While living in Baton Rouge, my two oldest needed tubes in their ears. We got it done on the same day (would never do that again if I could help it. It was very hard to tend to them both adequately) they started having diarrhea shortly afterwards and it just wouldn't stop. Stool samples, blood tests and a trip to a gastroenterologist after a bowl of 7 grain cereal caused a severe facial rash were all done and determined that while they didn't have the typical bloodwork of a celiac, the reaction to the diet determined celiac. It is probably more of what is called gluten intolerance. It was so bad that when I tried to reintroduce gluten for the second child to be tested, he reacted so violently, I had to say forget it and just stick with the diet.
We moved back to Mississippi. When the boys would accidentally ingest gluten, they didn't react so strongly. And it was so much trouble and hard for them to understand why they couldn't have the hotdog bun and cupcake that everyone else had. In a rural area, there are lots of church functions and family get-togethers. So I bought some digestive enzymes, left some at my grandmother's house and said that a little cheating would be ok.
We got a discount grocery in our little town. I was thrilled to find some gluten-free things. But little by little, I started getting tortillas, pasta and dessert mixes that weren't gluten free. Besides the boys had done well with the occasional gluten, why not enjoy the savings? That was a slippery slope so that when we moved to Alabama last year, I had to ask why I was buying expensive gluten free foods when I wasn't really following the diet. I did start making sourdough bread. Sourdough does break down gluten some and we seemed to thrive on regular baking of sourdough.
Then I discovered I was pregnant with my fifth child. And then morning sickness moved right into tree pollen season so none of us felt real great. I was too sick to bother with sourdough or much cooking at all. So we got fast food, ordered pizzas and bought easy ingredients like sandwich fixings and hotdogs. I did crave salads so I did get some healthy things. But it was a lot of gluten. The older boys were fine, why not leave that time behind us?
Then my younger son and daughter started with diarrhea. I thought it was surely a bug when my second child joined them. I was having the opposite problem but thinking it was all pregnancy related. I had actually cramped so bad initially that I was afraid I was miscarrying. After about a week, I determined this was not simply a bug. At ten days, I was thinking that this was feeling a bit of déjà vu. So back to gluten free we go.
I sent a bunch of unacceptable food with my husband for snacks at work. I live near a health food store so I grabbed a few things to get us started. I already know that Tinkyada has marvelous pasta. I know Pamela's baking mix gives us great options for biscuits and pancakes. So I am a little ahead of the curve.
I definitely see where it was tempting to get away from the diet. It is a lot of work. There are more gluten free options now. I was able to get gf kids meals at Chik-fil-a. When I sprained my ankle, I found gluten free chicken strips so I could cook something easy without standing too much. But you have to think about every single bite you take. Every. Single. Bite.
The young ones responded quickly. Within 24 hours, the worst of the diarrhea was gone. But they still aren't back to normal. They have the yellow, greasy stools that is typical of the malabsorption troubles with celiac. I have them on probiotics, enzymes and omega-3 so hopefully their bodies will heal soon. I feel a lot better. My body is so sluggish. Gluten free diet makes my intestines come alive so to speak. Why I resist the way of eating that makes me feel better, I don't know.
So back to gluten free. I do want to see if we can go back to sourdough so trying some pizza tonight but prepared to get back to gluten free baking if that bothers the little ones.
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