wsieving

You have given me some great fresh ideas! Thank you so much!

Since going gluten free we have been doing cubed meats and fruit for lunch... she is rapidly growing tired of that. What do you feed your gluten-free toddlers?

I think I may try some Chamomile tea. I am still nursing (vowed to continue until our daughter started putting on weight normally) and am afraid of taking anything that may be harmful to her if it passed through my milk. This just really stinks. I hate to be a complainer, but I expected to feel better! I guess as an adult it will take me longer to spring back to "normal" than it takes for children.

When we put DD on the gluten-free diet, we decided on a gluten-free house for various reasons. I have ADD and I was secretly hoping that this would get immensely better.... Ok, while I do not notice any difference during the day, things seem to have gotten worse at night. I have the most horrid insomnia. I haven't had insomnia this bad since I was a teenager. It is terrible. I just lay awake and lay awake. I just can't shut my brain off. I am so tired!! Can anyone explain to me why this is happening?

Ok, we've dealt with stinky poo previous to the gluten-free diet. However stinky poo then meant it smelled exactly like really bad vomit, and we kind of got used to it.... Well, last night DD had a poo (a little more than a week gluten-free) that filled the room with the odor of burning rubber! It was seriously nasty... Is this normal after they've gone gluten-free?

But I want to see if it will help my ADHD son and my daughter who has learning problems.

I'm wanting to jump on that bandwagon too. I did make my entire house gluten free because it is just easier that way with 3 children. Our first day trying gluten free without making the entire house that way, one of my sons gave my DD a cookie. So we did an entire kitchen renovation. I too have a son with ADHD and really want him to be gluten-free at school too. He does show some GI issues related to Celiac, but even if he didn't I would want to try the diet for him. However his pediatrician refuses to write me a recommendation to take to the school so that they have to cooperate with me until he sees him. He is a really awesome ped, but his downfall is always having to get in that extra appt. I don't really mind, as long as he cooperates with us. I know we should try casein free as well, but I really would like to try him on just gluten-free at first and see if it helps. His ADHD is very mild, no real behavioral issues that aren't typical of his age, but extreme lack of focus, he forgets everything, poor kid just can't concentrate. So I am hoping the diet will do him a world of good!

BTDT families feel free to post too! I thought I would start a thread for us to post what we have tried so far and what we liked/disliked about it. We have been gluten-free for a week now and here is what we have tried so far:

Bunless cheeseburgers and Ore Ida fries: okay... I know, this is an easy one. But it was our first "gluten-free" meal, and we needed to throw something together quick b/c I had not done much research/planning yet. Easy as it was, it really was yummy with some extra seasoning (Tony Chachere's is our fav) and the kids did not mind not having the bun.

Spaghetti! I never could get a response from the jar sauce companies about how safe their sauces were, so I made my own homemade sauce (which I always used to make anyway until child #3 came along). We used gluten-free corn pasta. The lady at the store urged me to try rice first, but I really wanted to try the corn b/c I like a firmer pasta. It was delicious, but I did notice if you did not eat it right away (I had to feed my DD first, so I got to experience why the package says "serve immediately") it kind of got a funny texture. If eaten right away like you are supposed to it was delicious and I didn't even notice it was different. If you would like my Spaghetti sauce recipe, here it is:

2 cans Hunts Tomato Sauce

1 can Hunts Tomato Paste

1 tsp. Oregano

3/4 tsp. Marjoram

3/4 tsp. Basil

1 Bay Leaf

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Sugar

1 lb Ground Beef (browned)

1 clove garlic

1 small onion (we don't always put this in, and onion powder is just as good)

Mix all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour (a lot of times, I only simmer for half an hour b/c my kiddos are yelling at me for dinner, and it is just as good)

Bob's Red Mill Pancake Mix.......YYYYYUUUUUMMMMMMM. We were pleasantly surprised with this one. It doesn't taste like buttermilk pancakes, more like a whole wheat pancake. Totally scrumptious though!!!

