One Munth Gluten Free -- And Still Losing Weight

[raeskids]

Help, please?

It's been a bit over a month since my son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (via biopsy, genetic screens, and labwork). Anyways, he is still not gaining any weight.

We've taken him off of lactose for 3months as well.

He seems to have more energy than several weeks ago, but is now lighter than when he first entered the hospital. He's seeing his GI Doctor on Monday and I'm not sure how he'll react to the continued weight loss.

Thoughts? Any one deal with this? Is it just because his gut was so damaged?

Thanks.

Rachel

[WhenDee]

Any reply you get here that isn't signed with "M.D. specializing in pediatric Celiac..." should be taken with a grain of salt.

When I was first coming off gluten I found that homemade smoothies made of fresh fruit only helped SO much - as did fresh juice. I would feel so good after drinking either one, as if my body had been starving for nutrition and was so happy now. I felt like I wasn't really absorbing food for a long time, but I could absorb really simple things like blended up fruit.

Is he still having diarrhea or no appetite? I know that when I get into gluten, my appetite disappears for a few days.

Are you making his food all at home? The longer I do this, the more I hate eating out. It's good for the family budget - but I'm finding that when I eat out or eat anything from a can/jar/easy-preparation-anything, I'm constantly getting into gluten. If you're in the USA, labeling is so lax that there's really no telling WHAT went on in that factory.

First thing I guess would be to make sure his diet is truly gluten-free, then start thinking about whether he has any other food problems. Maybe it just hasn't been long enough...

W

[AzizaRivers]

I'm not a parent of a celiac, but I experienced this same thing when I was first diagnosed. Your son's gut will take time to heal, and before it is healed, he will still not be absorbing nutrients properly and so may continue to lose weight for a little while. If it still concerns you, definitely talk to the doctor, but within the first stretch of healing time I would not worry too much.

[Kimmik95]

It can take a bit to start gaining weight. My son was diagnosed in November 2010 and has yet to really put on much weight. We had our checkup with the GI doctor a few weeks ago and he encouraged us to supliment his diet with Ensure (which he was already drinking). My son was given snacks with gluten in them at a daycamp in December and it took him about 6 weeks to get rid of the side affects of that (a tic), so that gave me some indication of how long it can take your body to start to heal after ingesting gluten.

Help, please?

It's been a bit over a month since my son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (via biopsy, genetic screens, and labwork). Anyways, he is still not gaining any weight.

We've taken him off of lactose for 3months as well.

He seems to have more energy than several weeks ago, but is now lighter than when he first entered the hospital. He's seeing his GI Doctor on Monday and I'm not sure how he'll react to the continued weight loss.

Thoughts? Any one deal with this? Is it just because his gut was so damaged?

Thanks.

Rachel