Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Help me write a gluten bucket list for my son

50 replies

Prusik · 23/02/2019 16:13

Slightly emotional post but we'll ignore that.

My son has coeliacs disease. He does, however, need to have six weeks on gluten prior to having a gut biopsy.

He's two.

Anyone fancy helping me write him a gluten bucket list? I start with garlic bread.

I'm aware this is more for me than him. My heart breaks for my little boy. It's going to be a tough six weeks with a very poorly boy but I want to make it fun so at least he can try some new things for the last time

OP posts:
BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 23/02/2019 16:14

Doughnuts!

JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam · 23/02/2019 16:14

Toasted tea cakes and hot cross buns?

JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam · 23/02/2019 16:14

Pizza

Original poster
Prusik · 23/02/2019 16:16

Afternoon tea!

OP posts:
kbPOW · 23/02/2019 16:17

If he has coeliac's disease he wouldn't be told to eat gluten for 6 weeks. Is it that he's going through the process of getting diagnosed? I came to say garlic bread but that was your first offer Smile

MummyItsallaboutyou · 23/02/2019 16:18

All butter shortbread. The gluten free alternative isn't even close.

Cwenthryth · 23/02/2019 16:19

Croissants. Have not found decent gf croissants. Waitrose do some brilliant (real/gluteny) frozen croissants that you bake at home and can then have fresh & warm from the oven. Yummmmm.

Most things (pizza/pasta/bread/wraps) you can get very good gf versions of now though and as he doesn’t already have an attachment to particular brands eg. Dominos pizza etc then there really won’t be much for him to miss out on.

HorseDoorBolted · 23/02/2019 16:19

Just wanted to try to offer some comfort.

I have two friends who are celiac and it really is much much easier than it used to be. Gluten free alternatives are getting better all the time, and they’ve both learned to hardly let it affect their lives.

Flowers
Floralnomad · 23/02/2019 16:20

I wouldn’t bother with pizza or chicken nuggets as frankly the GF versions are just as good . My daughter is coeliac and she would have KFC / doughnuts or normal bread on her list .

WiltedDaffs · 23/02/2019 16:20

Jaffa cakes. The gluten free ones are shit.

Original poster
Prusik · 23/02/2019 16:21

@kbPOW it's complex. He's tested positive for the gene and his blood levels (eg, iron) are all over the place. When on gluten he has awful symptoms. He's mostly been off gluten since twelve months. The paediatrician said 99% coeliacs but the sensitivity test was negative as he had only had two weeks of gluten. We need to do a full six weeks to confirm diagnosis

OP posts:
Original poster
Prusik · 23/02/2019 16:22

Amazing suggestions, thanks.

I'm going to take him to a Chinese buffet

OP posts:
PragmaticWench · 23/02/2019 16:22

Party ring biscuits.

My daughter has just been diagnosed with coeliac disease and she really misses these.

I get the tearful feeling OP! Yes it could be a much worse disease than this, and yes it's just food, but it's jolly tough and of course you feel for them. I get teary sometimes too.

Bloomburger · 23/02/2019 16:24

Yum Yums or Plain Crispy Creme Donuts. Devils work. I bought 12 and ate 7 before searching the house for the greedy fucker who at all my donuts!

MrsNai · 23/02/2019 16:28

Before I had my endoscopy, which led to diagnosis of Coeliac's Disease, I enjoyed a few weeks of lots of Chinese food, especially dumplings. I also went to bakeries and worked my way round all the cakes I hadn't tried (quite good as some really weren't that great). Plenty of sausage rolls, cheap own brand Coca Cola, Jaffa cakes, party rings and pasties.

If your son is diagnosed with Coeliac's Disease do join Coeliac UK as they can offer lots of support and guidance. They also have a youth group, activities, magazine with medical news and recipes, app to check food via barcode and find restaurants.

FaithInfinity · 23/02/2019 16:30

I’ve been GF for years and had to do a 6 week gluten challenge before a biopsy. It was delicious but I felt rough! Smile I definitely miss the things there are no great substitutes for such as doughnuts (never had a Krispy creme!), KFC, chocolate eclairs, creme cakes, cheesecake. Mmmm.

Cwenthryth · 23/02/2019 16:31

I think 40% of us are positive for HLA DQ gene so all it really means in and of itself is coeliac disease can’t be ruled out. But yes you need 6 weeks of gluten exposure for the IgA tests & biopsy.

Good luck with it!

Cwenthryth · 23/02/2019 16:39

Ooh probably not to a toddler’s taste but shredded crispy chilli beef.

(I’m going through re-testing for coeliac at the moment having realised the single test done over a decade ago wasn’t sufficient to actually rule it out, and now finally taking my symptoms/health seriously).

Pythonesque · 23/02/2019 16:44

I'm coeliac and my children sometimes tell me my cakes are as good or better than "normal" ones (mind you they probably mainly get "normal" cake at school so likely a low level comparison!). From your description it sounds like the diagnosis is pretty much secure; but it is worth the hassle to have a definitive one if nothing else for when he is older and needs to accept responsibility for his own diet.

Nowadays there's hardly anything I truly miss so no good suggestions to add to your list. Hope all goes smoothly.

My youngest (despite being almost 6 ft age 13) has just been offered an endoscopy to rule out coeliac; his dad is rather non-plussed as he doesn't feel there is any reason for it. But he has been kept under occasional review for a couple of years due to the extent of the family history (ie everyone on my side), and I suspect he "manages" symptoms that would not seem normal to most people, because it's always been like that. I think it is still less than 50% likely so won't be suggesting a bucket list to him (yet!).

NicoAndTheNiners · 23/02/2019 16:45

Doughnuts and bread
Pizza, dd says all the GF ones are awful.
Pringles
McDonald's

Though maybe if he's only 2yo do t give him anything new with gluten in. Because if he loves it and then can't have it in 6 weeks then he might struggle with it. But if there's stuff he's never had he won't miss it??

Dunno, dd was a teenager when she was diagnosed so was very much aware of what she was missing.

Tesco do nice gf garlic Doughballs and garlic bread though for when he is gluten free.

PalindromicUser · 23/02/2019 16:46

Definitely croissants. DS was diagnosed at 4 and this is really the only thing he really, really misses. Oh, and English muffins. I haven’t found a gf version of either. Gf “croissants” are available but they are shit.

kbPOW · 23/02/2019 16:47

Ah that's tricky. Hope you get a conclusive result. It's definitely much easier nowadays and there is a good GF range at Lidl.

HarrySnotter · 23/02/2019 17:00

If he has coeliac's disease he wouldn't be told to eat gluten for 6 weeks. Is it that he's going through the process of getting diagnosed?

My friend had to do this too - I thought it was off but apparently it's quite common?

Original poster
Prusik · 23/02/2019 18:16

It really does suck. I hate the fact that i'll be knowingly making him poorly. We managed two weeks and he would just scream for hours - he was volatile (more so than a two year old should be), emotional, prone to meltdowns, had tummy ache, looked like crap, slept loads, hated being awake.

I'm absolutely dreading it. Considering its 99% certainly coeliacs (paediatrician actually said it's clear that coeliacs is what he has).

He's not particularly a two year old that knows what he wants yet so won't be tantrumming for real toast because I've given him homemade gf flatbread

OP posts:
Fraula · 23/02/2019 18:21

I wouldn't give him lots of nice gluten-based foods; I'd keep it simple (bread, toast, pasta, pizza) in case he really likes something and then misses it.