I Guess It's True?

[glutenfreemamax2]

My 3 year old has had digestion issues since he was born. MAJOR food allergies form about 2 weeks. Allergic to ALL formulas. I ended up nursing him and cutting out all casein and eggs. I was a differnt baby. He still had reflux. Was always (still is) constipated. Reflux is still bad. He was a silent refluxer. The GI told me to keep him on Miralax. I refused. She wanted to test him for Celiac. I refused. Now here we are, they are testing ME. So I finally agreed to the blood work. I just called and got another refill on the reflux meds. This poor child has never slept through the night. He ate gluten free all morning today, never complained. I gave him a gluten-free turkey burger for lunch on a regular bun. Seeme ok until about 2 hours after he ate it.He started complaining of his tummy hurting, which is so frequent with him. He likes pressure on his tummy. I was steering the shopping cart with one hand, and the other hand putting pressure on his belly. So now i'm convinced he is going to benefit from the gluten-free diet. We had the lab work done this morning. I'm scared either way with the results.

Any advice? I also have a 5 year old who insisted on buying pop tarts. I got them, but told him he had to eat it outside.

[concernedmamma]

Hugs to you Mamma! I can completely empathize with your statement of being scared either way. I was the one who pushed for Celiac testing through our pediatrician. When the results came back positive for my son (aged 4, almost 5 at the time), I had many people give me a hard time when I was upset- they felt like since I had aske/pushedd for the testing, I should be happy or at least ok with the results! Then, we had to wait for the biopsy results and I can't tell you how many times I told my husband I didn't know what I wanted the results to be- if they were positive for Celiac, what did that mean? what would he eat? how would we live? could he go to birthday parties? BUT, if it was negative, we were back to square one and what did that mean for our son's health? I spent many nights awake/in tears just wondering what the results would be and how we would deal either way.

All I can tell you is that now that we KNOW he has Celiac, we are able to do something about it. I feel a sense of relief, I feel better that I know what was wrong and can do something to help Jacob feel better. There are definitely challenges to the diet and lifestyle, but every day it gets a bit easier. I still don't enjoy grocery shopping, but It has been so wonderful to see so many people try to help us, to try to educate themselves, to make their homes a safe place for Jacob to be and eat. I do think that being diagnosed at such a young age is a blessing. They are learning a way of life that will not be a 'hardship' later- It will just be the way things are!

Hugs to you and good luck during this process!

[glutenfreemamax2]

Hugs to you Mamma! I can completely empathize with your statement of being scared either way. I was the one who pushed for Celiac testing through our pediatrician. When the results came back positive for my son (aged 4, almost 5 at the time), I had many people give me a hard time when I was upset- they felt like since I had aske/pushedd for the testing, I should be happy or at least ok with the results! Then, we had to wait for the biopsy results and I can't tell you how many times I told my husband I didn't know what I wanted the results to be- if they were positive for Celiac, what did that mean? what would he eat? how would we live? could he go to birthday parties? BUT, if it was negative, we were back to square one and what did that mean for our son's health? I spent many nights awake/in tears just wondering what the results would be and how we would deal either way.

All I can tell you is that now that we KNOW he has Celiac, we are able to do something about it. I feel a sense of relief, I feel better that I know what was wrong and can do something to help Jacob feel better. There are definitely challenges to the diet and lifestyle, but every day it gets a bit easier. I still don't enjoy grocery shopping, but It has been so wonderful to see so many people try to help us, to try to educate themselves, to make their homes a safe place for Jacob to be and eat. I do think that being diagnosed at such a young age is a blessing. They are learning a way of life that will not be a 'hardship' later- It will just be the way things are!

Hugs to you and good luck during this process!

Thank you. My older son wanted poptarts yesterday. I explained that Dean needed to eat more like mommy, because bread made his tummy hurt. That's all I said. This morning, my older son left a pop tart sitting on the table. Dean came over and said "Mommy, I no like to eat poptarts. They make my belly hurt!" So now I guess I am going to be more strict abot gluten-free for him. I am going to have to pack his lunch/snacks for school, since they provide food. It's going to be a pain, and I hope the school understands how important this is. I can't go in there to talk to them in person, but I will definatly be calling first thing in the morning to let them know. It's so challenging.

[MomHeather]

Thank you. My older son wanted poptarts yesterday. I explained that Dean needed to eat more like mommy, because bread made his tummy hurt. That's all I said. This morning, my older son left a pop tart sitting on the table. Dean came over and said "Mommy, I no like to eat poptarts. They make my belly hurt!" So now I guess I am going to be more strict abot gluten-free for him. I am going to have to pack his lunch/snacks for school, since they provide food. It's going to be a pain, and I hope the school understands how important this is. I can't go in there to talk to them in person, but I will definatly be calling first thing in the morning to let them know. It's so challenging.

My 2 year old was diagnosed with celiac in August. While waiting for the results of the endoscopy, I tried to mentally prepare myself. I was totally overwhelmed for a few days after the diagnosis became official. But after I spent a week hitting different stores and finding out where I could buy things I calmed down. Two months into it, it's still hard (especially when we aren't at home) but not nearly as bad as I feared.

His twin sister does not have celiac, and they have always shared. I try to make things "fair" and have realized that he isn't that worried about it. He knows that gluten makes his tummy hurt, so he asks about everything he eats. Listening to two-year-olds discuss who can eat gluten and who cannot is pretty entertaining. Most of our meals are gluten-free now, so he can eat most of the food at home.