Hi all - I'm actually writing about my son, who was just diagnosed. He went to his endocrinologist (he's diabetic), and after routine blood work found out he's now also got ciliac disease. Poor kid! So I want to get my house in order, and am not sure what he can eat.

On a slightly different topic, this feeds into my guilt. He's been diabetic for years (he's now 20, was diagnosed with type 1 when he was 7). Why do I bring crap into my kitchen? So many times I thought to myself that not only am I poisoning myself with chips, cookies, fried food, etc., but my child is diabetic! What's wrong with me?

So now I want to do better for us all. Anyone know what his diet should be?

Hi there,

So sorry to hear about your son's diagnoses. I have two friends who have celiac disease. One was wasting away, inexplicably losing weight and feeling sick all the time before she was diagnosed. That was about 4 years ago, and she is doing great now. As I understand it, it's an allergy to gluten, which comes from wheat. Unfortunately, it's in soooo many things. She is very careful and picky with her diet, which I'm sure is why she's doing so well. She reads labels on EVERYTHING.

We had a taco night recently, and she brought her own ground meat and made taco salad. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't eat my taco meat, but she said the taco flavoring packets have gluten - who knew??

BTW, my DH is a type 1 diabetic - he was also diagnosed at age 7. It has certainly added a level of trauma to his life. He is a pump user and does very well *most* of the time with maintenance. We eat very healthfully 90% of the time, and I don't have junk in the house (usually!). I hope your son is also on an insulin pump - I am a firm believer that it is adding years to my DH's life (or so we've been told by his doctors) - his maintenance is not only easier, but it's better, and he certainly has much more freedom with what and when he eats.

Best of luck to you and your son!

My mom has had celiac for quite some time now. She wasn't diagnosed for a long time, no one knew what it was. Not to be picky but it's not and allergy to wheat. It is an autoimmune disorder. From what I've read people who have celiac usually have other autoimmune disorders, like Type 1 diabetes and thyroid issues{which my mother and myself also have} The villi in the intestines doesn't absorb the gluten in certain grains, not just wheat. Rye, oats, barley are also included. And gluten is in almost everything!! My mom can't lick envelopes because the adhesive contains gluten! Just be very careful and read all labels. I would also familiarize yourself with the other terms companies use for gluten on packaging. I would start out with basic foods you have probably already been eating since starting your weight loss. Basic foods, nothing processed, lots of fresh fruits, veggies, rice, you can get rice pastas and breads. I never had any luck making good homemade bread from rice flour. I have even found gluten free pie crust mixes, cake mixes and so forth at wal-mart. Gluten free is becoming more mainstream than when my mom was first diagnosed. Good luck to you and your son and it will get easier.

First:

Hang in there!

I know it looks scary right now, but you'll read a lot and learn a lot and it'll happen very quickly.

I don't have celiac, but I am gluten intolerant, so I've had to change my diet significantly (and it's made a WORLD of difference in my life, cutting wheat out). Finally! No more migraines, joint pain, rashes, abdominal distress, OCD symptoms, etc. I'm just so much more healthy, generally.

Here are some resources that have really helped me.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~coeliac/sprue.html
http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin...=9780471773832
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com/index.html
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/spec...uten-free.html
http://www.wildoats.com/u/health100071
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/...acheTag=x34-39 (also support forums)
http://icaneatit.com/home/index.asp
http://www.celiacforums.com
http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.php?act=idx
http://livingwithout.com
http://health.*************.com/group/SillyYaks (Not sure why 3FC is "bleeping out" the URL on this one, but it's a Yahoo Group -- so put "groups dot yahoo" where the asterisks are, if that helps you find it.)

Hope that helps!

Best book for getting your kitchen in order, quickly, is "What? No Wheat?!?" (you can buy it on Amazon.com). It's short and cute and has lots of tips. Very handy!

Hang in there!

Don't forget to talk to your son's dr. He can offer tips or refer you to a dietician. I have severe IBS and had to radically change my diet too. I also scope out Barnes and Noble Bookstores for new books on my IBS. I'm sure there's books on Celiac disease as well, maybe even cookbooks.
Here's a few book suggestions from amazon.com;
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_/...prue&x=15&y=13
Good luck!

Thank you all for your wonderful support and ideas. It makes it easier. I had immediately gone out to the store to buy gluten free products. Then I was talking to a friend, and she hooked me up with one of her friends who has two children with celiac. That friend said I should not necessarily immediately start him on a diet, because he needs a biopsy to confirm celiac. It's not confirmed just based on bloodwork. She said by the time he gets his biopsy, if he has already been dieting, it might skew the results. I called back the doctor, who won't call me back till Monday. So now we are in an uncomfortable waiting pattern. I hate waiting. The secretary in the office said she of course is not the doctor, but she tends to think the patient should listen to his instincts. My son wants to begin the diet, because he's thinking why should he continue eating what he knows is no good for him. Would the biopsy be that skewed? But I guess I need to wait to hear from the doctor. Thanks for listening.

I assume that when the biopsy is preformed they are looking for damage to the villi of the intestines but I'm not for sure exactly how they diagnose the disease. I would say if he feels better on the diet then let him start. I wouldn't want to go through the bloating and upset bowels if I didn't have to. I don't see where starting would reverse or skew the results that they may find.

Lara

Avi - I also wanted to ask you how your poor son is doing with all this. My DH has LOTS of residual anger over having diabetes. He was told at age 7 that his lifespan would be very short. Isn't that horrible? I know they don't do that any more, but I am sure your son still has feelings about his illness... and now to have celiac on top of it! I hope he is doing ok... my DH still regrets that he never had any counseling to deal with his illness (of course, he still could!)

Let us know how everything works out with the biopsy!

There is an unexplainable, bizarre connection between type 1 diabetes and celiac disease which most likely comes from the fact that both are autoimmune, as Brendansmum also said. Being a type 1 diabetic, I've been tested for pretty much every autoimmune disease under the sun, and while I was fat, I really WISHED I had hypothyroid so I could blame my weight on a medical condition, take a pill, and shrink without much effort (Of course, I know people who TRULY DO have hypothyroid have to do more than that!)

avi, gluten free products have become almost trendy lately, as gluten apparently leaves deposits in the intestines of perfectly healthy people. A lot of "raw foodists" and natural, earthy, hippie-dippie types of people are getting into gluten free eating, so most grocery stores have specially marked gluten free products, and all health food stores do. Full of Grace gave you some great links

I hope your son is doing okay, too. Thankfully, when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I was not told my life span would be drastically shortened, BUT I WAS told I would see a cure in five years. I don't know if I will ever see a cure in my lifetime and I honestly don't care either way... if a cure happened, it would most likely be unattainable and expensive. The good news, though, is I once heard that a type 1 diabetic with good maintenance is actually healthier in many ways than many people without it

I am hyperthyroid, and was over 80 pounds overweight. My doctor said everyone is different. Typically having an over active thyroid should cause you to lose weight. I wish their was a magic pill as well. Thought I didn't really start to lose weight until I started eating right and exercising.