Mom Never Told Me I Was A Sick Baby...

[beachbirdie]

My mom just passed away a couple of weeks ago and I've been at her house going through some of her things. Among them was a little journal in which she was writing about me as a toddler, and a kindergarten report card that were very interesting...

Mom wrote that I used to throw up when I ate, and that I had a lot of intestinal problems that no one could figure out. I had unexplained fevers.

My kindergarten teacher wrote that she was concerned I was missing so much school because of a mysterious "bug" I kept catching.

I put that together with my current blood tests and genetic test, wondering now if gluten has ALWAYS been a problem for me.

[Madagascar]

maybe so. do you also have dental defects?

i was a vomit-y baby as well, although i don't think i was sickly other than that. but i was the child who always had cavities and when i got braces at 15, i had to have something like 13 fillings because i had "pits" in my teeth. now i've seen professional articles about enamel defects that are related to celiac disease. that makes me think i've had this all my life as well.

my condolences on the loss of your mom - that's hard.

[nvsmom]

((Hugs)) I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Best wishes to you.

I think you may be right. It's a shame celiac disease wasn't well known a few decades ago... I guess there are benefits to having the latest "trendy" disease; it's easier to identify it.

Take care.

[1desperateladysaved]

I keep trying to think back before I had symptoms. I keep remembering concerns way back. Fatigue was my greatest symptom. I remember laying my head on my desk in elementary school. I also remember extremely high white blood counts( without illness) that red flagged possible allergies. I remember anemia and urine tracing blood. I remember the enamel being absent from my teeth. Anyway, I don't know if I had colic or anything. Maybe I better ask Mom if it isn't to late. I do remember I was bloated3 month picture time atleast it looked like it in my pictures. Baby fat, or something else?

I guess we might never know. Sorry, for you loss and I hope you are as well as can be.

Diana

[beachbirdie]

maybe so. do you also have dental defects?

i was a vomit-y baby as well, although i don't think i was sickly other than that. but i was the child who always had cavities and when i got braces at 15, i had to have something like 13 fillings because i had "pits" in my teeth. now i've seen professional articles about enamel defects that are related to celiac disease. that makes me think i've had this all my life as well.

my condolences on the loss of your mom - that's hard.

Yes, funny you should mention the dental defects. I had a lot of decay as a child! ALL my molars got drilled and filled, and also I have some fillings on the sides where little pits formed and brushing should have protected. Thank you for your good thoughts.

[beachbirdie]

I keep trying to think back before I had symptoms. I keep remembering concerns way back. Fatigue was my greatest symptom. I remember laying my head on my desk in elementary school. I also remember extremely high white blood counts( without illness) that red flagged possible allergies. I remember anemia and urine tracing blood. I remember the enamel being absent from my teeth. Anyway, I don't know if I had colic or anything. Maybe I better ask Mom if it isn't to late. I do remember I was bloated3 month picture time atleast it looked like it in my pictures. Baby fat, or something else?

I guess we might never know. Sorry, for you loss and I hope you are as well as can be.

Diana

Thank you for your kind thoughts.Do ask your mom everything you can think of, before it's too late! I have had so many times over the last few weeks when I wanted desperately to ask mom about something, and now I can not. Some things I guess we have to wait until we are on the other side, where all will be revealed and pain and disease will not exist.

[beachbirdie]

((Hugs)) I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Best wishes to you.

I think you may be right. It's a shame celiac disease wasn't well known a few decades ago... I guess there are benefits to having the latest "trendy" disease; it's easier to identify it.

Take care.

Thank you for your thoughts. I also wish the disease had been better known back in the 1950's. Perhaps if we had figured out I had celiac, my whole family could have been looked at...I am waiting for results from a pathologist who just did a limited autopsy on my mom, he thinks she had lymphoma and perhaps an intestinal lymphoma. If that turns out to be the case, we will have a really solid answer to some family health mysteries, and enough information to protect my kids and grandchildren going forward through time.

[dilettantesteph]

My mother told me that I was a terrible baby. It kind of hurt my feelings. Maybe that's why your mother didn't say anything. It isn't really a nice thing to tell your child. She told me that all I did was cry and it drove her crazy. She had my two brothers to care for too. It must have been very hard. I also have dental defects and missed a lot of school. I think I got progressively worse until I finally got diagnosed. I lost my mother in 1981 and I still dream about her sometimes. I am sorry for your loss.