Thursday, January 31, 2013

Gluten-Free Roller Coaster


It's been an interesting ride trying to figure out if Maddy is indeed allergic to gluten. At first, Tad thought he had the allergy so he cut gluten out of his diet for a couple of months. When he finally "cheated" and had some donut holes (you would think would be a horrible gluten choice), he was fine. So he eventually added gluten back into his diet and seems to be fine.
Maddy on the other hand, poor baby, has been very sick on and off. When we thought Tad had the gluten allergy, we then thought that Maddy might have it too since she has always had a sensitive stomach. So, on and off we have taken gluten out of her diet and then added it back in. But over the last 2 months or so, she has been very sick on and off, and it doesn't seem like they were cases of the flu. Each time, she will throw up and have diarrhea at the same time, and once she seems to have everything out of her system, she is fine and doesn't have other symptoms of being sick. She would do that, be fine for a few days, do it again, be fine, etc. Over the past few months we go back and forth between thinking she has the allergy or is just sick, or can handle a little bit of wheat. We are not sure. Again, her blood test for the allergy came back negative.
About 2 weeks ago, we were out most of the weekend and just let Maddy eat what she wanted. Bad choice. She was so sick after that gluten-filled weekend. It took about 3-4 days of being sick, and she looked pale, layed around, and didn't want to eat. Now that could have been more "symptoms" and maybe she really was sick, but I don't think so. Her stomach was hurting so bad for days. And she had a lot of wheat in that weekend.
Another thing I have noticed lately is that she has a lot of congestion. Every time she sneezes, she is cupping her nose and running to the bathroom because strings of snot come out her nose. That seems odd to me. But even though it's been a week and a half since she has had wheat, that is still happening. But her stomach seems better.
So, that's where we are at. Not exactly sure what is going on with her. But she seems better/totally fine when she isn't eating any wheat. So should we continue with more blood tests? Just completely keep her off of wheat? (which isn't the easiest thing to do, so I kind of want to be sure she has the allergy. That is why I have gone back and forth between giving it to her and not...) The doctor also suggested doing a food diary, a poop diary (exciting, huh?), or that they could test her poop. For now, we are just keeping her on a gluten-free diet because she seems fine when we do that!

4 comments:

  1. Hey Stephanie! I was roommates with a girl who had celiac disease (gluten intolerance) at Moody, you probably remember Brianna. Anyway, I was wondering that since you used the words "gluten" and "wheat" interchangeably if you thought they were the same? There are a ton of non-wheat things out there that have gluten. Bri always said she couldn't eat wheat, rye, barley or oats. and a lot of soups and sauces with small traces of gluten... anyhoo, if you already knew that then nevermind! I really hope you figure it out, poor girl!!!

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    1. Yes, I did know that there was a difference. I'm not sure which allergy/allergies Maddy has, and sometimes I think it is just wheat. But she has been on a gluten-free diet. Thanks for the heads up! It is confusing when you have to start figuring this all out!

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    2. It definitely is. I really really hope she gets better and you guys figure it out!

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  2. Poor girl, that sounds awful! I hope you guys are able to figure out what it is for sure soon!

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