Gluten Free For 1 Month Still Lots Of Belly Pain

[Mizzo]

My daughter went gluten free 1 month ago based on positive blood work and scope. She still has daily tummy pain, although shorter in length and intensity. A common thread I read about was dairy intolerance. Just wondering if this is very common or not. I very specifically asked the nutritionist this question and her response was

"Do not take her off dairy the benefits of dairy out way the possibility of aggravation, besides it would only be for a month or so" I am not sure I agree with this.

Dairy is a huge part of her daily life, so this would change a lot even if temporary but I am willing to try it. More so, I really just want her to stop hurting .

Any thoughts out there.

[debmom]

My daughter went gluten free 1 month ago based on positive blood work and scope. She still has daily tummy pain, although shorter in length and intensity. A common thread I read about was dairy intolerance. Just wondering if this is very common or not. I very specifically asked the nutritionist this question and her response was

"Do not take her off dairy the benefits of dairy out way the possibility of aggravation, besides it would only be for a month or so" I am not sure I agree with this.

Dairy is a huge part of her daily life, so this would change a lot even if temporary but I am willing to try it. More so, I really just want her to stop hurting .

Any thoughts out there.

[AlysounRI]

"Do not take her off dairy the benefits of dairy out way the possibility of aggravation, besides it would only be for a month or so" I am not sure I agree with this.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

This makes me want to scream.

Please keep in mind that NO creature after it is fully weaned needs milk anymore.

Cow dairy has these ginormous protein chains that are very very difficult to break down, esp. if you are lacking the enzymes (lactose) to break it all down. Goat and sheep dairy are much easier to digest because the protein changes are much smaller. Casein is another protein that gives people problems but I don't know much about that one.

Benefits of dairy? Like calcium and vitamin D? Well they have to fortify milk with vitamin D and you can get calcium through leafy green vegetables and legumes. There are alternate sources. A lot of kids cannot process milk, myself included. I got taken off dairy, except yoghurt, when I was 6 months old. I just couldn't handle it, and maybe your daughter cannot either. I still can't handle most dairy aside from yoghurt and will happuly use nut and rice milk as a substitute. A lot of other people do, too.

Why not experiment and take her off dairy, providing that you can and will supply calcium some other way.

See if her stomach aches go away.

Many people the world over do not consume dairy and get calcium from lots of other sources.

The dairy industry spreads a lot of propaganda, in my opinion.

But please others here, I hope you all weigh in.

[debmom]

It took my daughter a full six weeks to lose the pain completely. We saw some immediate improvement, and then for the next six weeks she got slowly better. Give it some more time--

[skigirlchar]

i am a HUGE dairy lover... and it's my worst enemy - casein is a protein found in animal milk. the other is whey protein (it's that liquid that has separated and is found on top when you open a carton of yogurt that you mix back in.)

at this point, my body can't process either and as an athlete this is tough (whey and casein protein shakes & supplements abound but all are derived from animals.)

i have switched to rice milk, some almond milk, i use coconut milk (it's thicker and i feel like it leaves a coating on my tongue) to cook with, and i drink coconut water (it is thinner - think skim milk consistency w/ a sweetness.) I know a number of people who swear by hemp milk (it does NOT contain THC - i just don't like the taste.)

when i find i HAVE to have cheese (the longer off it, the less the craving... but i still will crave it occasionally) i get goat cheese - MAKE SURE IT REALLY IS GOAT (a lot of feta is really made from cow's milk so it's mislabeled) and while i still will get a response, it tends to be less painful.

when i tried to substitute w/ soy i all but ended up in the hospital w/ an allergic reaction twice (i tried it twice because we thought the 1st reaction was to something else.)

in addition to most nutritionists concerns of lack of calcium due to bone growth issues, many are also concerned w/ the removal of casein and whey which promote muscle growth. Obvious this is important to be aware of, but if your child is getting ill from eating/drinking dairy, then it would make sense to take a look at some Gluten Free /Casein Free cookbooks. Some have really great substitutions listed. My fave happens to be written for autistic families (my background is as an autism therapist and one of my families gave it to me when i was undergoing testing)

though they may (depending on where you live) cost a bit more than regular milk, i would suggest buying a number of different brands and letting your daughter "taste test" them to see what she likes and what she doesn't as a way to have some control over what is going on w/ her health and her diet.

good luck!

[weishy]

there are a lot of celiacs in our group who have multiple allergies including dairy. it could be a possibility.

another thing is that what's more difficult than being a celiac is what they call a 'hypersensitive celiac.' you may want to ask a celiac specialist about this (other docs may not be aware of these issues). or there may be cross contamination done when doing things like cooking in the kitchen, that is cooking your child's food in the same items that you cook gluten items or using eating utensils in gluten containing foods and then your child is using the same utensils.

good luck!