Hello, friends and neighbors. I want to share a personal story about my son Samuel, who today turned 8 years a few days ago. For years, he struggled with on-and-off belly pain. At first, my low-level red laser helped ease the pain, but earlier this year, it stopped working.
We did try medications like Motrin and Tylenol, but nothing gave lasting relief. And I also worried about giving him too much Motrin, as it could affect his stomach with gastritis, or kidney issues in the long run. I also worried about Tylenol’s chronic use, as it could potentially affect his liver.
One night, his pain became so severe that we ended up in the ER. Thankfully, his pain subsided without needing a CT scan. But deep down, my intuition was that something in his diet might be the issue. We tried avoiding lactose-based foods, but it didn’t do much. It became apparent that there was no association between his belly pain and lactose-containing foods that he likes, such as milk, pizza, or ice cream.
I hated the idea of having my son undergo a CT scan of his belly, which would likely be expected to be normal, and then a pediatric gastroenterologist, who would make my son get a colonoscopy, which may turn out to be normal!
I had started to become familiar with food allergy panels through some podcasts and reading I had been involved in, so I said, “Why not!” That’s when I ordered a comprehensive food allergy panel for Samuel. The results were eye-opening—Samuel had allergies to eggs and peanuts! By the way, we have a flock of chickens and eat eggs almost daily! (and he also enjoyed eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). We could’ve gone down a long road of medications and invasive procedures (EGD and colonoscopy), but all we needed was the right test.
If you or your child have chronic belly pain, don’t overlook food allergies. Get tested—it could make all the difference! 🩺