Other meals we have done aren't made with anything special. Our favorite to have is Loaded Baked Potatoes!!!! We have also had chicken and veggies, and tacos!

This week we are going to try the Bob's Red Mill Pizza crust mix, I'll let you know if we like it. Also are going to be trying a choc chip cookie recipe. We bought some gluten free animal crackers for DD and some gluten-free bread crumbs also for making chicken strips.

Wow!! A detox period? Thank you so much for that bit of information! I never had thought of that, but it sure makes sense!

As a relatively new person to this, I know you will hate hearing this, because I know I did. At your DD's age, the tests are EXTREMELY inaccurate. My DD is 14 1/2 months, had the blood work, allergy tests. Everything said she was fine. But she was obviously NOT fine. She had all classic GI symptoms (diarrhea, constipation, bloating). She was in less than the 3% for height/weight. She had swollen lymph nodes, never had an appetite. She had dark circles under her eyes. It was pitiful. After getting no answers from the docs and them all saying she did not have Celiac (they SWEAR the tests are accurate.... yeah RIGHT) we put our daughter on a gluten-free diet. She has already shown a dramatic change. She ate her first full plate of food on day 3 and hasn't stopped since.

If you think DD has Celiac, I suggest just trying the diet instead of putting her through all of the tests. If it works, you have your answer. This is frustrating and the hardest thing to hear, but it is true, and I wish I had listened to all of the others before me who told me the same thing.

I am very new to this, but it sounds to me like she must have been glutened. DD was great all week, found 1 gerber puff (about the size of a peanut, but full of air, not solid) and had horrid diarrhea. It doesn't seem to take much for these little ones who are so sensitive. I hope things get better soon!

I am so glad you asked that question!! I have been wondering this myself, and you all have great suggestions!!

Gluten free Baking recipes!! If you do not mind, what is your favorite, most moist:

Bread

Pizza Dough

cake

cookies

pancakes

Also looking for a type of chili bean that is gluten-free.... does one actually exist?

I would like to get a few recipes to experiment with, and I would love someone else's opinion on what is best! I am hoping to be delightfully surprised with something a little closer to palatable than the local health store's versions. Thanks in advance!!

So here we are day 4, DD got glutened today (she found a gerber puff somewhere off in a corner...*ugh*), but it was just proof positive for us that we are doing the right thing b/c later this evening she had diarrhea for the first time since going gluten-free. However, previous to that we have noticed a few changes. Firstly she is eating for the first time like a NORMAL toddler. She cleans her plate, eats snacks in between meals. This is the first time EVER for her. We are so thrilled. She is also drinking significantly less. We never thought her excessive drinking had anything to do with gluten intolerance, but it seems as tho it was. She used to live on a sippy cup, but never wanted to eat. Now it's the opposite. Anyone else experience this? She has been way less cranky too. We never realized how cranky she was before until now and she is so pleasant!

Also, now this is a weird one.... DD is almost 15 months old. In this time, she has NEVER drooled, and NEVER had a runny nose. Not one drip or drop. Suddenly today we caught her drooling AND she had a slight runny nose (this was before she got glutened). This seems like a strange effect. We always thought it was odd that she never drooled or had a runny nose, but never associated it with being gluten intolerant. Anyone else had a similar experience?

Thank all of you so much for your help along this journey. You have been such life savers!!

You sound just like us sister. Granted, my DD didn't start out nearly as large as yours, she was only 7lbs 13ozs. She was very colicky early on, after a few months of this we thought... she must be hungry, lets try some solids... didn't help, she never had an appetite and her cheeks started getting eczema. She never would play much until the last month or two, was ALWAYS needing me, other people couldn't watch her at all because she would cry the entire time. That is starting to get better. We started struggling with diarrhea/constipation from around 9 months on. This is the time she started dropping off the growth charts of course. At ten months they discovered swollen lymph nodes in her groin, never found a reason, they are still swollen. She has had tests run also, all neg. After that I checked out a book with FAQ on gluten free living even though they said her test was neg for celiac. I do not know how accurate this is for little ones, but according to that book in order to test positive you must be consuming the equivalent of 4 slices of bread's worth of gluten per day for 1-4 months to test positive on those things. So we finally decided to go gluten free to see if it helped. We have only been gluten free for 3 days now, so nothing much to report yet, but I will keep you updated. Seems like you are in a similar situation, and I say go for it. I was overwhelmed at first, but after doing a lot of research it isn't as hard as it seems. Best of luck to you, and I hope you can get your daughter well!!

