Gluten Free But Still Stomach Pain

[kate12345]

My 5 year old has been on a gluten free diet probably 10 days now. Only one mistake that I know of happened. She is better but still complaining of stomach pain. It starts as soon as she swallows a bite for most foods. She especially has not liked fruits when all this started. We do not have the results of the biopsy yet. We should get them anytime. When she was a baby, she had blood in her stool, which was eliminated with no dairy products. The dr said that they outgrow that and it is not the problem. I do not know if I should just go to the pediatrician and ask for food allergy testing or ask for an allergist specialist or what.

I do not know if 10 days gluten free is enough to determine if gluten is the cause of pain or not. She had a positive DGP IgG, which led to the biopsy.

Ideas?

Thanks, Jennifer

[sahm-i-am]

I know that casein and lactose can be hard on Celiac's systems, especially when healing. Take out dairy while your child is healing. If she has had Celiac since birth there is alot of healing that needs to take place. It will take a while. Maybe in a few months you can add diary back in and see how she tolerates it. My daughter has been gluten free for 18 months (she is 12 yo) and still drinks lactose free milk, but even if she drinks too much she will get a stomach ache. There are cow milk alternatives.

If you are new to the entire gluten free lifestyle you may want to look at cross-contamination with gluten in the house. Also, playdough has gluten, look at art supplies, etc that may get on her fingers and then gets transferred to her mouth. Does she go to preschool/Kindergarten? She may be getting gluten there.

[kate12345]

Great. That helps. We just found out today that the biopsy confirmed Celiac. I have a lot of mixed feelings but really glad that I may have found someway to keep her stomach from hurting. Thanks, Jennifer

[kate12345]

Is the playdough ok as long as she washes her hands after she plays with it?

[alex11602]

Is the playdough ok as long as she washes her hands after she plays with it?

In my experience with my 5 year old daughter, regular playdough is not ok for us because she doesn't always remember to keep her hands away from her mouth. Good Luck.

[sahm-i-am]

Katie - here is a link to a resource you might find useful: https://www.celiac.com/categories/Celiac-Disease-%26amp%3B-Kids-by-Danna-Korn/

Danna Korn started a group called R.O.C.K. (Raising our Celiac Kids) and they have support groups/websites in alot of states, too. She has a wealth of information

that helped me. An adult living a gluten free lifestyle is very different than a child growing up in a gluten free lifestyle. There are so many more pitfalls to be aware

of for kids. And how many of us were learning to read labels as kids??? But our kids have to learn in order to stay healthy. We have to teach our kids to ask about ingredients

before they eat a treat offered by a friend. We have to train them to be aware of crumbs and cross contamination before they go to sleepovers. If they go out to eat with friends they have to learn how to ask the right questions before ordering a meal. These are some of the things I have learned from Danna and others. At least you have alot of time before these scenarios happen for your daughter! But you do have to deal with things that I didn't, like playdough. And making sure she doesn't impulsively share a snack of a friend. But this board is also filled with parents that have been in your shoes - such a nice place. Don't be afraid to ask.