Behavior Issues/tantrums

[divamomma]

I need some help. My daughter is 6 and was diagnosed with celiac 20 months ago. Our entire house is gluten free except for the ocassional beer my hisband had. Lately (about one episode per week, usually on sunday/monday) my daughter has been having horrible behavior issues and meltdowns. She gets aggressive with her sister, hitting and punching for no reason. SHe gets whiny, she gets impossibly disobedient. Normally she is a very sweet and helpful girl but she sometimes seems like a Jekyl and Hyde personality. Am I missing somehting??? I am worried she is getting cross contaminated at school or perhaps at ballet on Friday nights?? Hands on the bars?? I am getting so tired and frustrated and I don\t know what to do at this point Her Ttg levels are well below normal though in August she had low iron and low hemoglobin. We have her on vitamins with added iron now. Help!!

[Roda]

Both my boys will have meltdowns and behavior issues when they are tired, overstimulated or getting sick especially from strep. My oldest also has mood issues when his allergies are bothering him.

There is also the same issues when my youngest son gets a bad glutening. Sometimes it is hard to tell. My oldest doesn't have behavior issues when he is glutenened so he is a good indicator for the youngest. If they are both having issues at the same time and kids are getting sick at school then I can pretty much figure that out.

[nvsmom]

Could school be the issue if it happens on Sundays and Mondays. Perhaps something is causing stress at school?

[frieze]

Could school be the issue if it happens on Sundays and Mondays. Perhaps something is causing stress at school?

yeah, hadn't thought of that. Perhaps it is anticipatory rather than result.

[kittty]

Could it be another intolerance?

I was exactly the same way as a child, and the doctor suggested cutting out all artificial food colorings. It worked! Red and yellow colorings are especially notorious for causing behavioral problems. Several of them have already been banned in the US, but the ones that aren't banned can still be just as harmful.

[divamomma]

I don't think it is school causing stress or her not wanting to go. She is happy at school and always goes to school without issues. I am wondering about other intolerances but don't even know where to start for that.

[mamaupupup]

Hi there,

I'm so sorry to hear she's having a tough time. Her behavior is very similar to one of my twins (both have Celiac...but very different responses to the disease...). My girls are about to turn 6 (we homeschool, so I see just about everything they consume/do!).

I'm seriously considering taking our twin who has little impulse control when she gets cc or glutened off of casein (milk/dairy). As I read more, it seems that casein and gluten have similar molecular structures. I have little more to offer other than to say "You are not alone."

Thinking of you!

[Kelleybean]

I need some help. My daughter is 6 and was diagnosed with celiac 20 months ago. Our entire house is gluten free except for the ocassional beer my hisband had. Lately (about one episode per week, usually on sunday/monday) my daughter has been having horrible behavior issues and meltdowns. She gets aggressive with her sister, hitting and punching for no reason. SHe gets whiny, she gets impossibly disobedient. Normally she is a very sweet and helpful girl but she sometimes seems like a Jekyl and Hyde personality. Am I missing somehting??? I am worried she is getting cross contaminated at school or perhaps at ballet on Friday nights?? Hands on the bars?? I am getting so tired and frustrated and I don\t know what to do at this point Her Ttg levels are well below normal though in August she had low iron and low hemoglobin. We have her on vitamins with added iron now. Help!!

I agree with what someone else said - my son seems to have a reaction to food dyes. Super annoying that it's in everything! I'm also wondering if there could be another intolerance, like dairy. Another idea might be high fructose corn syrup. I would keep a food log and see if you can find a pattern.

Thought of something else ... does your daughter have any sleep issues? My son goes through periods when he doesn't sleep well, and we see big behavior changes there.

[Takala]

Sounds like a cross contamination issue, are you going out to eat on Fridays or Saturdays ?

Where you start is easy. Write down everything she eats. Look for the changes. Correlate what was eaten and what happens later.

She may just need to be reminded to wash hands and rinse very well, before eating.

Oh, and those food dyes.... my goodness, yes, that stuff has even gotten me sometimes, I had to switch my candy bar treats to one that doesn't have it, and I stopped eating ice cream that is obviously "colored," (like green) because I noticed that I was getting temperamental after eating a certain kind with a lot of colorings. And I'm an adult !

[MitziG]

I would recommend a food diary. My celiac son had the same issues, and we finally discovered caffeine, food dyes and dairy all would cause the nasty emotional outbursts. As long as we keep himm away from them, he is a nice little boy!

[lindsayanne0]

My son was the same way. We had got gluten free but we were still having some behavior issues.

I ended up cutting our dairy, as well, and it made a BIG difference. Try cutting out dairy and go from there. If there are still issues, do an elimination diet. We've found that he can have limited amounts of dairy (as minor ingredients in something)and still be okay...but not something with it as a main ingredient.

I had also found that he was having more issues during the week than during the weekend and found that at school he was still having items with wheat and dairy in them. Once we nipped that in the bud he was good to go!!