14 replies to this topic

[thegirlsmom]

My daughter is almost 5 years old(Jan 4) and is still having big issues with staying dry through the day. In any given day she seems to change her undies due to leakage, and sometimes she doesn't make it in time. She is the youngest of 4 girls and very independent, so she has always taken care of things by herself.
We have gone through a lot of frustration thinking she was just being lazy, disobedient, and just didn't care. We have tried many strategies to motivate her and any time she has motivation(candy, swimming, etc.) she miraculously stays dry for weeks/months - and then once the motivation is gone we are back to square one.
Sometimes I even question if she can feel when she needs to go.

A few months ago I started exploring the idea of her having a dairy allergy and taking dairy away seemed to help - for a while. Now she doesn't want to be dairy free and she sneaks it when I am not looking. Since Halloween she has been eating chocolate because it is gluten free(but not dairy free) and she has been having more accidents

I - Mom - have celiacs so she has a very limited amount of gluten. However, she does get some when we are out from adults who accidentally feed her the group snack instead of the one I packed.

She seems to get D a lot. And her hair seems to fall out.

The Dr. said he saw no proof that urinary issues were due to food allergies.

Has anyone else had any problems with bladder control due to gluten/dairy? I would love to get her tested but we are limited by finances and Insurance won't cover so what tests should I request?
And how do I get her teachers to stop feeding her crackers?
I am at my wits end here and would really appreciate help.

[rosetapper23]

Okay, I have to admit that I don't have experience with a child who has had bladder issues due to dairy or gluten sensitivity. However, my grown daughter (who I believe DOES have celiac, but she refuses to get tested) had issues at the same age. About that time, I read a book written by a female urologist who suggested that some immature bladders cannot tolerate bananas. I began to notice when the instances of incontinence occurred, and--lo and behold--it turned out to be bananas. The only time thereafter that she had bladder issues is whenever a school staff member forgot and gave her a banana. Otherwise, she never had the problem again. I only mention this as a possibility--hopefully, this may help shed some light on the problem, since bananas are commonly fed to young children.

[organicmama]

This is discussed all the time at groups.yahoo.com/foodlab. Urinary issues related to food are apparently very common from what I've read on the forum. The group was created to exchange information about allergies and sensitivities.

I would suggest you ask the group there, as they are extremely knowledgeable. Many of them did potty training from infancy (elimination communication), where they saw food reactions in a child young enough that they couldn't willfully decide not to potty.

[samie]

My daughter just five she has a problem with it to but she is diabetic to. Though i think i might take her to the doctor cause she does it even when sugars are normal but have you ever checked her blood glucose to make sure it is normal. My daughter used to be fully trained before she became diabetic. I dont know if it could be food related. Also would she be able to see a uroligst to see if shes having problems with her bladder. Just trying to give suggestions.

[salexander421]

Yes! My girls are a little younger, 2 and 3 1/2. Both are potty trained and both have accidents when glutened. We are dealing with that with our 2 year old right now. She has been using the potty 100% for about 3 months now, we have recently had some accidental gluten exposures and she has been having to wear pullups because she's having so many accidents. Same with our 3 1/2 year old, I can tell when she's had an accidental exposure because she'll get upset and say she just couldn't hold it. I know it's connected because they have all their usual gluten symptoms that go along with it.
I wet the bed until I was about 10 or 11. My parent's didn't know about my gluten and dairy problems back then but I now think it was connected and my mom agrees.

I wish I had a reference for you, maybe you can google it, but I read somewhere about how pee flushes out the toxins. When you have food issues these are toxins to our bodies and our bodies naturaly try to flush it out by producing more pee. I think the article also said something about it not signaling the brain like it normally does when you just have to pee normally. Hope this makes sense! If I can locate the article I'll post it!

[frieze]

My daughter is almost 5 years old(Jan 4) and is still having big issues with staying dry through the day. In any given day she seems to change her undies due to leakage, and sometimes she doesn't make it in time. She is the youngest of 4 girls and very independent, so she has always taken care of things by herself.
We have gone through a lot of frustration thinking she was just being lazy, disobedient, and just didn't care. We have tried many strategies to motivate her and any time she has motivation(candy, swimming, etc.) she miraculously stays dry for weeks/months - and then once the motivation is gone we are back to square one.
Sometimes I even question if she can feel when she needs to go.

