How Long Does The Vomiting Last?

[coquimama]

Hi,

I'm new to all this.  My 13 yo was just diagnosed w/celiac after endoscopy.  How long will it be before he stops throwing up every time he eats? He is eating everything gluten-free but he still has stomach pain.  He eats chicken then has dry-heaves.  I'm just concerned and would like some idea.  I've called the doctor and he says he should be feeling better.  Any thoughts?

[StephanieL]

Is this vomiting a new thing?  How long ago was he diagnosed? Vomiting after every meal is NOT normal and you need to call your Dr. asap. Kids can dehydrate very quickly!

[beth01]

While vomiting after every meal is not normal, it is normal to still feel ill for a while after the initial diagnosis of celiac. How long has he been gluten free? Is your household completely gluten free? Cross contamination can be happening if you have gluten eaters in the house. Maybe read the newbie thread and make sure you have things down on how to help your child stay completely gluten free. Another reason for the vomiting could be dairy. A lot of celiacs can't have dairy for a bit due to not being able to digest it with the damage to the small intestine. I feel like I have been glutened when I have dairy. A lot of us have other food intolerances so maybe a food diary would help. Have him write down what he eats in a day and any symptoms he might have, it's easier to pinpoint what is bothering him. For me it seemed like even gluten free foods bothered me from the beginning, but that got better the farther down my gluten free road I got. Good luck and I hope your son feels better soon.

[coquimama]

While vomiting after every meal is not normal, it is normal to still feel ill for a while after the initial diagnosis of celiac. How long has he been gluten free? Is your household completely gluten free? Cross contamination can be happening if you have gluten eaters in the house. Maybe read the newbie thread and make sure you have things down on how to help your child stay completely gluten free. Another reason for the vomiting could be dairy. A lot of celiacs can't have dairy for a bit due to not being able to digest it with the damage to the small intestine. I feel like I have been glutened when I have dairy. A lot of us have other food intolerances so maybe a food diary would help. Have him write down what he eats in a day and any symptoms he might have, it's easier to pinpoint what is bothering him. For me it seemed like even gluten free foods bothered me from the beginning, but that got better the farther down my gluten free road I got. Good luck and I hope your son feels better soon.

Thank you so much.  What he has is "dry heaves"...what is happening is after he eats he feels bad and has pain then he goes to the bathroom and has dry heaves.  Sometimes something comes up...sometimes it is just bile or liquid.  He is going to school and I send him with 64 oz of fluids...usually he drinks all of that.  I am very careful about the dehydration issue and thank Stephanie for her comment about being alert to this.  Here is the history:

 

The first week of August he had a terrible stomach flu (or so we thought)...over the course of the month, he lost 20 pounds...I took him to the pediatrician during this time and she recommended prilosec, gasX, crackers and easy to digest food.  I took him to another physician who referred us to a gastroenterologist who did the blood test in Sept and had the endoscopy on Sept 25th.  Since Sept 25 I've been feeding him "gluten-free" food.  I have only tried milk once since then.  As far as I can tell, there is no cross-contamination occurring.

 

How long does the pain last?  

[calabaza78]

I'm so sorry for what you've been going through.  In our experience, the vomiting stopped when gluten was removed from the diet and improvement continued steadily as we stuck to the diet.  I would carefully check for cross-contamination (separate toaster? new separate colander for pasta? pans and cutting boards that don't have deep scratches that could hold on to gluten?)  In your endoscopy, did your doctor take any samples of the esophagus to see if there are reflux issues or any other co-occurring conditions that could also cause vomiting?

[StephanieL]

So the blood test and endoscopy were both positive?  

 

He's still very newly diagnosed so it may be a while. With the sudden onset of symptoms, did they look for outer GI causes?  Just wondering if there isn't some kind of strange bug.

 

I would try and get a GOOD probiotic into him too.  Even after 6 months gluten-free, my DS wasn't really well till we started the probiotic. I would still put a call into the GI asking what they think about this.  

[cyclinglady]

Gee, it is hard to see your kid suffering!

Have you checked out the Newbie 101 tips under our "Coping" section? Little things like pet food or kisses can be cross contamination issue. Here is the link:

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

I had lots of other food intolerances resulting from Celiac damage. Try keeping a journal as others have suggested. The good news is that he will get better. It takes lots of time!

[coquimama]

I'm so sorry for what you've been going through.  In our experience, the vomiting stopped when gluten was removed from the diet and improvement continued steadily as we stuck to the diet.  I would carefully check for cross-contamination (separate toaster? new separate colander for pasta? pans and cutting boards that don't have deep scratches that could hold on to gluten?)  In your endoscopy, did your doctor take any samples of the esophagus to see if there are reflux issues or any other co-occurring conditions that could also cause vomiting?

I will ask about the esophagus.  Thank you so much.

[coquimama]

So the blood test and endoscopy were both positive?  

 

He's still very newly diagnosed so it may be a while. With the sudden onset of symptoms, did they look for outer GI causes?  Just wondering if there isn't some kind of strange bug.

