Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

How To Help A Teen Adjust?

Mickide

By Mickide
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

Mickide Apprentice
Mickide
Posted

My younger sister (16) and brother (13) recently have had positive bloodwork. They have not seen the GI yet and have to wait until Nov/Dec for they're appts. I don't think there is much question on wether they have it or not seeing as I have celiacs. Are there any resources to help teens adjust? I had a hard enough time myself in my 30's, I can't image how tough it is going to be for them. My brother is active in boy scouts, my sister in band, etc.. Not to mention bouncing back and forth between my mom's and my dad's.

I am just trying to compile some info for them to help them get started.

Also my other sis in her 30's is getting tested next week, although she already tested positive for a wheat and gluten intolerance a few years ago. Not sure how that test is different but she does not comply to a gluten free diet. So it looks like there is a good possibility that 4 out of 4 kids have it!

Thanks!!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


confusedks Enthusiast
confusedks
Posted

Hello,

I am 17 and was dx'd in May after a long list of health problems finally led to the diagnosis. It will be difficult for them to adjust, but they have you and your support. I am also starting a teen support group in the Los Angeles area, so if you want to give either or both of them my email address, feel free. It is knshore@hotmail.com I would be more than willing to give them support because I went through a hard time when I first went gluten-free and didn't have anyone to talk to about it. The biggest thing is for them to try to not eat many gluten-free replacement foods when they are healing. Also, don't overdose on any one thing. For example, I also was dairy free and was using a lot of soy replacements for dairy, but then I developed an intolerance to soy because I ate so much of it. This is very common in this thread and other celiacs I know. Overall, this diet has been a great change for me, I have the healthiest diet out of all of my friends. They all are jealous of my good lunches because they eat wonder bread with bolonga. LOL! :D Also, make sure your parents are together on them being gluten-free (even though I think you said they're divorced.) Your parents will need to make sure there is always food for them to eat such as granola bars, etc. It is definitely going to take a little, okay A LOT of adjustment, but this is the best diagnosis to me. The prescription is to change your diet!!! It's not like we are stuck to 25849743 pills a day. Again, please feel free to have them email me, or if you want to, I am more than happy to help.

I thought of something else, is there any way YOU could take them shopping and show them things that they can eat and have them read the labels so they understand what they can and cannot eat. The list on this sites "site index" is a great list to help with label reading.

Good luck and it's great to see your concern! :)

Kassandra

Mickide Apprentice
Mickide
Posted
  • Author
Hello,

I am 17 and was dx'd in May after a long list of health problems finally led to the diagnosis. It will be difficult for them to adjust, but they have you and your support. I am also starting a teen support group in the Los Angeles area, so if you want to give either or both of them my email address, feel free. It is knshore@hotmail.com I would be more than willing to give them support because I went through a hard time when I first went gluten-free and didn't have anyone to talk to about it. The biggest thing is for them to try to not eat many gluten-free replacement foods when they are healing. Also, don't overdose on any one thing. For example, I also was dairy free and was using a lot of soy replacements for dairy, but then I developed an intolerance to soy because I ate so much of it. This is very common in this thread and other celiacs I know. Overall, this diet has been a great change for me, I have the healthiest diet out of all of my friends. They all are jealous of my good lunches because they eat wonder bread with bolonga. LOL! :D Also, make sure your parents are together on them being gluten-free (even though I think you said they're divorced.) Your parents will need to make sure there is always food for them to eat such as granola bars, etc. It is definitely going to take a little, okay A LOT of adjustment, but this is the best diagnosis to me. The prescription is to change your diet!!! It's not like we are stuck to 25849743 pills a day. Again, please feel free to have them email me, or if you want to, I am more than happy to help.

I thought of something else, is there any way YOU could take them shopping and show them things that they can eat and have them read the labels so they understand what they can and cannot eat. The list on this sites "site index" is a great list to help with label reading.

Good luck and it's great to see your concern! :)

Kassandra

Thanks for the reply.. I want to help them out as much as I can but am the older one and not one of they're friend, KWIM?? also they live in Ohio and I in Texas so I only see them a few times a year. I can email and help them out on the phone but know they are going to want to talk to others they're age. Thanks so much for your email I will pass it on!!

Mom23boys Contributor
Mom23boys
Posted
:D Also, make sure your parents are together on them being gluten-free (even though I think you said they're divorced.) Your parents will need to make sure there is always food for them to eat such as granola bars, etc. It is definitely going to take a little, okay A LOT of adjustment, but this is the best diagnosis to me. The prescription is to change your diet!!!

I would also encourage both parents to get tested. I must assume you all got it from somebody's genes.

JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted
I would also encourage both parents to get tested. I must assume you all got it from somebody's genes.