Well, I have DH on board finally. I talked to all of our parents last night and they agreed with me, which is amazing in and of itself because they were always so reluctant when we initially started talking about celiac disease in the first place. But we know that something is causing her to have all of these problems. She was recently weighed at 18lbs 13ozs, and she is 30.5 inches tall, so she's pretty skinny these days, and I'm ready to try anything to help my little girl out. So off we go to shop today and hopefully we will be able to tell soon if it is helping . It couldn't hurt for us all to be gluten free anyway since 3 of the 5 of us has ADD.

Ok, so DD had a returning bout of diarrhea all through the week last week. It started after eating a piece of whole wheat cinnamon toast, and continued from there. This was also the same day that we had results from her celiac panel as being neg. So the next day we had blood drawn for a RAST test. Diarrhea continued, then Friday we left for Branson for a weekend family vacation. On the way there DD decided to projectile vomit all over our inlaw's nice new van. It just kept coming up until she was completely empty. When I say projectile, I mean she was rear facing in the 2nd row captain's chair and hit my DH's hat who was sitting in the 3rd row. We thought just maybe it was motion sickness and dismissed it. Saturday went off without a hitch and suddenly her appetite picked up bigger than it ever has. We have never seen this child eat so much food... EVER. She didn't stuff herself, but ate like a normal toddler her age. Sunday we returned home and after about an hour of being home we gave her some cheese it crackers to snack on. Not long after that she started projectile vomiting again. Only this time, it didn't stop. She couldn't even keep down pedialite. Finally after a few hours of this and doing everything we could at home, we decided to take her to the ER. We could tell she was getting dehydrated because she didn't have any tears and she wasn't wetting her diapers anymore. She continued to vomit up until they put in an IV. She had 2 rounds of IV fluids and was sent home. She started running a fever right before we left the hospital, and still has one today. She vomited all through the night last night. Today that has finally ceased. She hasn't eaten anything in 24 hours, has only drank a few ounces of pedialite.

Now, this afternoon we noticed for the first time since she was 4 or 5 months old, her cheeks are nearly smooth. The eczema is disappearing! We thought for sure her allergy test would come back with some kind of an allergy. NOPE. Got the call about a half an hour ago. Results were neg. We really thought that without food for 24 hours and eczema clearing that a food allergy was causing this. I really want to just go gluten free and see if her cheeks continue to clear, and if all of her GI symptoms go away. DH seems hesitant. I am so frustrated right now, and I hate it that my baby is sick. Do you think the vomiting was just a bug or do you think it was Celiac related?

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

Shay, you are right. However, my husband was allergic to everything under the sun when he was a child, so we want to first make sure she has no other allergies, and then have discussed going gluten free with or without a diagnosis. We just want to make sure we are not neglecting to avoid any other foods that may be causing her issues. She definitely has a dietary response to gluten. The past couple of weeks she has been trying her hardest to avoid, while we were pushing gluten prior to testing. In turn, her responses seem weaker, no diarrhea for a couple of weeks now. But she is still bloating at night, along with the ever present swollen lymph nodes in her groin, dark circles, etc. Just no leaky gut lately. So weird... Anyway, we have our mind set on trying the diet once allergy testing comes back-- really nothing else we can do after that anyway, and we want to see our DD healthy again.

They were from a blood test. I think you are right, best way to go about it would probably be through my pediatrician.