 

I would try and get a GOOD probiotic into him too.  Even after 6 months gluten-free, my DS wasn't really well till we started the probiotic. I would still put a call into the GI asking what they think about this.  

I'll definitely ask about the possible illness...also try to find a probiotic that is gluten free.  thank you

[coquimama]

Gee, it is hard to see your kid suffering!

Have you checked out the Newbie 101 tips under our "Coping" section? Little things like pet food or kisses can be cross contamination issue. Here is the link:

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

I had lots of other food intolerances resulting from Celiac damage. Try keeping a journal as others have suggested. The good news is that he will get better. It takes lots of time!

Yes it is hard to see him suffer.  I'll ask about other food intolerances.  Thank you for responding.

[mommida]

Are there any other symptoms?  Swollen tonsils, tonsil stones, puss on the tonsils, very bad breath?

 

Keep a food journal.  (journal meaning activities, vomit (amount of vomit), abdominal cramping, headaches, and include every detail you can and see if any type of pattern shows up) This is going to take some time as in the case of eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophils can stay actively damaging the esophagus for 12 days once activated.  This might be useful to identify another food sensitivities or an environmental reaction.

 

Do you have any other test results from the endoscopy? Picture? description of any other damage or irregularities?

 

How long has the Celiac diagnoses?  How long has the vomiting? (you said after a severe bout of flu, but was it a stomach bug versus an upper respiratory infection)

[nvsmom]

This is just a guess, but could it be a bit of conditioning to heave after eating that is helping to cause this?  I mention it because when I was pregnant I was sick multiple times in a day and lost 20 pounds in the first couple of months.  I couldn't keep in much. When the nausea started to pass, if I even looked at a toilet bowl it would come roaring back. Every time I looked I looked down at a toilet I heaved for about 2 or 3 months after the major nausea had passed.  Perhaps that is contributing?  His body is used to being sick after every meal so it still heaves, and you throw that on top of the fact that he is in the very early stages of healing.... poor kid.  

 

Have you tried things like cool smoothies (with protein powders for extra nutrition)?  Cool liquids may be a bit easier to handle.

 

Best wishes.  I hope he improves soon.

[GFinDC]

Thank you so much.  What he has is "dry heaves"...what is happening is after he eats he feels bad and has pain then he goes to the bathroom and has dry heaves.  Sometimes something comes up...sometimes it is just bile or liquid.  He is going to school and I send him with 64 oz of fluids...usually he drinks all of that.  I am very careful about the dehydration issue and thank Stephanie for her comment about being alert to this.  Here is the history:

 

The first week of August he had a terrible stomach flu (or so we thought)...over the course of the month, he lost 20 pounds...I took him to the pediatrician during this time and she recommended prilosec, gasX, crackers and easy to digest food.  I took him to another physician who referred us to a gastroenterologist who did the blood test in Sept and had the endoscopy on Sept 25th.  Since Sept 25 I've been feeding him "gluten-free" food.  I have only tried milk once since then.  As far as I can tell, there is no cross-contamination occurring.

 

How long does the pain last?  

 

Hi,

 

So it seems he has been gluten-free since 25-Sep-14.  That's less than a month right?  It's not unusual IMHO for symptoms to continue for months.  The immune system has to wind down from being on constant alert mode.  When I was new to the gluten-free diet I used to vomit sometimes too.  It could be his stomach is gassy and the pressure is making him vomit.  His stomach could get much gassier right after eating and that could cause pain also.  If that is the cause it would help to make sure he eats foods that are not so gas-making.  Sugars and carbs are great food for bacteria that make gas.  Dairy is also a problem for new celiacs sometimes.

 

Try to get him eating more whole foods like meats and vegetables.  Avoiding cookies, breads (bakery items) and other carby foods may help.  Peppermint tea is good for helping to get gas out of the stomach.

[nvsmom]

I forgot to mention dairy. About half of all celiacs are lactose intolerant when they are diagnosed.  That could cause some problems for him too until he is healed in about 6 months or more.

[coquimama]

Are there any other symptoms?  Swollen tonsils, tonsil stones, puss on the tonsils, very bad breath?

 

Keep a food journal.  (journal meaning activities, vomit (amount of vomit), abdominal cramping, headaches, and include every detail you can and see if any type of pattern shows up) This is going to take some time as in the case of eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophils can stay actively damaging the esophagus for 12 days once activated.  This might be useful to identify another food sensitivities or an environmental reaction.

 

Do you have any other test results from the endoscopy? Picture? description of any other damage or irregularities?

 

How long has the Celiac diagnoses?  How long has the vomiting? (you said after a severe bout of flu, but was it a stomach bug versus an upper respiratory infection)

No other symptoms.  Thank you for the information on the esophagus.  I need to find out more about the endoscopy.

[coquimama]

I forgot to mention dairy. About half of all celiacs are lactose intolerant when they are diagnosed.  That could cause some problems for him too until he is healed in about 6 months or more.

Thank you for this.  

