The Tummy Blues
Photo Credit: Eric Striffler Photography
My 4½-year-old son Jack has been complaining about his tummy hurting for some time now—about six months. At first I didn’t think much of it. We have a pooping family, and as I’ve come to realize, “my tummy hurts” for a 4½-year-old can be mistaken for hunger, eating too much, or needing to pee. Instead of being overly cautious (I definitely have neurotic tendencies), I watched for about six months. I might add that we are talking about a kid who has an above average healthy diet so I felt fairly okay with my choice. But once I started noticing soft, red-gray circles under Jack’s eyes, I knew I had to put on my detective’s hat!
Clue One: gas, frequent bowel movements
Clue Two: soft, red-gray circles under eyes
In instances like this, conventional medicine typically prescribes unnecessary poking and pills as the first course of action. But for me, it was clear that dietary action was a must! It was the only thing I could control. I wanted to tap into my resources before taking him to the doctor. I must say that I had a brief moment of panic realizing that there was probably a problem, albeit a manageable one, with my kid’s diet (or possibly something else). He’s my baby, he’s got the tummy blues, and I want to make it better… NOW!
The first step to solving the tummy blues was identifying the symptoms. Once identified, I created an elimination game plan. If necessary, seek immediate assistance from an integrative doctor (who will typically look at dietary change as the first course of action) or qualified nutritionist (another very wise choice). If I were not a culinary nutritionist, I would have done just that!
My elimination game plan:
1. Identify the possible culprit(s).
2. Explain to my child what’s going on and what I plan to do.
3. Remove the culprit(s) from the diet for 2-3 weeks.
4. Rebuild the gut with Aloe vera juice and probiotics (both healing and restorative) making sure to confirm supplemental gut support with a healthcare provider (in my case, a close colleague—and registered dietitian—who specializes in supplementation).
5. Keep a diary noting symptoms or hopefully lack thereof.
6. At the end of the removal period, add the culprit back into the diet and watch for the return of symptoms. If present, avoid that food. If not (and no other culprits are suspected), seek further advice from a healthcare provider. If more than one culprit exists, add one at a time (over a three-day period) and watch for symptoms. If none exist, start with next item (noting that first item is safe to eat). If symptoms do exist, remove the item again from the diet, wait five days, then add the next culprit. Repeat as necessary.
I decided that wheat was my culprit (although I keep a fairly gluten-free home, Jack does eat wheat in some form or another daily). Even though he’s 4½, I feel very strongly about talking to him about matters related to his life. One morning I pulled my little dude aside and said, “We want your tummy to feel better, right?” He gave me a nod. “And you know that I want to do whatever I can to help you feel better, right?” Another nod. “I think that foods that contain wheat, like breads, pasta, pretzels, cookies, and cakes are making your tummy hurt.” He said, “I don’t want to eat those foods anymore, Mom.” Of course he didn’t want to eat those foods anymore, but he would still want them. I continued, “This is the deal, you can still have all of those foods but they will be special foods that I will give you. Mommy will do it with you.” With a slight smile, Jack added, “It’s like our special adventure, right Mom?”
And that it was. I took him to Whole Foods to pick out all the wheat-free products that he wanted to try. Although challenging at times (what do you expect?), we left without too many breakdowns. I must add that my extreme side wanted to start with the removal of gluten, but my practical side said, “Stef, you may not need to go there, so start simple and if you need to take it a step further you can.” I find that talking to myself often helps, even if out loud in public places!
We started the wheat-free challenge, and for the first few days there was no change. In fact I felt as though things worsened a bit (usually the body detoxing). Then, there seemed to be some improvement over the course of the next two weeks; however, not enough for my liking.
The next step was to try a gluten-free diet. I was ready to go there, but there was reason for me to believe that he could have celiac disease, the inability to digest the protein (gluten) present in many grains. I contacted his doctor and she suggested we screen him with a series of blood tests before he went off gluten. When screening a person for celiac, the most common tests taken are antibody tests (IgA and IgG). If a person is already on a gluten-free diet and has their blood taken, the test will be negative for the antibodies.
Jack was a champ during the test, and luckily the results were negative. No celiac! But the tummy blues kept on singing, and I was determined to turn that music off! So, back to my game plan. This is where I am now: I have identified additional culprits and continue to forge ahead to make my baby better! We have yet to see what this journey holds. It is a process, something that I do day in and day out with others, and at this moment it is hitting home.
Obstacles are put in our way for a reason (although sometimes I am not totally convinced of that). The tummy blues are solvable and manageable. Just take a step back, create an elimination game plan with the help of a healthcare provider, and follow the plan. I would love to tell you it is easy, but it is not. Clear goals, objectives, communication, and support will help you get from A to Z as smoothly as possible.