I would suggest to them that they frequent this website, and that they get in touch with their local celiac support chapter, if there is one in their area.

ShadowSwallow Newbie
ShadowSwallow
Posted

I was diagnosed a little over a month before my 17th birthday. Post-daignosis I actually have the energy to do all those things my friends were doing that I couldn't keep up with.

I found it very liberating (after reading every book I could get my hands on and educating my family about what I could eat (good thing, too, since 2 others have just been diagnosed Celiac)). :)

Green12 Enthusiast
Green12
Posted
I would suggest to them that they frequent this website, and that they get in touch with their local celiac support chapter, if there is one in their area.

I second this suggestion.

I also think getting them in contact with other kids their age, either through this website or a local group, who are going through the same thing would be very helpful- for support, sharing info and coping strategies, etc. Check out the Teenagers section.

They need to know that they aren't alone, and that there are many kids out there living their lives succesfully with celiac.

I have also heard about Celiac summer camps, you might want to look into that for them.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,916
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Ykat
    Newest Member
    Ykat
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • xxnonamexx
      Fermented foods, Kefir, Kombucha?

      By xxnonamexx · Posted

      very interesting thanks for the info  
    • Florence Lillian
      gluten free cookie recipes

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      More cookie recipes ...thanks so much for the heads-up Scott.  One can never have too many.  Cheers, Florence.
    • Russ H
      Severe severe mouth pain

      By Russ H · Posted

      Hi Charlie, You sound like you have been having a rough time of it. Coeliac disease can cause a multitude of skin, mouth and throat problems. Mouth ulcers and enamel defects are well known but other oral conditions are also more common in people with coeliac disease: burning tongue, inflamed and swollen tongue, difficulty swallowing, redness and crusting in the mouth corners, and dry mouth to name but some. The link below is for paediatric dentistry but it applies to adults too.  Have you had follow up for you coeliac disease to check that your anti-tTG2 antibodies levels have come down? Are you certain that you not being exposed to significant amounts of gluten? Are you taking a PPI for your Barrett's oesophagus? Signs of changes to the tongue can be caused by nutritional deficiencies, particularly iron, B12 and B9 (folate) deficiency. I would make sure to take a good quality multivitamin every day and make sure to take it with vitamin C containing food - orange juice, broccoli, cabbage etc.  Sebaceous hyperplasia is common in older men and I can't find a link to coeliac disease.   Russ.   Oral Manifestations in Pediatric Patients with Coeliac Disease – A Review Article
    • cristiana
      Severe severe mouth pain

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi @Charlie1946 You are very welcome.   I agree wholeheartedly with @knitty kitty:  "I wish doctors would check for nutritional deficiencies and gastrointestinal issues before prescribing antidepressants." I had a type of tingling/sometimes pain in my cheek about 2 years after my diagnosis.  I noticed it after standing in cold wind, affecting  me after the event - for example, the evening after standing outside, I would feel either tingling or stabbing pain in my cheek.   I found using a neck roll seemed to help, reducing caffeine, making sure I was well-hydrated, taking B12 and C vitamins and magnesium.  Then when the lockdowns came and I was using a facemask I realised that this pain was almost entirely eliminated by keeping the wind off my face.  I think looking back I was suffering from a type of nerve pain/damage.  At the time read that coeliacs can suffer from nerve damage caused by nutritional deficiencies and inflammation, and there was hope that as bodywide healing took place, following the adoption of a strict gluten free diet and addressing nutritional deficiencies, recovery was possible.   During this time, I used to spend a lot of time outdoors with my then young children, who would be playing in the park, and I'd be sheltering my face with an upturned coat collar, trying to stay our of the cold wind!  It was during this time a number of people with a condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia came up to me and introduced themselves, which looking back was nothing short of miraculous as I live in a pretty sparsely populated rural community and it is quite a rare condition.   I met a number of non-coeliacs who had suffered with this issue  and all bar one found relief in taking medication like amitriptyline which are type of tricyclic anti-depressant.   They were not depressed, here their doctors had prescribed the drugs as pain killers to address nerve pain, hence I mention here.  Nerve pain caused by shingles is often treated with this type of medication in the UK too, so it is definitely worth bearing in mind if standard pain killers like aspirin aren't working. PS  How to make a neck roll with a towel: https://www.painreliefwellness.com.au/2017/10/18/cervical-neck-roll/#:~:text=1.,Very simple. 
    • Scott Adams
      gluten free cookie recipes

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      We just added a ton of new recipes here: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/gluten-free-recipes/gluten-free-dessert-recipes-pastries-cakes-cookies-etc/gluten-free-cookie-recipes/
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.