Weird Withdrawal Symptoms?

[momof4gf]

I'm new to the gluten free thing and was wondering if anyone has heard of this - I started my 8-year-old daughter on a gluten free diet 2 months ago because of positive IgG and IgA antibodies on a finger prick test done by a homeopath. She responded really well with much better behavior, less irritability, and fewer stomachaches and headaches. However, a couple weeks into the diet all of her eyelashes fell out and she started complaining of blurry vision. I took her to the eye doctor today who said her eyes look perfectly healthy but no matter what prescription she used, she could not get my daughter to see better than 20/60. The doctor is very concerned and wants her to see a neuroopthamologist?? She also thinks we should discontinue the gluten free diet and see if her eyesight improves. I have 3 other children who also had positive antibodies and have been on the diet and I wanted to start all of them on gluten again and see a pediatric gastroenterologist for a more definitive diagnosis. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

[ravenwoodglass]

Could your DD have gotten glutened? I ask because getting glutened messes up my vision for a while. Has your regular doctor, her ped, done vitamin and mineral panels on her? She may need some supplements. I doubt being on the diet is messing her up but she may be very sensitive to CC and reacting to that. Have you deglutened the kitchen? New toaster, cutting board etc?

[momof4gf]

Thanks, ravenwoodglass, I don't think she was glutened - I have tried to make our entire kitchen gluten free since all my children showed to have antibodies - new toaster but not cutting boards, guess I should replace those too! I only bring gluten free food into the house now. I was just wondering if because she probably still had gluten in her system at 2 weeks on the diet if it could be causing the problem?? I have not done a nutritional panel on her but she does have an appt with a GI doc next month so I will ask her about that. Also, since I'm new I'm not familiar with all the lingo - what is CC?

[SGWhiskers]

I would get a second opinion about taking her off the gluten-free diet.

Also, Celiac is associated with many autoimmune conditions. A friend of mine's teenage son lost all his eyelashes then eyebrows, then eventually patches of hair. He and then his whole family were eventually diagnosed with multiple autoimmune disfunctions at the same time. he did not have vision problems though. I'm not aware of a direct link between alopecia areata and Celiac, but they are both autoimmune. IF that is what daughter has. Is the eye discomfort causing her to rub her eyes so much the lashes fall out? I would be most worried about the vision.

Another thought. You said that even with correction, the doctor could not get her vision past 20/60. What about taking her to a pediatric optholomologist. She's not that young, but maybe someone who works with kids all day has some tricks to get a better response from her.

I wish you the best trying to figure this one out. It looks like a tricky one.

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks, ravenwoodglass, I don't think she was glutened - I have tried to make our entire kitchen gluten free since all my children showed to have antibodies - new toaster but not cutting boards, guess I should replace those too! I only bring gluten free food into the house now. I was just wondering if because she probably still had gluten in her system at 2 weeks on the diet if it could be causing the problem?? I have not done a nutritional panel on her but she does have an appt with a GI doc next month so I will ask her about that. Also, since I'm new I'm not familiar with all the lingo - what is CC?

CC is cross contamination. For example eating something like FF that are gluten free but cooked in the same oil as onion rings would CC the frys.

If she is only two weeks into the diet she is still healing. You note she has an appointment with the GI in a month, do be aware that if you are looking for testing for celiac she needs to still be eating gluten for testing. Being gluten free will cause a false negative on testing and those are common enough, especially with young folks, even on a full gluten diet.

If she is already diagnosed I would not put her back on gluten. That was very poor advice. Being gluten free would not cause the issues with her eyes. And yes she most likely does still have antibodies floating around in her system. Plus even a small amount of gluten will flare those antibodies into action.

Also is she in school? Are they aware of her need to be gluten free? Some of the products used in arts and crafts as well as snacks etc can be an issue in school.