Could use some advice for 4yr old ds
#329927 - 05/18/08 02:43 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi
My ds has been a medical mystery all his life....GI problems/reflux etc
As a baby he never seemed to tolerate baby food....every reflux med we tried didn't help
He's had skin testing and the RAST done several times and all was negative
I started keeping a food diary and realized he had issues with gluten and fructose (mostly all fruits...)
At first we went GF and his symptoms improved but then we would have really bad days and I couldn't figure out why
He had a horrible reaction to grapes, raisins, banana, apple corn etc
I was given the big brush off from ALL the Dr because even though he is small...I guess he isn't 'sick' enough
I am so confused as to what he can and can't eat, and where to go from here since we can't seem to work it out
I recently started a VERY (what i thoughT) was strict fructose free diet
I think he's having a problem with one of the 'new' foods
I added in which are eggs, egg noodles, and cheeto type product from whole foods...first ing is corn meal)
The cheeto type product doesn't have ANY sugar added
I don't think Zach does well with a lot of corn products but from what I've read corn meal should be ok
I've also read gluten (pasta) should be OK...but a link I saw from this site made it seem gf was the best option?
The thought of having Zach got fructose and gluten free is a little overwhelming..I just don't know what to feed him anymore 
I'm thinking of seeing a GI for testing, but before putting him through that (and is it 100% conclusive?) I wanted to see how he responded to the diet
ANY advice appreciated
Thanks so much
Kim
Edited by kimberd (05/18/08 02:47 PM)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
There are two kinds of disorders associated with fructose. One is a rare genetic disorder called Hereditary fructose intolerance. This disease is detected with genetic testing. It requires the removal of all sources of fructose from the diet including white/brown sugar. Has ds been tested for this disorder?
The other is disorder is called fructose malabsorption. It is a problem commonly found in individuals with GI disorders such as IBS. This disorder is detected by a breath test or by eliminating certain foods from the diet and seeing if there is an improvement.
Fructose malabsorption is managed by reducing or eliminating all foods that contains more fructose than glucose. White/brown sugar which contain exactly equal amounts of fructose and glucose are okay in moderation. However, honey, high fructose corn syrup and a variety of fruits and juices contain more fructose than glucose and should be eliminated or restricted. It is the excess fructose that the GI system has difficulties handling.
Some time ago I posted a message on the board that contained links to three detailed articles on fructose malabsorption. They are quite technical however the second article contains a useful table (see Figure 2). The left hand side of the table gives a list of unfavorable food and the right hand side gives a list of favorable foods.
A question: Is your ds (what does ds mean?) sensitive to gluten or just sensitive to wheat products? The reason I ask is that individuals with fructose malabsorption frequently have to limit their wheat consumption. Wheat and a few other foods like Jerusalem artichokes contain high amounts of fructans which are a soluble fiber made up of long chains of fructose molecules.
Good luck 
--------------------
STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks so much for your response
(ds=son)
I'm not really sure exactly the extent of Zach's problem with gluten is
He seems to do poorly with oats and even buckwheat seems to give him gas
I am a little discouraged because yesterday he didn't have any fructose/sugar and had a BAD day today
For him that is very dark eyes, very tired, cranky etc
I can only think of the eggs, eggs noodles and cheeto things from whole foods
I often wonder if his issue could be corn and not furctose..I just don't know
I wish I could come up with a good combo of foods to try/stick with for a while...
Thanks again, Kim
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
If fructose is not the problem then maybe others on this message board with young children can help you better than I can.
--------------------
STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks....problem is I don't know what the problem is
I am thinking of taking him to a GI, but wanted to make changes to his diet first to see how he reacted
In the past he did well, so I don't understand why he seemed to have a reaction to something he ate yesterday
Thanks again for your help...
I appreciate any insight
Kim
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Sounds a lot like my daughter but she is now 37 and although she still has GI issues they are not nearly as bad as when she was a preschooler. By skin tests do you mean allergy tests?? My daughter had those too and they were moderately helpful--showed us not to feed her chicken or eggs or milk products. I had already figured that out on my own. Basically the list of food she could tolerate was very short and we lived in the backwoods of NC where Whole Foods was not even heard of--I got the local grocery to special order me rice and barley flour. The rice flour worked for biscuits but the barley didn't. She had ingredible stomach upsets with both vomiting and D from lots of things she ate. Preschool was hard because I had to stress that she could only eat certain things. Her standby foods were rice krispies, soy milk (no rice milk available there at that time), applesauce, plain boiled potatoes, rice, very small amounts of baked or poached veal or lamb, rice flour biscuits (more like cookies but with only a little sugar). She was incredibly small--only 35 pounds at age 5. She is still relatively small but within normal ranges. Her diet is not as limited but she still has severe reactions to all milk products, citrus fruits, chocolate, tomatoes, eggs, etc. I was lucky to have had a very caring pediatrician who took her problems to heart and worked hard to help me figure out how to deal with her diet. I can't say that we ever truly succeeded but she had more good days than bad and she did grow into a wonderful young woman. My heart goes out to you. Keeping the food diary and drastically limiting food is the only answer if his problems are diet related (which they seem to be).
--------------------
IBS-D, Gas & Bloating
Barbara50
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
