Foot And Groin Pain - Food Intolerance

[katie67]

Hi, I'm so happy I found this forum! My daughter is almost 4 and suffers various food intolerances. She does not have nuts ( older daughter has a severe allergy ) and we have already eliminated eggs, tomatoes and soya as we know she has problems with these. So far doctor's have been useless. They are only interested in severe allergies and are not concerned that she has not gained weight for 18 months and has only slept through the night 10 times in total.

She is still having symptoms that I am worried about. She has ongoing bottom pain - front and back, inside and outside - she describes. This is daily and has been getting worse over the past year. When it's bad she also has pain in her feet which causes her to shout out. It seems like stabbing pains. She has calpol and/or piriton on a daily basis, neither of which is very effective in stopping the pain. Her bottom area looks fine and there is absolutely nothing to see on the outside. Her sleep is extremely poor. Sometimes she is a bit constipated, then poos a lot. I have found out a little about foot pain and neuropathy from this board.

Can anyone tell me if the bottom and foot pain issues could be explained by gluten intolerance? I'm not sure if they are generic symptoms that could be caused by any kind of food intolerance, or if they tend to be specific to gluten/coeliac sufferers. I have trawled the internet and this is the first place I found something that sounds like the foot pain she has. I know the way forward is probably an elimination diet, but I want to know if the symptoms sound particularly like gluten issues, or could in fact be triggered by any food intolerance? Other foods I have my eye on are dairy, bananas and potatoes. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[gfgypsyqueen]

I don;t know if the symptoms you described are necessarily gluten or celiac disease related, but they are probably food related. I also have a severe nut allergy child and another child that was not growing or sleeping although she ate non-stop. Drs saw no reason for concern in my kids.

The short version is the oldest has the nut allergy and many many years of poop issues. Otherwise healthy and blood test negative for celiacs. She always had a issue with too much dairy. She was limited to one serving of dairy a day and now it is almost completely out of her diet. Shockingly she no longer has any poop problems of any kind, unless she sneaks dairy. That only happened once for her to see the connection. Now her exzema and tummy troubles and poop issues are all gone. She never tested positive for a dairy allergy, but clearly her body doesn't work well with milk.

The younger child has had health issues for over 1.5 yrs and drs saw nothing but a worrywart mom. She has the celiac gene but the biopsy was inconclusive for celiacs. She has a dairy allergy. When all dairy was removed from her diet she initially reacted very well, but that was short lived. Since she was still not growing and Drs not helping. She started a gluten challenge in August. She has since been glutened or had dairy and reacts everytime. Her reaction is itchies foot/leg rash, diaper rash, and diarrhea. Their is a difference depending on what she ate. Now she is growing and gaining weight, sleeping well, and eating normal amounts.

So to me, what you described is very likely related to foods, now you get to play the guessing games to see which foods cause the troubles. For us, if your child had any troubles with foods as an infant, start looking at those foods.

Good luck

[katie67]

Hi, thanks for your post. Yes, we definitely know it's food related. I am lucky that my older daughter with the severe nut allergy can now eat the things that used to make her ill - mostly dairy and eggs. But the little one does not seem to be getting better with her intolerances. It's hard dealing with doctors who are dismissive, isn't it? After all, we live with these children and know how much they suffer. I think it's time I looked at an elimination diet. Hard though, to think of reducing the foods she can have. But the foot pain is quite alarming, so maybe I should explore further.

[Rachel--24]

Before you eliminate gluten from her diet you may want to have the Dr. run a bloodtest for Celiac. That way you wont be wondering about it later. Once you take it out of the diet the tests are not accurate.

If the gluten-free diet helps her you wont want to put her back on it later for testing. I would get that out of the way now if you're someone who will continue to wonder whether or not she has Celiac Disease.

Also, if she did test positive you should all be tested....including the oldest since its genetic.

I do think its most likely food related and gluten and dairy would top the list.

Good luck!!