Not Sure? Please Help.

[norge4me]

It has suddenly occurred to me that my 3.5 year old might be gluten sensitive. Here is what we are experiencing. She has NEVER had sold BMs but they seem to be getting worse. Because of this I think she is having trouble potty learning. She doesn't seem to know that she is actually going. She is a wild child - strong willed, irritable, generally unpleasant at times. There are times when she says her tummy hurts and thinking back I remember her telling me for a period of time that she said her back hurt. She is thin and petite but is growing although probably not as well as she should. She is pale and often has dark circles under her eyes. She has already been diagnosed with seasonal allergies and has asthma which has landed her in the hospital twice.

A bit of family history to go along with her history. My brother has colitis. He has had this since he was in his late teens. He also has hashimoto's disease and is clinically depressed. Both my grandparents are afflicted with auto immune disorder. My husband

[salexander421]

Definitely sounds like it could be a gluten intolerance/celiac disease. I would tell your pediatrician about the family medical history and that you suspect your daughter may have celiac and that you would like to have her tested. Make sure to ask for a full celiac panel, the pediatrician may go ahead and order it or they may refer you to a gastroenterologist first. It would be a good idea to try taking her gluten free even if the tests are negative but make sure you get ALL the testing (including endoscopy if blood test is positive)done before trying any kind of diet change. If she does have celiac going gluten free before testing is done can cause a false negative. Hope that helps!

[M0Mto3]

I agree with the previous post that it certainly could be Celiac's. I would definately do the bloodwork and go to GI first. I removed gluten from my daughter's diet and now we are dealing with a 2 month gluten challenge. It has not been fun.

[anna34]

Your first paragraph could have been written about my DD when she was 3.5 years old. She was diagnosed at 5.5 years after years of struggling.

Low iron that didn't resolve with supplementation was what got the doctor to refer her to a gastro. In addition to celiac blood testing, her doctor may also want to test her iron. From what I've read, low iron is a common indicator in children.

Our DD never had a solid BM, had dark circles, was slim and petite in stature, had a distended belly, began complaining of a sore tummy at 3.5 years, became gassy with painful bloating shortly thereafter, and had low iron. She also has very poor tooth enamel (another symptom). Potty training wasn't fully complete until she started the diet at 5.5 years.

Her symptoms resolved within one week of starting the diet.

It's worth advocating for testing.