mom26 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 She has had GI issues for several months now but we thought it was a lactose issue and tried Lactaid products with minimal changes. Tonight we went to Cicis for dinner (pasta,pizza---lots of gluten) and at around 8:30 she began complaining of cramping/pain in her abdominal region. She also has had issues with gas for several months. I have a niece and 2 nephews, a SIL and BIL on my husband's side who are all Gluten intolerant. I just read up on Celiac dz, and it said not to try changing the diet until after she has been tested...seriously, I think she may not tolerate the testing well and I'm wondering do I really need to get all the bloodwork, endoscopy etc if I might be able to see if diet impacts her? What would you do? We have been blessed with 6 kiddos and I do not have a clue regarding what foods she can even eat. Any easy suggestions on how to give this a try?? I can contact my SIL but thought I'd start here 1st since I can't get in touch with her tonight. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Too much dairy gives me massive gas pains. I am assuming that she had cheese with both the pizza and the pasta, so it might still be the dairy. I would honestly get her into an allergist for testing. If I am not mistaken, you have to be off of gluten or dairy (completely) for quite a while before improvement may be seen and any slip up would bring you back to square one. Find out what is bothering her first, then make the changes needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom26 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Too much dairy gives me massive gas pains. I am assuming that she had cheese with both the pizza and the pasta, so it might still be the dairy. I would honestly get her into an allergist for testing. If I am not mistaken, you have to be off of gluten or dairy (completely) for quite a while before improvement may be seen and any slip up would bring you back to square one. Find out what is bothering her first, then make the changes needed. Would an allergist just do the skin tests? Would that be sufficient or does it need to be bloodwork? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Have you tried eliminating dairy? I know people who are lactose intolerant who say that Lactaid does not work for them. Also, an intolerance (such as diary or gluten) is not the same as an allergy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom26 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 We have not tried totally eliminating dairy...we do alot of cheese here...and I have bought her a lactose free cheese for her stuff but does not seem to be the answer right now:( Definitively need to do something! Thanks for your response~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 She could be reacting to the proteins in dairy instead of the lactose. It could still be an intolerance versus an allergy. Elimination diet is he best way to find out, but you need to totally eliminate it from her diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 That kind of symptom after a fatty meal - think gall bladder issues. Get her an ultrasound. My teen had problems for years (in addition to lactose intolerance so we assumed it was not enough Lactaid or forgetting to take Lactaid) and it turned out she had a malformed gall bladder full of stones. Over a year past surgery and dd rarely has abdominal pain anymore!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My son was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. I do suggest getting the blood test. You can wait and see on the endoscopy. If the blood test is negative, but you can't figure out what is causing the issues, you can still try cutting gluten, but cutting gluten is very difficult, so that's why I recommend at least trying the blood test first- if you get a solid positive, it'll make it easier for you and your dd to be enthusiastic about the diet restrictions. We are eating a lot more rice and potatoes, gf oatmeal (make sure it's gf), corn tortillas, etc. Once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. But with a large family, you need to be very careful about cross contamination- your dd needs her own peanut butter, jelly, butter, etc, because even crumbs from gluten bread are enough to continue the inflammation of the gut. It's hard to distinguish between milk product intolerance and gluten intolerance (lots of people are intolerant to BOTH) which is why a blood test to start narrowing things down is a good idea. So far we have tried gf pasta, but not bread yet. The gf pasta is definitely edible with a good sauce! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 This week would be a good time to do an elimination diet so that she doesn't suffer more during holiday meals and parties. We've done an elimination diet with several of our children with very helpful results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 With the family history of gluten problems, I think it may be prudent to either do some testing through a GI or try a strict gluten free diet for 8-12 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My dd is intolerant to dairy, but has not tested positive for an allergy. Her body just can't tolerate it. We tried lactose free stuff too...to no avail. Within 3 weeks of going dairy free, she was a healthy child. The turn around was amazing. I would try dairy elimination first...because it is easy, free ,and doesn't involve a doctor. If that didn't work, then I would seek out professional help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My dd is intolerant to dairy, but has not tested positive for an allergy. Her body just can't tolerate it. We tried lactose free stuff too...to no avail. Within 3 weeks of going dairy free, she was a healthy child. The turn around was amazing. I would try dairy elimination first...because it is easy, free ,and doesn't involve a doctor. If that didn't work, then I would seek out professional help. :iagree: You need to go 100% dairy free. You need to read the labels on everything because some things are disguised under another name but are really dairy. It took me probably close to a year to feel better after I went dairy free. Lactaid and lactaid products did nothing for me (maybe made me feel worse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 My dd, also 11, had nausea everyday. The GI doctor told us the first step would be to strictly give up all dairy products, not Lactaid at all, she said. Dd turned around completely within three days. Your pediatrician can order the same celiac panel as a GI doctor, at least ours did. You can request that right away. They are notoriously unreliable, but it's something to try before giving up gluten. If the strict dairy free regimine doesn't help and the gluten blood test is negative, I'd still try GF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) She has had GI issues for several months now but we thought it was a lactose issue and tried Lactaid products with minimal changes. Tonight we went to Cicis for dinner (pasta,pizza---lots of gluten) and at around 8:30 she began complaining of cramping/pain in her abdominal region. She also has had issues with gas for several months. I have a niece and 2 nephews, a SIL and BIL on my husband's side who are all Gluten intolerant. I just read up on Celiac dz, and it said not to try changing the diet until after she has been tested...seriously, I think she may not tolerate the testing well and I'm wondering do I really need to get all the bloodwork, endoscopy etc if I might be able to see if diet impacts her? What would you do? We have been blessed with 6 kiddos and I do not have a clue regarding what foods she can even eat. Any easy suggestions on how to give this a try?? I can contact my SIL but thought I'd start here 1st since I can't get in touch with her tonight. Thanks!! Those symptoms sound just like the ones I experienced for the past few years, and ultimately, I discovered I have a gluten intolerance. I don't think I have celiac disease, because my physical reactions are not that extreme, but if I have gluten every day--even just a bit--my digestive system reacts exactly the same way you're describing. I didn't go for the diagnosis. My dr. did the basic blood test, which of course came back negative, and I chose not to go any further. I just eliminated gluten from my diet and 75% my digestive symptoms stopped (I gave up coffee and the other 25% went away--probably not a problem for your DD!) I would suggest just eliminating gluten if you think it's an issue, especially if it runs in the family. Have her pay attention to what happens in her body. Many people who are sensitive to gluten are also sensitive to dairy and soy, but personally, I'd start with the gluten. :grouphug: ETA: After having read the rest of the responses, I wanted to add that my own experience has been that I don't need to worry about cross-contamination. I can lick the crumbs off a buttery knife that was used to butter toast and suffer no ill effects. So it may be as serious as celiac disease, but it really may not. And if you truly think she won't tolerate testing well, I would just go the elimination route. As NJKelli said, the blood panel is notoriously unreliable. Mine came back completely normal, but I know for a fact that gluten makes me suffer. Elimination is the easiest next step, IMO. Edited December 14, 2011 by melissel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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