The doctor said perhaps he'll grow out of it, especially if we can keep him entirely away from gluten for awhile (like 6 months or longer). Which doesn't look promising for a 4 year old who dumped soy sauce on his lunch today and then licked the frosting off some cookies I left on the counter! Yes, you'd be amazed just how many things have gluten in them, sadly.
But there are plenty of things that he CAN eat and thankfully it's not an immediate life-threatening type of allergy like nuts or shellfish. The main symptom is a nasty rash that makes his fingers crack and bleed as well as stomach aches.
I will do whatever it takes to keep my son feeling good, but wow, this takes meal planning to a whole new level! It also makes travel and potentially living overseas that much more complicated. For me now, as his mother, but for him in the future, should he not grow out of it, I feel bad.
Right now I'm incredibly thankful for the resources we have to cook new foods and get ideas. My sister-in-law lives gluten free as well as some amazing blogs by gluten free people like glutenfreegirl, who happens to live near Seattle and pointed me to the PCC Market where their shelf labels are color coded for allergens! Love that!
This is the new normal. Time to get used to it!
*Gluten is a component of wheat so anything with wheat in it has gluten, but gluten can also be in foods that don't have wheat in them.
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ReplyDelete"This is the new normal." I have said that many times this year. Yes, you will find ways to make it your new normal - and eventually, it will not only be "normal" - it will be better than that. Thankfully, there are amazing resources available to you for gluten-free living. And since it's not celiac, maybe he will "grow out of it."
In the meantime, know that you are not alone.
Best,
Kim
we live with food allergies here, too, and just wanted to encourage you that you can do it! one site that i found extremely helpful during the month of October (she did a month-long series) was spring.gouette.com. she has tons of ideas and would be happy to dialogue with you about it if need be. you are also welcome to e-mail me if i can help you in any way. my mom has been dealing with celiac disease for well over 15 years. i would be happy to direct you to resources.
ReplyDeletehang in there!
steph
My oldest daughter is unable to eat gluten... she's 25 now and has become quite the gluten-free chef! Take heart... there are so many delicious "safe" foods out there you'll hardly even miss the gluten Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but as time goes by you'll discover all kinds of new favorite foods and like you said... it's a new normal:)
ReplyDeleteYour son is so blessed to have a mama who cares as you do:)
I'm proud of you-- keep at it! I have to say, there are days where I really miss things like good pizza crust, real bread, and being able to walk into a deli and order a sandwich... but I agree that over time you probably won't mind your "new normal" too much.
ReplyDelete