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Helping My Husband - Cope With gluten-free

Birdie19

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Birdie19 Rookie
Birdie19
Posted

Does anyone have any tips for helping my husband cope with becoming gluten free?

A couple of weeks ago we started gluten-free for our daughter and the results have been amazing. I am also convinced my husband's EXTREME fatigue, bloating, gas, etc is caused by gluten. I have been pushing him to trial gluten free and he has been really reluctant saying I love my apple fritter, etc. Really the reality is he is LAZY! He doesn't want to think about these things when he by himself. When he is home he automatically gluten-free because the whole house is.....and he doesn't want to deal with asking when we are out. Causes anxiety or something for him.

I offer to make him some of his favorite things like donuts and other treats but he just seems to be having a hard time coping. Bare in mind he grew up with a mom with Celiac for the past 20 years in a country (Ireland) that was not really well equipped with alternatives so he has a history of 'hating' the process and disease already.

Any thoughts or ideas how I can help him past this I really appreciate it.

I went gluten-free 2 weeks ago with my daughter, I feel fantastic, I have lost 10 lbs and I feel like I have more energy and I am more awake.

I want him to get there....

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mommyto2kids Collaborator
mommyto2kids
Posted

Has he been tested for celiac? If his mother had it, he may have it.

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

:) Our kids were diagnosed with Celiac Disease in March (we knew it was coming based on test results, genetics, symptoms, etc). Then I realized it was my turn to go see a good GI. That good GI took one look at my husband's genetics and said, "He's not out of the woods! He needs to see me." Of course, it's been a month since then and my dear husband is still in denial...

A word of caution: make sure you complete all the Celiac testing before any/all of you go off gluten. The tests will not be accurate without consumption of gluten.

In our case: our house is gluten free. My husband eats gluten while he's outside the house. I'm not asking him to be 100% gluten-free until he actually gets it together to test. Then, if he tests positive for Celiac, it's time to go 100% gluten-free. If someone has Celiac and does not adhere to a 100% gluten-free diet, their mortality rate is twice that of the general population. Yep, twice as likely to die. That's how I get my girlfriends, brother, mother and others who actually listen to me to get tested :).

I adore my stubborn, slow-moving husband and I'd like him around for a long time. I guess I don't have a lot of good advice other than to let you know you're not alone :)

If I had an apple-fritter loving husband, I'd tell him to eat one every day for two months and then make him go do the Celiac bloodwork. :) That might work!

Birdie19 Rookie
Birdie19
Posted
  • Author

Thank you, my husband had the blood work done and it was negative. They recommended he do the biopsy because of his family history and because our daughter labs were positive. We made the appt and he said I'd rather just go gluten free than have the biposy, it's cheaper. So once I cancelled his appt he didn't do the diet.

However it turns out that he has been gluten free since Sunday he just didn't tell me?! So apparently I was worrying for nothing. Whole family is now gluten free. Our daughter is still having distention though, so I am still a little concerned.

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

Hi there,

So glad to hear your husband is committed to being gluten-free! That's great! Now he can be a role model for my husband!

Both our girls have been gluten-free for about 10 weeks now. Just the other day I noticed that both had distended bellies. I've been wondering what caused that. I don't think that it was gluten--we've been excellent at controlling the gluten. One of our girls has low digestive enzyme levels for sugars, fats, and lactose. I've also heard that it can take a while for their bellies to recover.

Any ideas about the distention?

Lfrost Explorer
Lfrost
Posted

Hi there,

So glad to hear your husband is committed to being gluten-free! That's great! Now he can be a role model for my husband!

Both our girls have been gluten-free for about 10 weeks now. Just the other day I noticed that both had distended bellies. I've been wondering what caused that. I don't think that it was gluten--we've been excellent at controlling the gluten. One of our girls has low digestive enzyme levels for sugars, fats, and lactose. I've also heard that it can take a while for their bellies to recover.

Any ideas about the distention?

I would love to hear what anyone has to say about the distention! My son's behavior has improved so much since going gluten-free, however, just last night I noticed his little belly was distended. I figured it must be because of how much he is eating now (he used to eat like a bird and is now eating a lot more). But it definately looked distended.