[coquimama]

Hi,

 

So it seems he has been gluten-free since 25-Sep-14.  That's less than a month right?  It's not unusual IMHO for symptoms to continue for months.  The immune system has to wind down from being on constant alert mode.  When I was new to the gluten-free diet I used to vomit sometimes too.  It could be his stomach is gassy and the pressure is making him vomit.  His stomach could get much gassier right after eating and that could cause pain also.  If that is the cause it would help to make sure he eats foods that are not so gas-making.  Sugars and carbs are great food for bacteria that make gas.  Dairy is also a problem for new celiacs sometimes.

 

Try to get him eating more whole foods like meats and vegetables.  Avoiding cookies, breads (bakery items) and other carby foods may help.  Peppermint tea is good for helping to get gas out of the stomach.

I will definitely focus more on whole foods.  I'm so glad to learn that this isn't all that unusual.   And knowing that he will have symptoms, that he won't be immediately "fixed" helps as well.  Thank you for all the information.

[coquimama]

This is just a guess, but could it be a bit of conditioning to heave after eating that is helping to cause this?  I mention it because when I was pregnant I was sick multiple times in a day and lost 20 pounds in the first couple of months.  I couldn't keep in much. When the nausea started to pass, if I even looked at a toilet bowl it would come roaring back. Every time I looked I looked down at a toilet I heaved for about 2 or 3 months after the major nausea had passed.  Perhaps that is contributing?  His body is used to being sick after every meal so it still heaves, and you throw that on top of the fact that he is in the very early stages of healing.... poor kid.  

 

Have you tried things like cool smoothies (with protein powders for extra nutrition)?  Cool liquids may be a bit easier to handle.

 

Best wishes.  I hope he improves soon.

Thank you for the idea of smoothies with protein powders.  I'm surely in the learning curve.

[nvsmom]

Thank you for the idea of smoothies with protein powders.  I'm surely in the learning curve.

 

I love smoothies for plying my kids with nutrition.  I add carrots and peeled cucmbers to fruits to make it better.  I also always add hemp seeds/hearts for extra fat and protein.  When I use chocolate protein powders I can slip in more greens like avocado or spinach and the chocolate hides the green colour.  LOL

 

Cool is nice too.... especially f it is coming back up.

 

Best wishes

[Marcindy3]

I was relieved to read this post! My daughter is 10 & a newly dx Celiac with lactose intolerance too. She's vomited for 3 weeks. She can't keep Popsicles, water, nothing down. It's so awful cause she's so hungry. I'm praying she'll be able to keep something down soon. 

[Lisamassieshultz]

I am new to all of this.  My son who is 14 yrs was just diagnosed in the middle of October.  He is still struggling with keeping things down.  He can do boost and sometimes jello.  I am at such a loss.  How long before he can start eating things that stay down?  He has lost about 30 lbs so far.  

[cyclinglady]

1 hour ago, Lisamassieshultz said:

I am new to all of this.  My son who is 14 yrs was just diagnosed in the middle of October.  He is still struggling with keeping things down.  He can do boost and sometimes jello.  I am at such a loss.  How long before he can start eating things that stay down?  He has lost about 30 lbs so far.  

Was he biopsy-confirmed?  How bad was his intestinal damage per the pathologist’s report?  

I can tell you that it takes time to heal — months to a year.   Why?  Dietary mistakes are often made.  The gluten free diet has a steep learning curve.   Read our Newbie 101 thread pinned at the top of the “Coping” section of the forum.

Do not eat out until he is well.   Avoid processed foods (Jello and Boost are processed even though they do not contain gluten ingredients).  Celiacs often have other food intolerances that you need to identify.    Have him eat homemade soups.  Avoid all dairy for a while.  Celiacs have damaged villi.  The villi tips release enzymes to help digest lactose (milk sugar).  Lactose intolerance can resolve once healing occurs.  (That Boost may be made with milk products).  

What to eat?  Consider plain foods that are easy to digest like soup and stew.  Your crockpot will become your best friend.  Do not season as a damaged gut can often not handle spices at this time.  Fruit, veggies, meats, fish, and rice are good foods to start with.  Add more foods as he feels better.  

Consider working with a dietician or read up on the gluten free diet.  Simple is best in the beginning.  

Hang in there!  You all will master this new diet and he will get better.  It is so hard to see your child suffer.  

 

[Lisamassieshultz]

Thank you.  Yes they did a biopsy and confirmed the celiac.  Just not sure what to start with as far as food. He is a picky eater and doesn’t seem to keep anything down.  The dietician said to start with something new each week. Any recommendations on what to start with.  We have tried rice didn’t stay down. Just not sure what to do. 

[tessa25]

I would try homemade chicken broth if you know how to make it. You can also try plain tater tots (Simple Truth at King Soopers/Kroger). If Those stay down you can try putting some butter and Land O'Lakes white american cheese in the broth. When it dissolves it makes the broth taste much better. Then try some chicken thighs baked with just salt. Small amounts at first.

[Lisamassieshultz]

Thank you. I will try it. Fingers crossed.