Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Distended Or Normal Toddler Belly?

mardigan

Recommended Posts

mardigan Apprentice
mardigan
Posted

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether my 28 month old son's belly appears to be a normal rounded toddler belly or somewhat distended. He is small for his age (height and weight) and eats a ton but the only thing that seems to grow is his belly.....

Open Original Shared Link

Thanks,

Lisa

PS This is my first time using Photo Bucket-sorry if the link doesn't work!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


JennyC Enthusiast
JennyC
Posted

Your link did work! I'm not an expert, but his tummy looks similar to the way my son's did before he was diagnosed. Many children also eat lots of food without being satisfied before diagnosis. Have you had him tested?

JennyC Enthusiast
JennyC
Posted

Your link did work! I'm not an expert, but his tummy looks similar to the way my son's did before he was diagnosed. Many children also eat lots of food without being satisfied before diagnosis. Have you had him tested?

mardigan Apprentice
mardigan
Posted
  • Author
Your link did work! I'm not an expert, but his tummy looks similar to the way my son's did before he was diagnosed. Many children also eat lots of food without being satisfied before diagnosis. Have you had him tested?

I am collecting "samples" today to send to Enterolab. Thanks for your reply!

Lisa

Emilysmomma Rookie
Emilysmomma
Posted

I am not an expert either, but my daughters belly looked just like that too. She was skinny everywhere else except the belly. In fact once we got her on the gluten free diet, she went down a size in clothes even though she weighed a pound more!

MarsupialMama Apprentice
MarsupialMama
Posted

I always appreciate pictures because it confirms in my mind the celiac thing (started gluten-free before diagnosing :blink: ) and it makes me realize that other people go through this too, and my child is not going to die tomorrow because of her abdominal issues. :) (I have been frantic over this issue)

My 2 y/o daughter still looks like this (gluten-free 3 months), although we have noticed improvement just in the last 2 weeks with the belly going down.

Amazingly, my other daughter - almost 4 y/o - had no gluten "symptoms" but from birth always had huge belly. She was not malnourished or skinny-looking anywhere else, so we just figured it was due to her eating a lot. We put her on gluten-free as well 3 months ago an I am AMAZED at how her belly has disappeared. I just thought it was normal - that she ate a lot and loved food. Nope! It was gluten! I wish I had taken pictures of before and after (now)!

So, in answer to your question, imo it seems he does have a little case of bloated-ness due to celiac. It is hard to tell between just a full belly and a bloated one - the times that you can tell are between meals or even better right when he gets up in the morning.

Izak's Mom Apprentice
Izak's Mom
Posted

My 3 yo's belly looks exactly like that - & even bigger. He's been gluten-free since he was 9 mos old though, and after going through a couple really painful rounds of constipation last fall he's now on daily does of Miralax plus digestive enzymes (I crush up some probiotic acidopholous tablets & mix in with the Miralax with his morning milk). His belly still gets super inflated when he has to go poop or when he has gas (which is just about every day), but for me at least it's a good indicator of when to verbally remind him to use the potty (he's been fully potty trained since this spring). I tell him that his belly is getting big because the gas/poop wants to come out and he seems to get the concept. But even when he's not gassy/about to poop his belly is still kinda big. I think the pics are really helpful too, so I've posted some here: Open Original Shared Link

I edited one of them so his weener's not showing, if you're wondering why the crotch part looks weird ;-)

Also FYI, we only did the blood (genetic) test and he had the DQ02 marker; his improvement on the diet was evidence enough for me that we were on the right track although I'm thinking that when he's a bit older I may try a gluten challenge to make sure it's really Celiac and not just a gluten intolerance. But for now, we're gluten free & he's doing well...Mr. Joe Average on the growth charts (49, 50th percentile) and it seems he's been 30lbs forever now, but he eats well and is a sweetheart so I'm happy.

-E

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


B'sgirl Explorer
B'sgirl
Posted

My son's looked like that, and still does on occasion if he gets "contaminated". I started measuring his belly every night just so I could be sure when it bloats. You may want to try that. I think it can go up and down depending on what they eat.

aprilh Apprentice
aprilh
Posted

My son's abdomen looked like that before he went gluten free. He also had intestinal issues, circles under his eyes, gas, constant ear infections, and was skinny everywhere else. Everytime he took a bath, I wanted to cry. He *looked* so malnourished.

Does your son have any other symptoms?

I learned my son had inherited through pregnancy my major candida issues. Then with the IV antibiotics during delivery - that didn't help (positive for Beta Strep).

He/we went gluten free at 2 1/2 years old and it has done wonders. I am not sure if he has celiac or not. I had him tested through Enterolab, but later learned that the test basically indicates if you have gluten intolerance - of any form. There are many other reasons for gluten intolerance in addition to celiac.

Besides removing gluten (he was already dairy and corn free), I have introduced Probiotics into his diet and try and not give him too much sugar. I avoid all dyes and chemicals found in food and cleaning products in order to keep his immune system at its best and not to overload it.