Sesara Rookie
Sesara
Posted

I would love to hear what anyone has to say about the distention! My son's behavior has improved so much since going gluten-free, however, just last night I noticed his little belly was distended. I figured it must be because of how much he is eating now (he used to eat like a bird and is now eating a lot more). But it definately looked distended.

If his gut had damage, some of the bacteria, like yeast, could still be out of whack. My DS's tummy was very bloated even before we went gluten-free, but we will have been gluten-free for three weeks on Tuesday and it is still bloated, if less so. I am trying to combat this by giving him some gut healing supplements - primarily a probiotic and a EPA supplement, and reducing the overall amount of straight carbohydrates and fruit that he eats. It's not exactly any "official diet", but it seems to be helping.

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Birdie19 Rookie
Birdie19
Posted
  • Author

OMG, I am so delighted to hear that others are still dealing with abdominal distention. I thought I made a mistake, does she not need to be gluten-free? Her personality did a 180, so we have that as a confirmation.

Probiotics is a good idea, I stopped all that once we started the diet because I wanted to see if her yeast infections stopped. And the infections stopped right away (by the way). But I should restart it to see if that will help, along with her vitamin.

Lfrost Explorer
Lfrost
Posted

OMG, I am so delighted to hear that others are still dealing with abdominal distention. I thought I made a mistake, does she not need to be gluten-free? Her personality did a 180, so we have that as a confirmation.

Probiotics is a good idea, I stopped all that once we started the diet because I wanted to see if her yeast infections stopped. And the infections stopped right away (by the way). But I should restart it to see if that will help, along with her vitamin.

I didn't realize I should be giving my son probiotics! Does anyone have a recommendation of which I should give him? His food allergies are wheat, soy, milk, egg, peanut, and fish/cod. So yogurts are out, unless they are non dairy. He also can't swallow pills. What do others use?

Birdie19 Rookie
Birdie19
Posted
  • Author

Yogurts are often ineffective anyway, they do not provide ENOUGH probiotic to be useful. You would have to give the child double the amount of yogurt you would normally give.

I have been using Little Critters Brand Probiotic Chewable tablets for kids. Before gluten-free she had yeast infections for months on end, infact I don't remember her ever NOT having one. But using the probiotic they got much better and way less painful. So would be worth a shot.

I apologize I don't know the allergen info about them.

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

What is EPA?

Here are the three probiotics I've tried with our 5.5 yr old girls:

- Flora Bear for Kids by RenewLife. Chewables, keep refrigerated. Neither girl likes it much. gluten-free, but has other trace allergens (milk, shellfish)

- Raw Probiotics Kids by Garden of Life. Powder, keep in fridge. This works well for one of my girls mixed into any beverage. My other little girl has an INSANELY good sense of smell and taste, so she busts me every time for mixing it into anything. Raw, vegetarian, non-dairy, gluten free. This is probably my first choice, except when we're travelling.

- Pearls Immune by Pearls Life. Capsule-small. Both girls like these because they feel very grown up swallowing a pill and they can't taste it. Has fish and soy in it. Not my first choice for a probiotic for the kids.

- Little Critters Probiotics. Kids love them, they are hard for me to find in our "little" town. I don't have a package in front of me to look at.

Would love to hear more!

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

. If someone has Celiac and does not adhere to a 100% gluten-free diet, their mortality rate is twice that of the general population. Yep, twice as likely to die.

Can anyone back this up with official documentation? This could be helpful to me.

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

From:

The American Society for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition

Celiac Disease, Wheat Allergy, and Gluten Sensitivity : When Gluten Free Is Not a Fad

Dr. Michelle Pietzak

1/11/12

Open Original Shared Link

"Increased mortality: Because of the above nutrition

complications, comorbid autoimmune conditions,

and higher risk for malignancies, patients

with celiac disease have a 2- to 4-fold increased mortality

rate, at every age, than that of the general population.

6,63 Patients with wheat allergy and gluten

sensitivity do not have this increased risk of

death due to these complications."

Sesara Rookie
Sesara
Posted

EPA and DHA are omega-3 fats that are particularly good at reducing inflammation in the body. They can be made fish free if necessary.

Open Original Shared Link

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