My daughter has complained about extreme pain on the bottom of her foot, near the arch, that lasted for about an hour on that one day. This has happened three times about every three weeks. She was just diagnosed around Thanksgiving last year and her A1cs have been around 7.3 and 7.1. Her numbers don’t seem to get too far out of control, but I still feel like I need to ask the question for a second opinion. Do I need to be concerned at the early age of four? What are the real signs of which I need to be aware?

I would not attribute this pain to anything related to her diabetes. I would check to make sure that her shoes are properly-fitting and that she doesn’t have flat feet. If the pain is in just one foot, it may be worth considering doing an x-ray to make sure there’s not a fracture or other bone problem. If the pain appears to be “cramping,” it may be more likely to be just “growing pains,” but that’s less likely in the foot than the calves.

If this has persisted, I would recommend speaking to her pediatrician about it. It may be worth checking her levels of calcium, magnesium, and/or potassium, as deficiency of any of these can cause cramps (although rarely) in children.

LAD