During the first few months of going gluten free, I gave him L-glutamine to assist in healing leaky gut. That and the probiotics ALONG with the diet did wonders for him!

He actually was going in REVERSE on the growth charts before the changes, but he quickly recovered.

mardigan Apprentice
mardigan
Posted
  • Author
My son's looked like that, and still does on occasion if he gets "contaminated". I started measuring his belly every night just so I could be sure when it bloats. You may want to try that. I think it can go up and down depending on what they eat.

I never thought to measure-what a great idea!

Thanks,

Lisa

mardigan Apprentice
mardigan
Posted
  • Author
My son's abdomen looked like that before he went gluten free. He also had intestinal issues, circles under his eyes, gas, constant ear infections, and was skinny everywhere else. Everytime he took a bath, I wanted to cry. He *looked* so malnourished.

Does your son have any other symptoms?

I learned my son had inherited through pregnancy my major candida issues. Then with the IV antibiotics during delivery - that didn't help (positive for Beta Strep).

He/we went gluten free at 2 1/2 years old and it has done wonders. I am not sure if he has celiac or not. I had him tested through Enterolab, but later learned that the test basically indicates if you have gluten intolerance - of any form. There are many other reasons for gluten intolerance in addition to celiac.

Besides removing gluten (he was already dairy and corn free), I have introduced Probiotics into his diet and try and not give him too much sugar. I avoid all dyes and chemicals found in food and cleaning products in order to keep his immune system at its best and not to overload it.

During the first few months of going gluten free, I gave him L-glutamine to assist in healing leaky gut. That and the probiotics ALONG with the diet did wonders for him!

He actually was going in REVERSE on the growth charts before the changes, but he quickly recovered.

Thanks for your reply! Yes, he has other symptoms. He eats a ton and frequently poops six times a day(with undigested food mixed in), has rapid transit, had constant colds from November through mid July, a string of ear infections & slowed growth from 4 months on(He had been way up on the charts until then and then practically fell off them completely). He is not anemic though. As a baby he spit up about 30 times a day until around 8 months; he also had gas pains and would arch his back and pull away while nursing. I did a 3 week elimination of a ton of foods myself(but not gluten-didn't even occur to me to try that!) and it didn't help him at all. He didn't quite meet the criteria for colic but he was not a happy camper much of the time.

Did you discover the yeast issue through Enterolab as well? I mailed his sample off today to Enterolab & can't wait to see the results. I just started taking L-glutamine(I stopped eating sugar & it's supposed to help with cravings but hasn't so far!). I hadn't even considered giving it to him; what dosage do you give him? He does take a probiotic and has a very healthy chemical, dye free diet as well. My husband is only 5'6" and thinks this, coupled with his high fiber diet accounts for his size and all the pooping. I just wonder why such a healthy eater is catching every virus he comes in contact with! How long did it take for you to start to see improvement? How long before you started to see growth? We're going on 2 weeks and I haven't noticed any change yet. He also is not having dairy or soy.

Thanks,

Lisa

mardigan Apprentice
mardigan
Posted
  • Author
I am not an expert either, but my daughters belly looked just like that too. She was skinny everywhere else except the belly. In fact once we got her on the gluten free diet, she went down a size in clothes even though she weighed a pound more!

Thanks for taking the time to reply-it is really helpful!

Lisa

  • 1 year later...
precious831 Contributor
precious831
Posted

My son's abdomen looked like that before he went gluten free. He also had intestinal issues, circles under his eyes, gas, constant ear infections, and was skinny everywhere else. Everytime he took a bath, I wanted to cry. He *looked* so malnourished.

Does your son have any other symptoms?

I learned my son had inherited through pregnancy my major candida issues. Then with the IV antibiotics during delivery - that didn't help (positive for Beta Strep).

He/we went gluten free at 2 1/2 years old and it has done wonders. I am not sure if he has celiac or not. I had him tested through Enterolab, but later learned that the test basically indicates if you have gluten intolerance - of any form. There are many other reasons for gluten intolerance in addition to celiac.

Besides removing gluten (he was already dairy and corn free), I have introduced Probiotics into his diet and try and not give him too much sugar. I avoid all dyes and chemicals found in food and cleaning products in order to keep his immune system at its best and not to overload it.

During the first few months of going gluten free, I gave him L-glutamine to assist in healing leaky gut. That and the probiotics ALONG with the diet did wonders for him!

He actually was going in REVERSE on the growth charts before the changes, but he quickly recovered.

I know this was from 2 yrs ago but I'm hoping you can help me. I'm thinking of giving my DD who will be 3 this fall some L-glutamine but I'm getting conflicting replies. Also was your DS diagnosed w/ leaky gut? I mentioned it to our GI doc and she won't even consider it. MY DD has multiple food allergies, trouble gaining weight and similar symptoms that you mentioned your son has(had). She's on this expensive probiotic right now but I'd like her to take enzymes and/or glutamine.

Sorry to bother you I'm really desperate to help my kid. She's also gluten-free like me although we're not sure she has celiac. When we 1st took her off gluten she gained 2 lbs in a month so we are keeping her gluten-free among other things.

