Trying To Figure Out What - If Anything - My Daughter Can Eat

[Nanhosen]

My 2yo daughter was diagnosed via endoscopy about a month ago, and we immediately started a gluten-free diet with her. Unfortunately, there has been little, if any, improvement. After consulting with her GI doctor, we put her on an antibiotic to treat SIBO, but it didn't make any difference. The GI dr's next recommmendation is to cut sugar out of her diet, and see if that helps. So, here is my main question:

1. Has anybody here seen a dramatic difference after cutting out sugar? If so, how strict were you about sugar. For example, did you eat fruit?

After doing a bit of research (and reading WAY too many webpages full of unsubstantianted claims) I am becoming totally overwhelmed. The more I read, the more it seems like virturally every food out there is problematic! She's already dairy free, but from what I read, even non-gluten containing grains, like corn and quinoa can cause problems for celiacs. I'm considering putting her on a paleo diet for a few weeks, and see if there is any improvement. I'm wondering if anybody has had any success with paleo diets?

Thanks!!

Nanette

[shadowicewolf]

As of right now, i'd stick with a whole foods diet. Nothing that has been packaged and processed (such as chex cereal).

Do not assume that what some celiacs go through is what all do. A lot of us can handle corn and quinoa just fine, while a smaller majority cannot. What you read on the 'net can drive you mad.

Its only been a month. It can take up to two years for any damage to heal.

[StephanieL]

My DS was gluten free for 3 months with no real improvement. I put him on a really good probiotic and within 3 day he had the first normal 1poops of his 3.5 years.

Maybe try a probiotic?? Good luck. It's so tough to figure things out.

[GFinDC]

Hi Nanette,

Sometimes the damage to the gut can lead to an overgrowth of bacteria, which produce gas and discomfort. When the gut is already damaged, blowing it up like a balloon can hurt. So why avoid sugar? Because sugar and starches are bacteria fuel and lead to lots of bacterial growth and gut inflation. Starches are just as bad as sugar usually, as they are converted to sugars in the gut. Also with a damaged gut, the enzymes needed to digest and breakdown the sugars may not be produced, and that means they are all bacteria food.

You will see a wide range of food intolerances listed on this forum. We all have our body, and our bodies react to foods that they react to. We all don't have the same food intolerances, they vary by person. Except for gluten of course.

The best way to start gluten-free is to eat whole foods that are made from scratch at home. Dairy is often a problem as the villi damage prevents the production of lactase enzyme that digests dairy sugar (lactose). That lactose intolerance sometimes goes away after some months of healing go by. A simple diet of simple whole foods is easiest to understand and troubleshoot. Lots of processed foods have 7 or more ingredients and that is just one package of food. Multiply that by however many processed foods she would eat in a day and you can see t gets complicated quickly trying to pin point one problem food or ingredient. A food and symptom diary is also helpful to detect problem foods.

Some starting the gluten-free diet tips for the first 6 months:

Get tested before starting the gluten-free diet.

Get your vitamin/mineral levels tested also.

Don't eat in restaurants

Eat only whole foods not processed foods.

Eat only food you cook yourself, think simple foods, not gourmet meals.

Take probiotics.

Take gluten-free vitamins.

Take digestive enzymes.

Avoid dairy.

Avoid sugars and starchy foods.

Avoid alcohol.

Helpful threads:

FAQ Celiac com

http://www.celiac.co...celiac-disease/

Newbie Info 101

http://www.celiac.co...ewbie-info-101/

What's For Breakfast Today?

http://www.celiac.co...reakfast-today/

[Worried mommy]

Just out of curiosity how was your daughter tested for SIBO. I might want my daughter tested too.

[tarnalberry]

Honestly, I'd be cautious going to a paleo diet. Certainly a full one. Kids, more so the younger they are, need more carbohydrates than adults do. At two years old, her digestive system is still maturing, and she needs more foods that are more easily directly converted to energy.

