In July my children had their yearly checkup at a new doctors office, I had their previous files sent over before the visit. My children have always been really healthy and had nothing that gave the doctors a red flag. Until this visit. My 7 year old daughter hadn’t grown in two years! She was in 75th percentile for growth in 2013 and then was in 3rd percentile this year. The doctor listed off several different diseases that could be contributing to this stunt in her growth. We had to go get 6 tubes of blood taken for a wide variety of different things they were looking for. As a bribe for getting the blood work done I got my daughter a doughnut from our favorite doughnut shop “Donut Connection” where they have the best homemade doughnuts I have ever eaten. What a treat! I had no idea that treat was hurting her and that it was going to be the last of its kind. Three days later I get a phone call from the doctor saying that my daughter has Celiac disease. I knew what Celiac was, I have a friend who suffered from Celiac. I was in shock. This meant I had to change my already super picky eater’s diet to gluten free. This isn’t just a diet change but a lifestyle change. For several years she had a tingling and numbness in her legs, her old doctor said it was probably due to growing. After digging in and reading about Celiac disease I find out that this was a symptom of Celiac all along! I felt horrible as a parent for not getting a second opinion right then, but I trusted the doctor, both my kids had that doctor since infancy. Now we have been gluten free for a month. My daughter has grown an inch in that amount of time and is eating like she has never eaten before. She is very conscious of what she puts into her body now. I am amazed to say that when offered an ice cream sample at the grocery store she said “is it gluten free, I can’t have gluten!” I was so proud at that moment knowing that she takes this just as seriously as her dad and I. We have had our share of horrible recipes for dinner and failed breads that taste gritty. She has been a trooper, and what happened to that picky eater of mine? She’s gone! She has been trying a ton of new things because in all reality she has no choice, but she is enjoying trying these new things. I have also gone completely gluten free with her. I have more energy, I feel healthier and I have lost 14 lbs in one month without trying, all just from giving up gluten. I am not going to say this is easy, because its not! It is something that I need to do with my daughter so she feels she has support. My daughter has more energy than ever before although that is a challenge of its own, I cannot be more happy to know that she is going to be able to grow and live a good healthy life now!
RockScienceMoM 