Ok, so Children's Mercy called me and would only tell me that all of her levels were "normal". I asked if they could mail me a copy of the results and they said that those were for THEIR records.... I really do not understand this, I'm not sure why they couldn't give me the actual results. I called and made an appt with her local pediatrician for tomorrow morning requesting allergy testing since my pinhead GI did not do it. This is so frickin frustrating because we are no closer now to knowing what the problem is than we were a month ago. I just want to scream. Her GI said the results would be accurate because if Celiac was what was causing her to be so thin that there would definitely be conclusive results on her tests. I just want to cry. I mean, I don't want my daughter to have celiac disease, but at the same time I was looking forward to an answer and to be able to do something for my daughter to get her healthy again, KWIM?

suzyks, which gi is she scheduled to see? I highly recommend NOT seeing Robert Kane. He had a horrid bed side manner, and I felt like he was completely clueless. He barely said anything while we were in there, and also told us to limit her fluid intake after giving us a fact sheet on Chronic Nonspecific Diarrhea and telling us that she doesn't meet any of the symptoms of it b/c she isn't thriving but wanted to treat her for it anyway. I'm a little bugged by this guy .

There is a doc up there that specializes in celiac and malabsorbtion, I would ask for him.

My DH and I have been discussing DD's appt and trying to sift through what very little information we got. Well, we keep coming back to DD's blood pressure. I'm sure I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but was wondering what experience everyone else has had getting your little one's blood pressure taken.

DD cried most of the time the nurse was messing with her. Well, when she first took her blood pressure, she took it from her leg. It was 125/74. She took it again before we left the vitals room and it was 116/95. They said for her age (14 months) 110/70 was considered hypertension, but they said that it probably read high because she was upset. They didn't try to take it again later and so I can't help but wonder what it would have been if she were totally calm. Thing is, she was totally calm up until the moment she put the cuff on her leg. I don't really know what to think, and am seeking some kind of reassurance that this happens alot (which I'm sure it does), and not to worry myself sick over it. Thanks for any advice.

I really don't think her cheeks have ever wept. They are just very rosy and extremely bumpy like eczema. Some days they are really really red, other days they are just pink, but always very bumpy.

Well, I think I went in expecting too much. I really wanted this doc to wow my socks off, but he really didn't. Granted, I went in with probably close to as much knowledge on the subject as he had, and I listed all of DD's issues leaving nothing out right away, so I guess it didn't leave him with much to say. The thing I am most disappointed about though is the fact that he suggested no back up plan, didn't have much to say other than she was obviously "scrawny" and under the 3rd percentile. I asked him about the full panel of 5 tests and he said that two of them were very inaccurate and so they did not need to worry about those (the anti gliadin tests). So he drew blood, and now we wait for the results. I left there with nothing more than I arrived with other than knowing she was tested. This is so frustrating. Oh, and he diagnosed her with acid reflux and gave us a prescription that my insurance doesn't cover that costs over 300 dollars per month. MIL said seek a second opinion if we do not get anywhere with him, and I think I may have to do that.

I really thought he would order a RAST test. He didn't even mention it. Her cheeks have always been rashy, and I've never read anywhere that it was a Celiac symptom, so have always wondered if there is something else she is eating that is causing that. Anyway, I will update with test results once we have them. Thanks for listening.

A home business would be AWESOME! I am thinking of getting into photography when we get income tax. I really have an eye for it, and it is the only thing I can see myself being happy doing from home. I know there are a lot of people who do this, but I am hoping I can come up with a unique kind of service that other photographers do not offer. I doubt it would bring in enough revenue for him to stay home too though. Who knows, but I am still eager to try.

So we are on our way to K.C. today. DD's appt isn't until 2:30, but we are going to make a day of it and try to enjoy ourselves and do some window shopping before hand. Last night I made a list of all of DD's history, weight/height measurements, eating habits, symptoms, etc. I am so prone to forget something I knew I wanted it all written down. I hope the doc doesn't feel overwhelmed by that, but I've had to wait this long to see him that I want to be sure not to leave anything out. I also wrote down the tests that make up the full panel. I really don't think it will be necessary to tell him, they are the best docs in the state, but you never know So, wish us luck, and I'll update this evening!