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Bathroom Question (Maybe Tmi)

rami

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rami Apprentice
rami
Posted

So my 8.5 year old son has been gluten free after his celiac diagnosis for approximately 4 months. His most noticeable symptom is short stature. Since placing him on the gluten free diet my husband and I have been obsessive about his poop (apparently we need to get a life) and while he usually only poops once a day as opposed to the 4-5 times he used to go before the diet most of the time his poop still floats. Does this mean he is still not absorbing fat, vitamins, etc. and that his intestines are still damaged? We have a follow-up in two months, but I am now concerned that his levels will not have dropped and I will be devastated! This may be TMI, but both my husband and I had a complete celiac panel which were both negative and he said his poop floats most of the time as well, mine never does! Thanks for humoring me with my obsessive and gross questions!

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shadowicewolf Proficient
shadowicewolf
Posted

When poo floats it means there is too much fat in your diet (if i remembered that right). But! it is good that he's not going the 4-5 times a day. Once a day is completely normal :)

GFreeMO Proficient
GFreeMO
Posted

MIne floats after I have been glutened for a little while. I get pain d then c then mucus mucus mucus then they float.

Glad to hear that your little man is doing well otherwise. :)

Cara in Boston Enthusiast
Cara in Boston
Posted

Can't comment on the poop issue (no experience there) but just wanted to reassure you. My son's numbers were only slightly lower when he was re-tested after being on the diet for 6 months. This completely freaked me out since my number changed to normal within weeks. The doctor assured me that it was fine and that some people just take longer. It was clear the diet was helping him, even though the numbers didn't show much improvement. At his one year tests, everything came back normal. It just went a little slower than I expected.

Keep up the good work.

Cara

ButterflyChaser Enthusiast
ButterflyChaser
Posted

The doctor assured me that it was fine and that some people just take longer. It was clear the diet was helping him, even though the numbers didn't show much improvement.

This is reassuring because I've been gluten-free for almost three months and still have a 4-5 times average. Granted, a great improvement over the 8-10 usual. Rami, several doctors have told me that up to 3 is normal for some people, so it may be that healing is closer than it seems?

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

I see Dr. Harmon, GI/Celiac researcher and Nancee Jaffe, Registered Dietician at UCLA's Celiac Center. Poop shouldn't float. It floats due to malabsorption of fats. It is important to absorb fats. As the gut heals, usually fat malabsorption subsides and poop will start sinking :).

(One of my twin's poops floated. We are at 9 months gluten free and her poop now sinks. Other than going gluten-free, we didn't do anything--she just healed on her own.)

I have Celiac and my poop floats. I have been advised to take an ADEK to help with fat absorption. A REALLY good dietician will be helpful.

In the meantime, please tell your husband I never tested positive on my TTG but had a positive Celiac biopsy (and did a colonoscopy at the same time with a whopper: they removed a Sessile Serated Adenoma...probably saved my life). There is likely some reason his poop is floating. A great GI will dig deeper, so to speak.

AGH2010 Apprentice
AGH2010
Posted

Do you mind me asking which doctor you take your children to? I've tried 3 pediatric GI's in the LA area and haven't found anyone who seems particularly knowledgable about celiac. As a result I've been taking my daughter to see a pediatric celiac expert in San Diego but would obviously love to find someone closer.

As to the original post, I'm constantly worrying about my child's poop too. For awhile her poop was very pale and I had read that it was a bad sign but her GI always responds that color doesn't matter. Not sure how much I buy it.

I see Dr. Harmon, GI/Celiac researcher and Nancee Jaffe, Registered Dietician at UCLA's Celiac Center. Poop shouldn't float. It floats due to malabsorption of fats. It is important to absorb fats. As the gut heals, usually fat malabsorption subsides and poop will start sinking :).

(One of my twin's poops floated. We are at 9 months gluten free and her poop now sinks. Other than going gluten-free, we didn't do anything--she just healed on her own.)

I have Celiac and my poop floats. I have been advised to take an ADEK to help with fat absorption. A REALLY good dietician will be helpful.

In the meantime, please tell your husband I never tested positive on my TTG but had a positive Celiac biopsy (and did a colonoscopy at the same time with a whopper: they removed a Sessile Serated Adenoma...probably saved my life). There is likely some reason his poop is floating. A great GI will dig deeper, so to speak.

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shadowicewolf Proficient
shadowicewolf
Posted

I see Dr. Harmon, GI/Celiac researcher and Nancee Jaffe, Registered Dietician at UCLA's Celiac Center. Poop shouldn't float. It floats due to malabsorption of fats. It is important to absorb fats. As the gut heals, usually fat malabsorption subsides and poop will start sinking :).

(One of my twin's poops floated. We are at 9 months gluten free and her poop now sinks. Other than going gluten-free, we didn't do anything--she just healed on her own.)

I have Celiac and my poop floats. I have been advised to take an ADEK to help with fat absorption. A REALLY good dietician will be helpful.

In the meantime, please tell your husband I never tested positive on my TTG but had a positive Celiac biopsy (and did a colonoscopy at the same time with a whopper: they removed a Sessile Serated Adenoma...probably saved my life). There is likely some reason his poop is floating. A great GI will dig deeper, so to speak.

Oh wow, i didn't know that. I used to have this issue for years. I only get it now if i eat something that is too fatty. Good sign then?

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

:) @ shadowicewolf--probably! Maybe it's even good that your body knows how much too much fat is! We have an extremely low fat diet in our house b/c of all the heart disease in the family (both sides), so I know I have some gut work/healing still to do...it's all a process isn't it?

Also, I finally remembered in the middle of the night about the Bristol Stool Scale. Google it and you'll see the consistency our poops are supposed to be...

We homeschool (which means I get to randomly teach the kids what I think is relevant in addition to the three R's...) so I did a whole unit on "What our poop should look like and why." Hysterical and a life skill!!! Enjoy!

ButterflyChaser Enthusiast
ButterflyChaser
Posted

I have just realized that Italians say "X floats like a poop" - X usually being a disagreeable person who always gets away with it. Like, of *course* poop floats.

Do you think that this saying is indicative of the incidence of celiac disease in the country? :lol:

mamaupupup Contributor
mamaupupup
Posted

I didn't answer the kids GI question very well...sorry!

Here are my thoughts on peds/Celiac in the greater LA region:

- San Diego is supposed to be very very good, but I haven't been there

- Dr. Pietzak at Children's Hospital LA is excellent but she's there only 2x a month and it is incredibly difficult to get in

- Dr. Collins Open Original Shared Link is also very good (and has a strong relationship with Dr. Pietzak). We've seen her when Dr. Pietzak has been unavailable.

Hope that helps!

Bubba's Mom Enthusiast
Bubba's Mom
Posted

The hormone(CCK) that tells the gallbladder to squeeze bile and the pancreas to release digestive enzymes comes from the villi in the small intestine. If the villi are damaged, he may not be making the hormone..or the signal may not be sent? Without the CCK signal the body has a hard time digesting all foods, but especially fats. This should improve as your son heals. If it doesn't, digestive enzymes and/or pacreatic enzymes can be taken.

I'd give it a bit more time. We each heal in our own time, and according to how much damage we had at DX. Your son's DX is still fairly recent.

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