@#%$!

[BeHappy]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Sorry, had to let it out.

My daughter (3) woke up covered in diarrhea this morning. I let her stay home from school because I don't know if she will soil herself in school. I don't get it. Why does she soil herself only when she is glutened?? It's usually very constipated when she's been glutened so I think this diarrhea was the last of the reaction this time around.... and it smells! So HORRIBLE!! Poor kid. I try not to freak out on her its not her fault...

But why can't she make it in the toilet? It's a teeny tiny rotten smelling poo like 5 times a day for a week until the reaction passes. funny though, she never wets the bed at night. It's only during the day. The teachers are instructed to send her to the bathroom every hour. and she usually goes- Full bladder!

I'm just so overwhelmed with the constant #1 and #2 accidents I'm not getting what the connection is to gluten but it happens every time. I guess that's just how she reacts. It's just so HARD. I feel so dirty, so irresponsible, so I cant even explain how I'm feeling. I don't even know if I'm making any sense.

*sigh*

[kareng]

I know it frustrating. She is only 3 so her control of bodily functions is new and not perfect yet. The muscles aren't as strong as they will be. My boys had potty problems when they felt sick or allergies kicked in - nothing to do with celiac disease. So feeling bad may make it even harder or lower on her priority list.

Hang in there Mom! She will outgrow the bathroom issues. If she still has problems in a year or two, there are exercises to build up the bladder and pooping muscles. Also, lists of foods to eliminate temporarily.

[srall]

Poor Mama and poor baby. Before I went gluten free, there were a couple of times that I wasn't sure I could get myself to a bathroom. It was that sudden. I think I decided to give the diet a go when I was in a store with no public restroom and became so overwhelmed I had to get to a bathroom. I wanted to be in my own bathroom which was a 5 minute drive away. I was so close to losing it I finally just gave myself permission to go in the car. I could just clean it up and no one would know. Luckily I did make it home without any incident, and sorry for TMI here, but I just want to help you understand how violently it can come on. Hopefully she'll get herself to the bathroom. And hopefully being gluten free with clear up some of the D.

[weluvgators]

Have you considered setting a little potty next to her bed? We keep our toddler potty on a waterproof mat by the bed, and we find it very helpful for the kids when they are little. Sometimes it is really hard to make it far when that urgent need to go strikes. And she may be more inclined to wake and get out of bed if she knows she doesn't have far to go.

And I would be taking a much harder look at what she is eating. Is there much in the way of processed foods? Is she in a gluten free home? I was horribly shocked at the extents we have had to go to help our child. I thought living "gluten free" would be much easier than it has proved to be! And we have had to advocate hard for proper accomodation in the school setting, or else we were dealing with chronic symptoms.

Good luck, Mama! And you made total sense . . . I think many of us here can relate all too well.

[seezee]

Our next door neighbor's daughter had similar troubles at 3. She doesn't have celiac, but they diagnosed her with encopresis which they were able to help her with. I believe she saw a GI doctor for this.

[katiekay]

I may be the only one to state this but yes, when a child has allergies to wheat/gluten and they are exposed to wheat/gluten then it makes them have a hard time controlling their bladder. My daughter at 18 months old has not been diagnosed but I noticed when I took her off gluten she could go all night without wetting the bed and stayed dry all day and now that she is back on gluten she can not control her bladder day or night. She can just have finished on the potty and then she is dribbling somewhere else. It is very frustrating but not her fault! Anyway I read the following below and it is what tipped me off to my daughter having allergies to wheat. I can state that it absolutely does make a difference when she is exposed to wheat. I can also state that other mommies have told me the same thing and often reference their own problems with bed wetting and now discovering that they themselves had a problem with wheat/gluten. And 3 years old does not mean that a child can not control their bladder.

I am copying the following from the book Infant Potty Training by Laurie Boucke.

"There is a correlation between food sensitivities/allergies and baby's elimination frequency (both pees and poo), misses, bedwetting and enuresis. Many babies become incontinent, go far more often than usual, lose their elimination awareness and stop signaling in reaction to wheat, gluten, soy, citrus, tomatoes, vinegar, strawberries, cow's milk/dairy, pineapple, tea and other foods. Breastfeeding mothers have found that if they cut out one or more foods from their diet, the elimination problems usually disappear within a few weeks. Some babies have a mild sensitivity to certain foods so that there might not be a problem if a mother has, say, a little wheat, but the more wheat she consumes, the greater the elimination complications. Here are comments from mothers:

* "My baby was dry at night even though she nursed several times throughout the night. Then I had an increase in wheat consumption, and she started waking up completely soaked. When I figured out wheat was making her incontinent at night and we eliminated it from our diets, she resumed her night dryness."

* "My child had tons of accidents from 8-13 months until I discovered she had a food allergy. Then we went from no catches to a near grad almost overnight."

* "I stopped eating wheat; he stopped pooping constantly. It was EC magic. We ditched dipes permanently a month later!"

* "The only time we have damp or wet pants is when my son has soy (and he's a grad)."

One wonders if food sensitivities / allergies might explain why some traditionally toilet trained children have trouble with sphincter control for years (thus supporting the erroneous theory that kids are unaware, don't care and have no control)."

[BeHappy]

Wow, that really puts things in perspective katie! Thank you! I just hope she learns to control it before she starts to get embarrassed about it in school... Never a dull moment!

But I have to say, she does SO BEAUTIFULLY when she is fully gluten-free! Call me crazy, but she looks..Peaceful would be the word I'd say. I like those days

[katiekay]

I know exactly what you mean when you say peaceful. I am currently having a horrible time.

[dilettantesteph]

I had to look at your post. Your title was unusual for someone with the username BeHappy!.

When I am glutened, I occasionally can't make it to the bathroom myself. I have soiled my pants plenty, and that is when I am home not far from the bathroom. There is a reason they call it uncontrollable diarrhea. I also have problems with control of #1 when glutened.

She might not ever be able to control it when glutened. I only get control of it when I don't eat gluten.

[katiekay]

I have not been diagnosed with anything but I'm pretty sure I at least have an allergy to wheat. We were off wheat and since being back on wheat I have noticed my urgency go way up.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I'm so sorry! My DD has the same type of problem. She has potty accidents (just pee thankfully) all over the place within minutes of being glutened.