A few months ago I started exploring the idea of her having a dairy allergy and taking dairy away seemed to help - for a while. Now she doesn't want to be dairy free and she sneaks it when I am not looking. Since Halloween she has been eating chocolate because it is gluten free(but not dairy free) and she has been having more accidents

I - Mom - have celiacs so she has a very limited amount of gluten. However, she does get some when we are out from adults who accidentally feed her the group snack instead of the one I packed.

She seems to get D a lot. And her hair seems to fall out.

The Dr. said he saw no proof that urinary issues were due to food allergies.

Has anyone else had any problems with bladder control due to gluten/dairy? I would love to get her tested but we are limited by finances and Insurance won't cover so what tests should I request?
And how do I get her teachers to stop feeding her crackers?
I am at my wits end here and would really appreciate help.

In reference to bold....not everything is food related....

[domesticactivist]

The fact that she is sometimes able to stay dry probably rules this out but I recently met someone whose son had what I think she called a tethered spine. The connection to his bladder just wasn't there so he didn't feel when he needed to go. At 7 he had a simple surgery that corrected the problem overnight.

[thegirlsmom]

In reference to bold....not everything is food related....

I know this....but what do you think it could be related to? If there was some physical problem, then how could she stay dry for so long with "motivation"? Which is why I have thought it was just willfulness or laziness. It's just been recently that I have explored the idea of it being food related. Our last incident happened on a day she woke up with horrible D and had just (accidentally) been given a snack of saltines and then got up and peed all over herself. The next morning she woke up and had d in her pull up(she has been number 2 trained for years).
I will check out that other group. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

[rosetapper23]

I recently read somewhere on this forum how the nerves to the bladder can be affected by gluten in a form of neuropathy so that a person with celiac is unable to "feel" the urge to urinate and is unable to control the urge. You might do a keyword search on this.

[thegirlsmom]

I recently read somewhere on this forum how the nerves to the bladder can be affected by gluten in a form of neuropathy so that a person with celiac is unable to "feel" the urge to urinate and is unable to control the urge. You might do a keyword search on this.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have wondered if she can feel it or not. This week she has had really bad d so I think one way or another we are going to crack down on the gluten.

After that we may try a sort of elimination diet to see if there is a difference. The one time I was obsessive with gluten and dairy after 2 weeks she came to me and said "I just don't understand. I am staying dry and I am not even trying!" Since then I am afraid I was hit with Halloween and been a bit lazy with the candy.

[domesticactivist]

I think it's possible that when she's staying dry with motivation it's because she might take a lot of trips to the bathroom that she doesn't feel the need for. That way she would empty her bladder before it emptied itself unexpectedly.

[thegirlsmom]

I think it's possible that when she's staying dry with motivation it's because she might take a lot of trips to the bathroom that she doesn't feel the need for. That way she would empty her bladder before it emptied itself unexpectedly.

'
That's kind of what I am thinking. Also, I realized the time she was most successful she had a timer that she just went when it beeped. Again....no need to feel there.

[cassP]

found this on a google search... gotta go to bed.. anyone still there???

ive been having a lot of bladder issues past year since my last UTI... off and on feeling like i have another UTI and often it happens after i eat yogurt or bananas... which is extemely weird!! didnt happen before... i DID notice in the past 4 years as i went gluten free- the bladder fullness & inflammation would happen when i had gluten or when i had too much Frucotse... then i also adapted a modified Low Fodmap diet - and i would only eat a 1/2 very ripe banana to avoid the high fructose- was always fine... but now bananas mess my bladder up BIG TIME

also when i was a child- i was a VERY FREQUENT Bed Wetter - even having a few episodes as an adult-> also as a kid & teen (& 20s)- i could NEVER hold my bladder EVER when i laughed...

at least i know im not alone :/

[MitziG]

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[MitziG]

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