Child Not Tested Yet

[whymychildjo]

Hello, I have a 9 year old boy who has been having abdominal pain for about 5 months now. His pain level was about a 8 on a scale of 1-10. About 3 months in I started a Gluten free diet. I have a friend who suggested it. I have not had my son test becuase we do not have insurance and after several thousand dollars in ER and other doctor bills I just did not have the money. His pain level has gone as low as a 3-4 on the gluten-free deit.

I guess my question is... has anyone had a child who expressed pain 2 months after going gluten free. Could we be missing something in the deit? Should we go ahead and test him? We are in the dallas area. Any good doctors who will work with us on payments?

Worried and I do not know what to do.

[jmjsmomma]

Welcome. My son is six months into being gluten free and still complains weekly of belly aches. We were told that it would take a year or so for his intestines to heal. I am also in the Dallas area, we see Dr. Kendall Brown (pedi GI) in Dallas. Not sure if he takes payments or not. I hope that you are able to get help for your son soon.

[mommida]

Yes, you can be missing something.

Another food sensitivity.

H. Ployri infection

parasite/ worms

Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Celiac Sprue

mistakes on the gluten free diet from cross contamination (hygeine products, pet foods, craft supplies, possibly drywall dust)

Keep a food journal, it can help track down delayed food sensitivities/allergies or intolerances

[Pattymom]

That sounds like a good improvement, it did take a while for things to resolve completely here as well. Maybe try taking dairy products out for a while too, give the gut more time to heal. I will confess that I resisted that suggestion for a long time myself, because at least we still had ice cream, yogurt and pizza ( I mastered pizza crust early one--Carol Fenster's recipe-Special diet solutions, good book) but when I finally took it out, it made a big difference. Now I only have one chld who is still off gluten and dairy, ( the dairy gives her eczema, not GI symptoms) and two off gluten. So my boys improved enough for dairy eventually.

Hang in there.

Patty