Unhappy Teenager Making Transition To Gluten Free

[NYCCeliacMom]

My 16 year old is having a very hard time making the transition to gluten-free. I was diagnosed myself a week ago, and she was diagnosed about two weeks before Thanksgiving. She is clearly still very lactose intolerant (she is having the breath test early in January). I have tried having her take lactaid but she doesn't do it enough to make it meaningful. She is also not regularly taking the otc prilosec and is having a lot of reflux. I will be taking her to an allergist as well to see what is going on with the dairy. Basically she is very angry and unhappy at her situation and eating a very poor diet as a consequence. She has been eating some gluten and says it doesn't make her feel any worse than she "always" feels. She loves dairy. I have read that the protein in milk (casein) may be the problem, not the lactose. I have been looking at some vegan sources on the web, trying to find some snack tips, but many of the vegan sites involve a lot of wheat. She is maintaining herself on various fruit snacks, packaged food and Indian food I make at home. She refuses to eat cereal, etc. with alternative milks or Lactaid milk, so I am a bit at my wits end. Thanks for any tips.

[rumbles]

I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is having such a hard time. If it's any

consolation, this does get easier over time.

I'm not sure lactaid is the answer (I've never tried it, so I don't know), -

most folks take dairy out of their diet in the beginning until their digestive

system heals. For breakfast, you might want to try gluten free waffles or

bacon and eggs. As far as the reflux goes, was she tested for the amount

of acid in her stomach? (Too much acid and too little acid have the same

symptoms, - they both cause acid reflux. Too little acid is called

hypochlorhydria, - google it and you will find some articles that state

that it's somewhat common with celiac disease.)

I hope she starts feeling better quickly!

[HAK1031]

How old is she? I'm 17, went gluten-free at 15...if she would like someone to talk to PM me. It might be helpful for her. She's gotta just buckle down and do it...once she realizes it will give her her life back, she'll be on board. But given that she's a teenager, she's got to get there on her own, you can't force it. Yes, it's a major pain in the butt. But it's soooo worth it. Like I said, PM me and I'll give you my email.

[dilettantesteph]

My 11 year old son was throwing up about 10 times a day with bad reflux before being diagnosed and going on a gluten free diet. By then he was already on an acid free diet for the reflux, no chocolate, soda, dairy, fat, berries and tomatoes. Even with the Prilosec he was still having reflux. Going gluten free helped so much. He was feeling much better within a couple of days. After a couple of months he could eat everything but gluten again and is doing great. She can't cheat if she wants benefits. It is hard to accept at first. Then it is hard to figure out all the things that have gluten in them that you wouldn't expect. Maybe knowing his story will help her.

[purple]

Here are some links that might be helpful. When you look up vegan sites type in gluten free with it.

My 17 yr old dd is gluten-free/vegan. Its really hard to find food she likes but she's been doing it for 4 months by choice not because of health problems. She wants to take control of her health before she gets sick. Her sis, age 20, is gluten-free. Milk seems to bother her but not cheese or ice cream.

Don't pile up on soy products, they are not all that good for you. Search soy on here for more info. My 17 yr old drinks, rice/almond/soy or hemp milk on cereal.

She eats lots of beans, nuts, seeds, corn, rice, tomatoes, fruit, stir fry, pb, refried beans, tomato soup, potatoes, pretzels, popcorn popped in lots of coconut oil, muffins, cookies...at 6 months she might start eating fish again.

We use light olive oil for Chex Mix, it works great.

"Cooking Free" is a great book by Carol Fenster, for those with dairy/gluten/egg allergies.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I have posted links on these "links" too:

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?showtopic=50459

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?showtopic=52000

We just made these pretzels:

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?showtopic=53872

They were so good we ate 2 batches. Thinner are crunchier and a bit thicker are like mini bread sticks(like pencil thin) they get fatter when they rise and bake. I want to experiment with different flavors. Add some nutritional yeast and they might taste cheesy I hope.

Need any specific food ideas, I will try to help.

[RiceGuy]

Often times, dairy just isn't tolerated during the healing process. Some are able to add it back into the diet once they feel better, while others are not. It will likely be really helpful to avoid dairy even if Lactaid worked for her. The sooner and more fully she embraces the diet, the more quickly she'll feel better. From all I've read, the longer she waits, the more likely she'll be to continue to have problems with things like dairy. I've also read that casein is highly addictive, so she might be surprised how much of the fondness she has for it is actually an addiction. Some research seems to indicate a similar effect from gluten.

Cereals certainly aren't all there is for breakfast, but aside from the cold cereals (which need some sort of milk) there are plenty of wonderful gluten-free hot cereals to choose from.

I like to say that the gluten-free diet isn't so limiting, as it is liberating. I actually have far more variety in my diet now than I ever did before going gluten-free. The typical American diet is so focused on wheat, dairy, and meat, it is little wonder why Americans have such a lower state of health than many other cultures around the world.

If your daughter wants meal ideas, all she needs to do is ask. This board is teaming with helpful members with wonder recipe ideas and advice.

Here's a list of all sorts of gluten-free recipes:

https://www.celiac.com/categories/Gluten%252dFree-Recipes/

There is a vegetarian/vegan Celiac forum, though somewhat new. It's located at Open Original Shared Link

[purple]

I just posted the recipe for df Chex Mix under the recipe section...enjoy. Be sure to buy 3 boxes and use the coupon on the front of the box if it is still on it.

[Treen Bean]

I was gluten free/casein free for one year. After that, I gradually starting reincorporating dairy back into my diet. I used vegan shortening and margarine in my baking, Tofutti Better Thank Cream Cheese, and Tofutti Sour Cream. I also drank soy/rice/almond or hemp milk. I think Turtle Mountain is the brand that makes amazing Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Soy ice cream is good too. You can even find gluten free/casein free Carrot Cake ice cream! Kinnikinnick makes great gluten/casein free breads, bagels, muffins, cookies, waffles, etc...

Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

[mef]

I completely agree with what HAK1031 said.

I had the worse time fully transitioning and sticking to the diet. I was diagnosed in November 2007 and I didn't commit to the diet until May 2008. More than anything, I was so angry with my diagnosis. I can't really pinpoint what made me realize that I needed to be gluten-free. I had gone through a serious bout of depression prior to being diagnosed and I hated that my 'common sense' had become blunted over time. I missed being myself.

After becoming gluten free, I became calmer and happier to be me. I noticed that my ability to focus came back. Depending on how long your daughter has been suffering, she may not fully realize that she is actually having a reaction to gluten. I know I didn't, I thought I was fine.

She needs to make the choice herself. You are doing a great thing to create a supporting environment, but unless she realizes the benefits of being gluten-free and consquences of not being gluten-free on her own, she might resent the diet and not follow it. For me, I was so focused on what was being taken away from me, I couldn't handle it all at once. A great thing that helped was focusing on what I could eat. Best of luck! Feel free to msg me if you have any additional questions.