Gluten free, celiac, dairy free. . oh my

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2006
Gluten free, celiac, dairy free. . oh my
4
Tue, 09-04-2007 - 12:36pm

I was talking the other day with a gal in my office (whom I've never met) and the conversation turned to my daughter and her sister. Her sister was diagnosed Autism in the 80's but is more likly an Aspie. Some how the conversation turned to diet and celiacs. I'v done some reading and any diet change is a huge undertaking. I've read about what it takes to diagnose celiacs or a need for a dairy free or gluten free or gfcf diet. So I'm thinking about calling the pediatrician and just asking that he test her, but I don't want to come across as the hypocondriac parent.

So I'm looking for thoughts on which direction I should go. Should I try going gluten free first and see if there's a change or just request she be tested by the ped.

TIA,
Brook

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2005
Tue, 09-04-2007 - 6:35pm

My dr will do the testing at the drop of a hat. But then, he does have a brother that's severely autistic, celiac, and SMR.


APOV on Autism

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Wed, 09-05-2007 - 9:24am

Hi Brook,

Does your daughter have any GI-related problems? Either chronic constipation or diarrhea? Or does she have any celiac symptoms besides tummy trouble--unexplained rashes? Have you noticed any reactions related to her food intake?

If any of these are issues, and you want to go to the pediatrician for testing, I would approach it from the standpoint of symptoms, not that you are trying out the GFCF diet for autism-related reasons. Unfortunately, in my experience, most pediatricians have no knowledge of the dietary stuff and may give you a hard time. However, if there are physical symptoms that might warrant allergy testing, then the peds are more cooperative, usually.

You might also consider getting the testing from a gastroenterologist. Our son did have some GI-celiac-like symptoms so that worked well for us. The benefit of doing the tests is just piece of mind.

On the other hand, if you want to try the diet, it's ok to take baby steps. I have a little article on my blog about "getting started" (Thanks for the plug, Candes!) I think it is easier to start by going dairy-free, slowly. But if you have any reason to think your daughter might have celiac, I would have the test done before you start to go gluten-free. There are several ways to do testing, the most common is a blood test and you have to have gluten in your system for it to be accurate. So if are thinking of doing that, I would have it done first.

Here's the link to the "getting started" section of my blog.

http://gfcfmommy.blogspot.com/2007/07/getting-started.html

HTH,

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2006
Wed, 09-05-2007 - 12:50pm

Thank you both for your replies. After some more thinking and reading, I've decided to keep a food journal and behavior journal. Emma does have a rash that she's had since birth. It gets better and worse, but never completly goes away. She doesn't really talk about her tummy a lot, but if it's something she's always had, maybe she thinks she should feel that way. We'll see what comes of it. For now I'm going to try and just focus on the things on my plate today (possible AS, work and school for us both.)

Thank you again. I'm really glad I found this board.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2005
Wed, 09-05-2007 - 4:21pm


Oh Brook, you hit right on it with that! My DH has food allergies and other reactions that he'd never told anyone anyone about, even when asked directly, because he thought he was supposed to feel that way. He was having ear infections about once a month, but thought

APOV on Autism