my Silly Yak

FOUND THIS OLD POST THAT I FORGOT TO POST....


We found out our son had Celiac's Sprue about four years ago...what a long road it has been. It has been so hard to get his diet straight, keeping him happy and full. I think we've finally got the hang of it and feel like I ought to write about our findings, here in cyberland.

I hope to post recipes I have made up and ones I have modified to fit our life-style and budget. Maybe someone will find it useful! Maybe it will just be a way to document how far we've come on this wheatless, gluten-free journey.

Here is our background...

J. was born a month early nine and a half years ago. He seemed healthy. He was born to eat, and quickly got himself into the 90th percentile for weight. He was not especially prone to throwing up, like my first son, which made me think he was perfectly fine. When he started eating solids (like mush and veggies) he always ate everything offered to him. By the time he was three, he had one ENORMOUS belly, and I thought it was because he was such a good eater. But his Grandparents thought he had a disproportionately large tummy. I didn't think too much about it until his arms and legs began to get thinner, but his tummy seemed larger than ever. Another very interesting point to note was the fact that every time you touched his belly, he would have gas. Add frequent, irregular stools, and I started to worry.

I took J. to many a doctor to ask about his problem. They would test his stool and say he was fine, and say, "some kids are just made that way. Don't worry." But I worried. He was getting pale and gaunt looking and was sad all the time. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what to do. I kept giving him more bread and pasta to help "bulk up" his stools, but they would become more frequent and more runny. AND he would have more and more tummy pain.

He lived with his pain until he was five years old. We moved to a new state and got a new doctor. It was a miracle!!!! The first time we met her, she looked at J. and asked a few questions and then stated, "I think your son has something called Celiac's Sprue. Do you mind if we do some blood tests?" MIND?!?!?! The labs confirmed that he had this Autoimmune disorder that causes you to have all the symptoms he was experiencing.

I was so happy to discover that J. had a treatable problem. I am so glad he has been able to lead a normal life since we changed his diet. I am so grateful that he is no longer sad all the time, or has tummy pain! c'est si bon!