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Can An Infant Have Gluten Problems?


glutenfreemamax2

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glutenfreemamax2 Enthusiast

I have been excluding bf'ing my 6 week old. I was gluten-free through my pregnancy, but started eating gluten te last 3 weeks of my pregnancy and 2 weeks after(I was doing a gluten challenge but started feeling so ba I went back gluten-free).

He has on and off green poop. It's also stringy and mucusy. When I get glutened, I notice that r is miserable, stomach gurgling, reflux is way worse, and it's like diareaha. E was on prevacid solutabs an I wondered if they were gluten-free because the reaction was so bad. I stopped them and switched o zantac.

I have a pedi gi appointment tomorrow an want to know what questions i should be asking. I will be loosing my insurance at the end of the month.

Thanks!


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beebs Enthusiast

Yes they can absolutely. Even if its not gluten it sounds like he is reacting to something that you are eating. And the more you read on here lots of people also react to nightshades and soy...I'd start by taking your baby to a Dr that is good (recommended) with things like celiac and food intolerances. Good luck!

glutenfreemamax2 Enthusiast

Me pedi is no help and knows nothing about breastfeeding. He told me as long as there is no blood doesn't have a problem with food. I don't want there to be that much damage that he bleeds. Hopefully the gi is more knowlagable, but I really don't think she is. There is no one in the area who is knowlagable, and she is the only gastro pedi with in like 70 miles.

codetalker Contributor

I was DX

beebs Enthusiast

Me pedi is no help and knows nothing about breastfeeding. He told me as long as there is no blood doesn't have a problem with food. I don't want there to be that much damage that he bleeds. Hopefully the gi is more knowlagable, but I really don't think she is. There is no one in the area who is knowlagable, and she is the only gastro pedi with in like 70 miles.

You need a new Dr - that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Some Celiacs have no symptoms whatsoever! Not to mention my kids never had blood in their poo - and they were sick as anything and their stools were horrifying! :rolleyes: Yet another Dr giving out ridiculous advice.

jebby Enthusiast

Are you drinking milk or consuming dairy? We see tons of infants who react to casein, which is one of the major proteins in cow's milk, and can easily pass through breastmilk. My oldest had a severe milk protein intolerance in her first few months of life, with green stools with mucus, bad reflux, and we couldn't get her to gain weight. The latest statistics I've seen is that 3-5% of infants have some degree of reaction to cow's milk proteins.

M0Mto3 Rookie

I agree with pp that it sounds more like a dairy issue. My DD started to react to gluten that was passing through breastmilk, but the amount that passes through breastmilk is fairly small (some doc's don't believe it is enough to cause any issues). We had no idea that she was reacting until she started dropping in weight %. She started at the 50th% and maintained this until she was 2 months old. Then, as the gluten started to destroy her small intestine she started dropping in weight %. Her bms were always funky, but didn't get bad until she had destruction to the small intestine.

My ODS had the dairy intolerance and he would vomit if I ate any dairy products. This is extremely common in infants. Celiacs in infants is extrememly rare. It would probably benefit your LO to try a dairy/soy free diet. My ped GI told me that 50% of the time LOs who react to dairy also react to soy.


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lovegrov Collaborator

At 6 weeks it's highly unlikely to be a gluten thing.

richard

salexander421 Enthusiast

At 6 weeks it's highly unlikely to be a gluten thing.

richard

Sorry, but I totally disagree with this. My girly started having problems at 8 weeks. We first suspected dairy and took that out of my diet and she got better but her symptoms were not completely gone. It took a super strict elimination diet to get rid of all her symptoms and finally when she was around 12 months we finally realized that gluten was at the base of her issues. She has not had any testing yet (doctors have not been super supportive, it would be really good if you can find a more supportive doctor) but we know she carries at least one of the genes and she has major symptoms which include a rash that fits the profile of dermatitis hepertiformis so we definitely suspect celiac.

I think you have 3 options here; you could continue eating the way your eating and wait until your little one's older and the symptoms are worse and maybe a doctor would be willing to test, you could change your diet and try to figure out what's causing the symptoms and eliminate those foods, or you could give up breastfeeding and hope that formula is the answer (some baby's have problems with even hypoallergenic formula).

If I were in your shoe's I would take out dairy and gluten and give it a few weeks and see how things are, then go from there.

glutenfreemamax2 Enthusiast

I'm not drinking or eating any dairy, but have not cut the "hidden" dairy. All the gluten-free stuff I eat is dairy free. These lo's need owners manuals!

My last son was extremely allergic to dairy and eggs. No one believed me until there was blood in his stool, then they told me "must be salmonella". It was food allergies.

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

If you have one with a dairy/egg problem, there's a good chance you have two. Seems to go that way, unfortunately.

Keep eliminating til you figure out what works.

Good luck, I know it's awful to watch them not feel well and not know how to fix it.

glutenfreemamax2 Enthusiast

Gi was awesome. She said defiantly stay away from gluten fair and eggs. Upped the Zantac dose, and asked me to put him on a probioic.

Said I should get gene testing done for me since I

gluten-free and didn't tolerate the gluten challenge. What does everyone think about that?

beebs Enthusiast

Gi was awesome. She said defiantly stay away from gluten fair and eggs. Upped the Zantac dose, and asked me to put him on a probioic.

Said I should get gene testing done for me since I

gluten-free and didn't tolerate the gluten challenge. What does everyone think about that?

Sounds like a good GI - I was thinking about what people were saying about it unlikely to be gluten at this age. Who really knows- my son screamed from the day he was born, refluxy, colicky and bad stools. He vomited every single day of his life and it caused ulcers in is esophagus, it only stopped when he went gluten free after his biopsy at 18 months old. At first the Drs where like leave it, it'll be ok, he'll grow out of it etc etc. Fast forward 2 years later, he has since had a borderline biopsy, he has been tested for CF, and basically everything under the sun. It looks like there is more to the story than just the gluten - but there is deffo a problem with gluten there. Which is unsurprising, considering I, my mother and her father are all the same.

As for the genes - I just got mine done. I am the same that I can't do a challenge. The positive gene and the severity of my reaction to gluten leaves no doubt in either my or my Drs mind that it is celiac. Even though its not diagnostic for someone who can't do a challenge it can be as good as we can get iykwim.

come dance with me Enthusiast

My nephew was a screamer for the first 3 months of his life. His parents are vegan so they weren't having any dairy or eggs at all anyway then I said to try a gluten free diet since my LO is coeliac and it's genetic and it's from my side not her father's side. My brother's wife cut out gluten from her diet and now he poos easily and sleeps better and is a whole lot happier. His problems began in the first month of his life.

Roda Rising Star

When I breast fed my youngest son I had to eliminate all dairy, oats, rice and tree nuts. Reflux was still an issue, but I didn't know about gluten at that time. Funny how I look back now and realize I felt pretty darn good during those first 12 months of breastfeeding, I was gluten light without knowing it. He was almost 4 when I was diagnosed and he tested negative. He started having issues again at 5 1/2 that led us to retest for celiac and he was positive. In hindsite I believe he had gluten issues as an infant and obviously I did too.

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