What Is Going On? Another Er Trip!

[KimKF]

OK... so daughter hasn't been formally diagnosed with Celiac. She has had every test under the sun, with only the endoscopy showing subtle irritation of the stomach lining and very subtle indication of some (they didn't use the word flattening) in the intestines, and subtle changes to the duodenal folds. No way to formally diagnose with that. The biopsy came back negative. All negative with colonoscopy and barium xrays.

OK... so all serious stuff ruled out.

She leaves the hospital with just a suggestion of an elimation diet. She had no real idea what that was, but thought that it would at least include the things that she ate in the hospital. She felt great when she left yesterday. They sent her home with a subtle IBS diagnosis, but told her to remain Gluten Free. I kept saying, "you mean dairy free, too, right?" They never really gave her much direction.

So, they prescribed her Bentyl and Levsin-sublingual for stomach cramping (both of which she had in the hospital) and she went home. She ate jello (Kozy Shack Smartgels from the hospital), Honey Nut Chex and Natural Choice Hormel Ham (does say lactic acid culture not from dairy) and did have Gatorade. She ate those last night and woke up at 6am with nausea and stomach pain. She felt better than ever last night, she said. Was it any of these things she ate.

What sent her back in with such nausea and pain?

She did have Bentyl and Levsin in the hospital, but do these contain dairy? or gluten for that matter?

[Katie B]

I have no idea whether this will help but sometimes when the intestines are damaged they have trouble processing carbohydrates (amongst other things). Apparently having smaller meals spaced 2.5 - 3 hours apart is easier on the stomach. Looks like she's getting a ton of carbs though so maybe this is it? Ham can also contain gluten and as you mentioned lactose so it might be better to eat light fish like tilapia and chicken. Some people also have problems with digesting fructose so the kozy shack gels might be too much. I'd definitely stay away from lactose though (even if the Doctors don't suggest it) it's easy to add back in when she's feeling a bit better and you can test it. Is Honey Nut Chex gluten-free?

I don't want to eliminate everything she's eating but it's best to stick to whole foods like lactose-free milk, lactose-free cheese, fish, chicken, white rice (in small amounts like 1/2 cup), tuna, sweet potato (1/2 cup), pumpkin (1/2 cup at a time), zucchini (peeled and cooked very well) and things that are low in sugar/carbs.

If you can replicate what she was doing before and keep a food diary then you might be able to figure out what the problem is.

Hope this helps - of course there could be other things going on and perhaps a dietician that specializes in GI issues could be useful to meet dietary needs etc.

[Lori2]

Hormel's Cure81 Ham (gluten-free on their web-site) gave me diarrhea.

I keep a detailed daily journal of the foods I eat, the supplements I take and also of the consistancy and number of bowel movements (diarrhea is my main problem), my energy levels each day and also note any little thing that may be different each day. I,m three months into this and beginning to see some patterns.

[Skylark]

Some people around here react to the Chex. Can you get a cereal from a dedicated facility like Glutino?

To be honest, I agree with KatieB about avoiding processed foods. Grain products are particularly troublesome, as they are most prone to cross-contamination. Do you have time to cook her natural, whole foods until she's doing a little better?

[ravenwoodglass]

Some people around here react to the Chex. Can you get a cereal from a dedicated facility like Glutino?

To be honest, I agree with KatieB about avoiding processed foods. Grain products are particularly troublesome, as they are most prone to cross-contamination. Do you have time to cook her natural, whole foods until she's doing a little better?

Good advice and just what I was going to say. The less processed stuff the better right now.

[KimKF]

Good advice and just what I was going to say. The less processed stuff the better right now.

Thanks! They think it's the ham. She did fine for a few days on the Kozy Shack Smartgels, rice, the Snyders Gluten Free Pretzels and Gatorade. She will stick to that and then work with the nutritionist.

[Skylark]

Does she like chicken? A little homemade chicken and rice soup might go down easy and give her a little more sustenance.