, decisions decisions lol.

[GFinDC]

Hi Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly,

Aren't computers fun, fun, fun , fun ????

Maybe you should go ahead and try him on the gluten-free diet then and see if he improves? You and your daughter are already on it right? Doesn't seem like it could hurt anything to try him on the diet.

Later, later, later, later!

[Guest Kimberly81]

Hi Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly,

Aren't computers fun, fun, fun , fun ????

Maybe you should go ahead and try him on the gluten-free diet then and see if he improves? You and your daughter are already on it right? Doesn't seem like it could hurt anything to try him on the diet.

Later, later, later, later!

LOL! I posted that from my blackberry and it kept giving me an error message that it didn't work...blah. Anyway, I really do want to put him on the diet, so many of his symptoms are starting to look just like my daughter's did. He's four and doesn't really understand why his sister and mommy eat different food, other than the fact that if we don't we get "tummy aches". His symptoms aren't as severe so I'm not sure that would be enough to convince him. He's very stubborn and very picky about what he'll eat. Any suggestions on how to get him on the diet, and to staying committed to to getting him on the diet without a diagnosis?

[GFinDC]

I don't have kids, but I imagine you just tell them what to do and they do it right?

If the diet makes a positive difference in how he feels then he will probably want to stay on it. You might want to test this by putting him on the diet for a few months and then do a gluten challenge. Nothing big, just a slice of gluten bread. If he has a negative reaction then you have your answer. This might also help him with motivation if you tell him afterwards that it was the gluten bread that made him sick.

[crunchy-mama]

Both of my kids had green stools from dairy issues. Of course the two are often related.

[Maddie's mom]

My daughter has been gluten-free for 3 months now and she still suffers from a lot of constipation and "green pooh". She takes Miralax and Ex-lax daily to keep the constipation under control, but the green pooh has not changed. Her dtr thinks that her being on all of these laxatives for a long period of time is fine and that the color of the pooh is insignificant.Does anyone have any ideas? Do you think she should be tested for other food allergies, could that be causing the problem? She is only 4 and starts preschool next week and I would just appreciate any insight anyone would have!