I would certainly focus on making sure cross-contamination is not a problem. This includes:

- checking on play-doh in preschool (most commercial and homemade recipes contain wheat) or other things (pasta in a sensory table, etc.)

- eliminating shared toasters, cutting boards, or colanders used for pasta

- for now, eliminating commercial, prepackaged foods as much as possible

- cross contamination from friends/family during playdates and get togethers

Eliminating dairy is a good start, but if you've replaced cow milk with soy, that could be causing trouble. A probiotic can be a good idea too (and Nature's Way, iirc, has a pretty good powdered kids one that we like to use). And maybe cutting out added sugar would be good as well.

But be cautious about cutting out *all* sources of easily processed carbohydrates.

[Denine]

I am in the same boat. My 10 yo daughter was just diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Her main symptom was extreme abdominal pain. She has been gluten-free for 2 weeks, Dairy and soy free for 1 week since we found out she was intolerant to those as well. Her pain has not changed at all. It is still a 9 out of 10 on the pain scale. I put her on a very bland diet as of Friday. Still no change, but I hope something will help soon. I have her on a probiotic, but I have no idea if it is helping. I know she most likely has a few years worth of damage to her gut, so it will take time. It is just so hard seeing her in this much pain all the time. It has been over 9 weeks of this pain.

I am extremely careful about cross contamination. I read labels like they are on the best seller list, LOL! I cook from scratch.

I hope you find answers soon.

[Nanhosen]

  On 2/2/2013 at 6:32 AM, Worried mommy said:

Just out of curiosity how was your daughter tested for SIBO. I might want my daughter tested too.

She wasn't tested for it; I don't know if there's a test? Her GI doctor had her take 2 different antibiotics to see if they cleared up the problem, which they didn't. From what he told me, if the antibiotic had worked, then we could assume that SIBO was the problem.

[Nanhosen]

Thanks so much everybody for your input! She recently was on a round of Alinea, an antibiotic. While she was on it she started having regular stool, but then as soon as she was done with the 3 days, her stool went back to it's mucousy nastiness. She's now scheduled to have a colonoscopy in a few weeks to see if she might have ulcerative colitis.

[Nanhosen]

  On 2/3/2013 at 5:55 PM, Denine said:

I am in the same boat. My 10 yo daughter was just diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Her main symptom was extreme abdominal pain. She has been gluten-free for 2 weeks, Dairy and soy free for 1 week since we found out she was intolerant to those as well. Her pain has not changed at all. It is still a 9 out of 10 on the pain scale. I put her on a very bland diet as of Friday. Still no change, but I hope something will help soon. I have her on a probiotic, but I have no idea if it is helping. I know she most likely has a few years worth of damage to her gut, so it will take time. It is just so hard seeing her in this much pain all the time. It has been over 9 weeks of this pain.

I am extremely careful about cross contamination. I read labels like they are on the best seller list, LOL! I cook from scratch.

I hope you find answers soon.

Oh, I so agree about watching the pain. It is so frustrating for me to see my daughter in so much pain, and not have a real solution! Good luck with everything!

[mushroom]

If she has been on two courses of antibiotics she probably needs some good probiotics to restore the good flora in her gut.  You can get them in powder form for children.

[Nanhosen]

  On 2/26/2013 at 10:56 PM, mushroom said:

If she has been on two courses of antibiotics she probably needs some good probiotics to restore the good flora in her gut.  You can get them in powder form for children.

Mushroom, that's funny; I was just researching probiotics. I found this article to be pretty interesting for recommending which types of strands might be beneficial. Open Original Shared Link

Thanks for the suggestion!

[mushroom]

  On 2/26/2013 at 10:59 PM, Nanhosen said:

Mushroom, that's funny; I was just researching probiotics. I found this article to be pretty interesting for recommending which types of strands might be beneficial. Open Original Shared Link

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

 

I personally have taken VSL#3 and highly recommend it (although it is expensive).  I took it in its powdered form but I don't think it makes much difference.  Other posters have also recommended Align.  I hope it makes a difference for your daughter and that she is soon feeling better.