Saturday, June 10, 2017

Sweet Faces of Celiac Disease: Meet Adeline

Adeline is 10 years old and was diagnosed at 9 years old with celiac disease.

What symptoms was your child having before being diagnosed?

Addie would eat at a restaurant and instantly fall asleep after eating a gluten meal.  She was lethargic, had headaches, anxiety, would cry at the drop of a hat. Fingers were tingly too. She was severely constipated when all this would happen so I started researching symptoms. Everything lined up but the constipation. I even asked her pediatrician who said "You'd know if she had Celiac."  We dismissed it for almost two years. We moved out of state with the same symptoms presenting themselves.  Addie's new doctor offered the blood test right away. Turns out the simple blood test could have helped diagnose her so much earlier.

Any other family members diagnosed with celiac disease?

Mother has gluten intolerance. I was never tested but learned from research about DERMATITIS HERPETIFORMIS which stopped instantly once I cut out gluten.

How has your child’s life changed since being diagnosed?

Much more healthy, less mood swings. She's still anxious which has brought on bouts of constipation. We need to be mindful of using Miralax everyday!!!

What advice would you offer a parent who’s child was just diagnosed with celiac disease?

It's not as hard as you think. You always have to be one step ahead and plan out your day but it's much easier than I thought. When we vacation, we either bring a small grill or stay at a hotel that has one. We cook mostly ourselves with less dining out. Always making sure we have snacks on hand.

I'm so happy she is doing much better! You look beautiful Adeline!

And yes, constipation is so commonly thrown out as a possible symptom of celiac disease. I hope we can bring more attention to pediatricians that constipation is actually a CLASSIC symptom of celiac disease. Thanks Mom for sharing!



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