Hi, there.
I'm brand new to this forum, although I'm not totally new to a plant-based diet. About six months ago, I gave up meat and dairy for ethical reasons after watching the documentary Vegucated. The rest of my family (two children and husband) followed suit, although they occasionally eat fish and if we are in someone's home and they offer us a cookie that probably has eggs in it, we don't refuse. Once every couple of weeks, the kids have some sort of cheese, too (i.e., a slice of cheese pizza).
I'm writing about my 10-year-old daughter, who has had joint pain (mostly knees) for at least three years. We (and her doctors) have always dismissed it as growing pains, but this summer it has grown increasingly worse and her new pediatrician suspects that she has some form of arthritis. The pain is now in both knees, one ankle and her hips.
I guess I'm coming here looking for hope. If we tighten up our commitment to a plant-based diet, could it really help her? She's in so much pain right now. While she can ride her bike and swim, it's very hard for her to walk and she certainly can't run. Walking to her bedroom tonight took five minutes because she was so stiff after playing a board game on the floor.
From what I've seen on Dr. McDougall's website about how his diet can help arthritis, we should also avoid gluten and citrus fruits, right?
We have a couple of appointments with specialists coming up. In the meantime, I was giving her ibuprofen for the pain but I stopped after she started complaining of stomach aches. I switched to Tylenol, which seems to be gentler. FYI: There is no swelling around her joints and never has been. I'm so worried they're going to tell us she needs to go on some serious medication. The over-the-counter pain killers worry me enough!
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
