Hyperactive Child, Should I Get Her Tested?

[zeta-lilly]

I have a two year old who is hyperactive. She doesn't have any GI symptoms or any other signs of ill health. But she has the energy of ten kids and she moves from one activity to another to another. She's happy all the time, way less emotional than other kids her age, has no stranger anxiety, smiles and laughs all the time, loves everyone and everything. But when we do activities with other kids it's very obvious that there's a difference. I see other kids just sitting in their strollers drinking their sippy cups and she's trying to climb out. She never just sits. I'm getting advice on potty training, and people keep saying to just have her sit on the potty while we're reading a book, and I'm like, there's no way. She sits on it for two seconds before she's bored and has to find the next activity. She can't stand reading books, they move way too slow for her. She's just constantly on the move.

Coincidentally, I recently began a gluten-free diet on the hunch that I had celiac disease (I'll list my symptoms below), and they pretty much all went away. So I'm pretty sure that I have celiac disease, and I feel so much better that I'm not willing to go back on gluten just to prove that it made me sick in the first place. When I made the switch, I just fed her what I cooked for myself because it seemed silly to make two separate dinners, and after a few days, she seemed calmer and more focused. Maybe it was a coincidence, but she seemed less hyper. I mentioned it to her doctor and he said that she doesn't exhibit any of the symptoms of celiac, and kind of scoffed when I told him I hadn't been tested. He said he didn't think she had adhd (yea, he spent 5 minutes with her, I'm with her all day).

I'm trying to keep going on the gluten-free diet with her, but I don't have the support of my extended family. My parents refuse to believe that diet can treat this stuff. When my mom's with her she feeds her crackers and cereal, even though I've asked her not to. Everyone seems to think it's a new-agey thing.

I'm just not sure how to proceed. Is 2 too young to have adhd? Should I try to find another doctor to diagnose her? Does anyone else have a hyper 2-year old? She really is a wonderful kid, but I don't want her to have to go through life without being able to sit still.

my symptoms prior to going gluten free:

chronic, daily nausea

extreme fatigue

hunger to the point of craving

hypothyroidism

pica craving during pregnancy

esophageal birth defects in child

migraines

irregular/missed periods

ataxia (I started tripping and falling about once a week)

add (no hyperactivity)

geographic tongue

depression

extreme anxiety

irritability

horizontal nail ridges

all of these symptoms have either disappeared or dramatically lessened since going gluten free.

[Mother of Jibril]

My three-year-old is also VERY active. I know exactly what you mean about potty training! We had an especially difficult time with #2 because she was constipated (due to gluten) and did NOT want to sit on the potty for long.

I'm not big on parenting books, but one that I found really useful was "Living With the Active Child" by Linda Budd. She makes a distinction between "active" and "hyperactive"... can your daughter focus on activites that she's really interested in? Like a cartoon or a game, for example. If so, then chances are good she doesn't have ADD. I have read that for kids who have ADD/ADHD, high fructose corn syrup and food dyes can be a big problem.

As far as testing for celiac goes... it couldn't hurt to try, but you might not get a positive result in such a young child. Other parents can probably tell you more about this.

[2sensitivekids]

My 6 year old has ADHD symptoms although she can't be officially tested until closer to 7 (I live in Canada). Since birth we had major problems with her. She only ate 2oz of milk at a time and NEVER slept. My husband and I took turns holding her from around midnight to 6am every night. She wasn't the classic colic but just very irritable. She also had bad rashes, severe cradle cap and diaper rash. Turns out she is allergic to everything under the sun like dairy, wheat, soy, msg, perfume, cat hair and the list goes on.

When she was around 2 she would routinely take 2 hour temper tantrums and everyone thought we had an out-of-control child. She literally bounced off the walls from the time she got up until the time she went to be. She always slept way less than most children, regardless of our efforts to get her to sleep. We once tried the cry-it-out method and she cried for over two hours and fell asleep for half and hour and was back up for another round. She still doesn't sleep through the night at age 6 and we are now trying a gluten-free diet (just recently had scratch tests done). However, we had scratch-testing done and she scored a 2+ so I don't know if this might be the culprit as she did improve some after we took out the dairy so there could be multiple foods that are contributing to the behavior.

I would definitely have your daughter tested as I too always thought mine was way different than most kids. WAY more energy. I always caught myself wishing she was more "normal", whatever that is I never knew that foods could cause such changes in behavior until a Naturopath informed me.

[sugarsue]

Even if she tests negative for celiac, she could still benefit from gluten free. My 7 yr old is very affected by artificial dyes, dairy (which she is allergic to) and now I suspect gluten. She is very active and shows signs of ADHD. She tested negative for celiac's. I plan on doing a gluten free trial on her. I have noticed when she has been wheat free in the past, her behavior has improved. I know it's better to find out whether celiac or not before going gluten free. But if it may take years to find out, I personally think it's worth a try and see if it helps.

I am glad you are much improved on gluten free. I feel so much better when I'm off it too. Good luck with your daughter!

Susan