Gluten Withdrawal = Fussy Toddler?

[mamato4]

Hi All.

I am very new here, and have posted only a couple of times. I was diagnosed with celiac disease last month, so I'm still learning. I have 4 children and we're in the process of having them all tested. The results from my 2 year old's blood work came back positive for celiac disease. We sent in a stool sample for a fecal fat test to look for malabsorption, but as soon as that we sent off we made the decision to put him on a gluten-free diet ASAP. We don't intend to put him through an endoscopy, so there was no need to wait.

Here's my question: He has been out of sorts all week. He is super fussy and isn't sleeping particularly well at night and hasn't been napping. This is all out of the ordinary for him, he is a very content child who sleeps well. Could he be experiencing withdrawal? I know when I went gluten-free I felt terrible at first, then began to feel much better. Is fussiness to be expected? What other things should I anticipate? Once everyone in the house has been tested we are all going gluten-free at home, so my other children may withdrawal too and I want to be prepared.

As a side note, this transition isn't huge- we already eat a completely whole foods diet and I cook everything from scratch. Processed food isn't a part of our lives, except in the form of Cheerios and whole wheat bread, which are clearly gone now. So, I didn't expect a major adjustment.

Thanks.

[nvsmom]

It sounds like withdrawl, your poor little one. I know my withdrawl took about 2-3 weeks. It hit after a couple of days gluten-free and the worst part (migraine, bad sleep, tired soooo cranky) lasted a good week and then it slowly diminished. He's probably close to being done if he's at all like I was.

Good luck to you and your family! My kids were all tested too, and even though we haven't got the results yet, I've warned them that they are going gluten-free. I'm dreading their withdrawl but hopefully it will be brief. hang in there.