Is my 8 yr old DD gluten intolerant?

[Loonytoonie]

It's the "my belly hurts" again. It's such a reoccurring theme.
Sometimes DD is constipated, despite a reasonably balanced diet. Sometimes she's too loose. She told me yesterday that her (sorry tmi) "poo felt full of sharp stones"

She bloats too - easily spotted because she follows DH's build - long and very lean.

On the weekend, she had pancakes, toasted sandwich for lunch and because we had a party, yet more sandwiches. Not the greatest diet but a one off. This bread-fest has left her with yet more bloating and griping pains.

Could she be intolerant? I have taken her to the GP for this problem and they treated her for months with a gentle dose of Movicol.

I hate to see her in such discomfort.

Can anyone advise me please?

"Tummy aches" are so vague they seem to be rather hard to diagnose. Based on my own reading when DS had daily tummy aches (but no constipation), some of the main causes include constipation, gluten intolerance, and lactose intolerance, but there are more.

Sounds like your GP has been working on the constipation theory, and since you have noticed constipation happening you should probably work on increasing the fruit/veg/water content of her diet. Did the Movicol help at all? As the problems are still going on, you should probably go back to the GP again.

Gluten intolerance can be tested for with a simple blood test. Don't try cutting out wheat until you've have the test done, as the test doesn't work if you're on a gluten-free diet.

Our GP told us that the NHS no longer does lactose intolerance tests, and that the best way of testing for lactose intolerance is to move to lactose-free milk (assuming she drinks milk?) for a week or so to see if it makes a noticeable difference.

FossilMum that's fantastic advice. Thank you.
I'll up her fruit/veg water content, sure enough and see what happens in the next week. A blood test would scare her so I wonder whether I should ask for her to go back on movicol?
The "sharp stones" feeling she has when having a poo worries me though.
What to do...

give her probiotics daily it can help with softening too - biocare powder (look in fridge in health store) is good you can mix half teaspooon with juice water milk or yogurt.

test for coeliac can be done.

coeliac is not teh same as intolerance - coeliac is autoimmune condition
gluten intolerance is jsut that - cut down on gluten and it might help.
but i there is chance she coeliac then she needs to keep eatng gluten while tests are done