I will leave you with this, I recently had a discussion with a pediatrician colleague of mine and he reminded me to look at the mind and gut as one, a very important component to solving and managing the tummy blues.
- Posted by Stefanie on March 30, 2010 at 5:00 am
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Tagged as: gluten, mind-body, stomach pain, wheat
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Wow – thats a really long time to go without a definite answer! I wouldnt be able to do it – did you have him tested for the IB diseases? Good luck – I hope his belly is better soon!
I had the tummy blues for about 4 years, got tested for celiac and was negative,could not get an answer, even with the help of my naturopath (I am clinical nutritionist), so I finally just went gluten free out of desperation (I was in terrible pain) and it took about 4 weeks but my symptoms have completely gone. I have my life back. Even without a positive celiac result, gluten may still be the culprit. Good luck – poor baby. BTW – we think I developed the intolerance after chemotherapy treatments 5 years ago.
Your solution is at http://www.allergytx.com, you won’t be disappointed! This technique removes everything, pain free.
Hello,
We had the same symptoms with my son – circles under the eyes and constant tummy issues. We did IgG and IgE food testing and discovered he was highly intolerant to baker’s yeast and several other foods. Removing them reduced the circles but the stomach issues remained. Further testing revealed he was extremely intolerant to flouride! Once we stopped giving him that the stomach issues were gone. Good luck in your search. I highly recommend doing a food and environmental allergy panel. It eliminates the guess work with a simple blood test. Good luck to you and your son!
Thank you so much for this post. I know you’ll find just the right plan for your little guy. I am going through the exact same thing but with my body. Have you considered the Alcat test (or something similar) to test for food sensitivities and allergies? What is your opinion on that, do you think they are accurate? I see several people here have mentioned it as well.
Just an FYI, you CAN test negative for Celiac via bloodwork, but still have it. My mother and I both had this happen. However, you cannot have Celiac if you do not carry the gene for it-this rules Celiac out with 100% accuracy. You can get him tested for the “Celiac gene” independently through a lab that does this with a cheek swab (through the mail). Or, if you have a doctor that will work wih you (most do not), they can specifically order it. I just wouldn’t want you to miss a very important possible diagnosis that is so easy to slip through the cracks! Good luck!
Thank you all for this. We are at the beginning of this journey. I wanted to share for such irony that what I do for others I have to do for my son (did it for myself many years ago too so know it intimately). I do have gene for celiac thus am not yet 100% convinced that he is clean. But first logical step is to go elimination, see where it takes us, then additional testing if need be. One step at a time. And, thanks for info on allergytx. As far as Alcat, most integrative practitioners that I work with stand by the IgG and the IgE allergy tests. Not the Alcat.
Stephanie, I would so much like to keep up with your progress. My 14 year old (female) is having similar issues. Like your son, blood test all came back negative. Would love to not have her go through upper GI or colin testing, but fear this may be the next step. Please keep in touch if it’s not too much to ask. I hope your son feels better real soon. ~Patti
Tell Jack Miss Melody is sending him much love and songs to make his tummy feel better. He is a doll!!!
Just make sure that you also have your child tested for intestinal parasites as well. My daughter had similar symptoms and was diagnosed w/ Leaky Gut. She had a Food Specific IgG Antibody Assessment Blood test done and found that she was sensitive to wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs and soy (so all are removed from her diet for at least six months). But I decided to also get her tested for parasites and sure enough she tested positive for Dientamoeba Fragilis. Apparently this amoeba is often the underlying cause for Leaky Gut, Food Sensitivities and Irritable Bowel Symdrome.
Hi Stephanie,
Two of my four children have Ulcerative Colitis. We were blessed to have found Dr. Joel Fuhrman (part of the blog possee)He reverses and prevents disease through high nutrient diets. Check out his November 2004 Newsletter(on his website) which talks about Autoimmune diseases. My 19 year old son has reversed his UC (through juicing, blending etc)and is amost completely off all medications (after 7 different meds and a 2 year struggle)He has literally saved our family! I do not think switching to gluten free products that are still processed food will help your son in the long run….
super interesting – I feel like Felix complains a bit of tummy aches at night and does have some circles in eyes but never thought about it – hmmmm – will keep reading
Don’t believe the blood tests…several members of my family have celiac and blood tests were negative. It is good to get the gene test to see if he has the gene for celiac and if not, you can truly rule it out…
Just chiming in that even if the celiac’s test results are negative, your son can still have a gluten sensitivity. It actually took me at least a month of eating gluten free to start feeling better. Good luck!
Thank you all for your supportive words. I am lucky enough to have an incredible team of trusted experts and colleagues who are helping me along this journey with Jack. One step at a time and if you want to know how things pan out, feel free to e mail me directly.