Thanks

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,554
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Becky 0163
    Newest Member
    Becky 0163
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Taken Seriously

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Your post demonstrates the profound frustration and isolation that so many in the Celiac community feel, and I want to thank you for channeling that experience into advocacy. The medical gaslighting you endured for decades is an unacceptable and, sadly, a common story, and the fact that you now have to "school" your own GI specialist speaks volumes about the critical lack of consistent and updated education. Your idea to make Celiac Disease a reportable condition to public health authorities is a compelling and strategic one. This single action would force the system to formally acknowledge the prevalence and seriousness of the disease, creating a concrete dataset that could drive better research funding, shape medical school curricula, and validate the patient experience in a way that individual stories alone often cannot. It is an uphill battle, but contacting representatives, as you have done with Adam Gray, is exactly how change begins. By framing it as a public health necessity—a matter of patient safety and protection from misdiagnosis and neglect—you are building a powerful case. Your voice and your perseverance, forged through thirty years of struggle, are exactly what this community needs to ensure that no one else has to fight so hard just to be believed and properly cared for.
    • Scott Adams
      Looking for a gluten-free roomie in Denver CO

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had no idea there is a "Louisville" in Colorado!😉 I thought it was a typo because I always think of the Kentucky city--but good luck!
    • Scott Adams
      Allergy medication: cetirizine by the HealthA2Z is it gluten free?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Navigating medication safety with Celiac disease can be incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with asthma and severe allergies on top of it. While I don't have personal experience with the HealthA2Z brand of cetirizine, your caution is absolutely warranted. The inactive ingredients in pills, known as excipients, are often where gluten can be hidden, and since the FDA does not require gluten-free labeling for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the manufacturer's word is essential. The fact that you cannot get a clear answer from Allegiant Health is a significant red flag; a company that is confident its product is gluten-free will typically have a customer service protocol to answer that exact question. In situations like this, the safest course of action is to consider this product "guilty until proven innocent" and avoid it. A better alternative would be to ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you identify a major national brand of cetirizine (like Zyrtec) whose manufacturer has a verified, publicly stated gluten-free policy for that specific medication. It's not worth the risk to your health when reliable, verifiable options are almost certainly available to you. You can search this site for USA prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
    • Scott Adams
      Protein or fat?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      What you're describing is indeed familiar to many in the Celiac community, especially in the early stages of healing. When the intestinal villi are damaged from Celiac disease, they struggle to properly digest and absorb fats, a condition known as bile acid malabsorption. This can cause exactly the kind of cramping and spasms you're seeing, as undigested fats can irritate the sensitive gut lining. It is highly plausible that her reactions to dairy and eggs are linked to their higher fat content rather than the proteins, especially since she tolerates lean chicken breast. The great news is that for many, this does improve with time. As her gut continues to heal on a strict gluten-free diet, her ability to produce the necessary enzymes and bile to break down fats should gradually return, allowing her to slowly tolerate a wider variety of foods. It's a slow process of healing, but your careful approach of focusing on low-fat, nutrient-dense foods like seeds and avocado is providing her system the best possible environment to recover. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. This article may be helpful: Thank you for sharing your story—it's a valuable insight for other parents navigating similar challenges.
    • Beverage
      Diagnosed celiac for 1-2 months ago and everything makes me bloated.

      By Beverage · Posted

      I had a very rough month after diagnosis. No exaggeration, lost so much inflammatory weight, I looked like a bag of bones, underneath i had been literally starving to death. I did start feeling noticeably better after a month of very strict control of my kitchen and home. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? I ignored my doc and ate oats, yes they were gluten free, but some brands are at the higher end of gluten free. Lots of celics can eat Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats, but not me. I can now eat them, but they have to be grown and processed according to the "purity protocol" methods. I mail order them, Montana Gluten-Free brand. A food and symptoms and activities log can be helpful in tracking down issues. You might be totally aware, but I have to mention about the risk of airborne gluten. As the doc that diagnosed me warned . . Remember eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all lead to your stomach and intestines.  Are you getting any cross contamination? Airborne gluten? Any pets eating gluten (they eat it, lick themselves, you pet them...)? Any house remodeling? We live in an older home, always fixing something. I've gotten glutened from the dust from cutting into plaster walls, possibly also plywood (glues). The suggestions by many here on vitamin supplements also really helped me. I had some lingering allergies and asthma, which are now 99% gone. I was taking Albuterol inhaler every hour just to breathe, but thiamine in form of benfotiamine kicked that down to 1-2 times a day within a few days of starting it. Also, since cutting out inflammatory seed oils (canola, sunflower, grapeseed, etc) and cooking with real olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, and coconut oil, I have noticed even greater improvement overall and haven't used the inhaler in months! It takes time to weed out everything in your life that contains gluten, and it takes awhile to heal and rebuild your health. At first it's mentally exhausting, overwhelming, even obsessive, but it gets better and second nature.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.