My just-turned-9 yr. old daughter has been suffering from on and off moderate to severe stomach aches for nearly a year now. In the past few weeks, the "attacks" have become more severe and long lasting. She gets pain around her belly button, nausea, chills and sometimes diarrhea. The pain and nausea last for a day or two and come and go. I'm having some tests run and we're awaiting the results but wondered if any other moms out there have dealt w/ similar problems. This was a tough night and I almost brought her to the e/r but she finally calmed down and fell asleep. We've got her on a lactose-free diet and are trying Pepcid now at her pediatrician's advice.
Any input greatly appreciated. I hate seeing my normally happy and active little girl in so much pain :(
T.
Thanks so much to all of you. I'm blown away by the many thoughtful responses!
She was in pretty bad pain this morning so Kaiser changed her sonogram date to today and I'm awaiting her results. I'm hoping the Dr. will call over the weekend because she didn't call today. The sonographer was pretty poker-faced and, understandably, wouldn't give any info herself. We also had stool samples run again (were originally run in late July w/ no specific findings) and, so far, the only odd result on that was the finding of (not sure of spelling..) "polymorphonuclear leukocytes" (??)
Anyway, I'm just thankful that she had a pretty calm night and was able to eat a bit today. I'll update when I have more info from the Dr. Thanks again so much :)
T.
Hi! Have they tested for inflammatory bowel disease? My son had similar symptoms for months, then was finally (recently) diagnosed with Crohn's disease. While it's not great news (it's chronic), at least it's an answer and it's treatable... He's on medication and feeling much better. So, if all the other tests come back negative, have her doctor test for inflammatory bowel disease (colitis or Crohn's). Good luck with everything!
It could be stress related.
My daughter's teacher told me that the rate of stomach aches increase after Kindergarten because school is so stressful. The kids are pushed way too hard to do things that they are not developed enough to do.
Ask he doctor to do a delayed reaction allergy test on her. I recently found out that I have food allergies that don't react to the immediate shot when given. I have up most allergenic causing foods and within 24 hours I no longer have severe pain in my stomach or rib cage area.
W. M
It's probably one of the things mentioned by the other moms but I still wanted to throw this out there in case the test don't show anything...
Is there any chance she's being bullied or having problems with a friend or family member? I had a "friend" in elementary school who was very mean to me (she would tell me that I was going to burn in hell b/c my family didn't go to church and then hit me with her bible). As a result I started getting the same symptoms your daughter is having. It finally went away when this other girl moved. Thankfully I'm a much stronger person now.
Take care and best of luck with your little girl.
I would have have her checked for constipation. This would cause pain in the "belly button" area and can cause diariah if there are blockages. Sometimes they can get sick and throw up because they are impacted with poo. This happens to my daughter and she is cronically constipated.
Food allergies can be discovered through a blood test called RAST. My 9 y.o. son has similar symptoms and we found out he is allergic to peanuts and eggs. The eggs we found out thru the RAST blood test but the peanut butter didn't show. We took him off peanut butter and it wasn't until 10 days later that the symptoms got better. So, takng the child off of one food at a time for 2 weeks seemed to be the key.
I'd also check into abdominal migraines.
Have them test her for wheat if they have not done so already. Unfortunately sensitivity to wheat is becoming more and more common! My daughter, niece and brother have all developed sensitivities.
Sympathy to your daughter and you. I have heard of "stomach migraines" a couple of times, which involved frequent stomach pain, not sure about other symptoms.
Hope the problem gets figured out soon--I know that sometimes the "not knowing" can be the worst part.
Hi T.,
There will be a Children's wellness expo in Alameda on Sept 12th with a panel of doctors to educate a healthier way to live.
Prevention is our medicine.
If you would like more info let me know and I will send you more info and put you on the guest list.
Good luck.
N. Marie
I think it is great that you are looking for a medical reason for your daughter's stomachaches.
My daughter, also, had stomachaches when she had a hard time at school. You may want to ask her what is going on at school?
Could be crowns desese
Could this be a dairy allergy ? Is there any dairy consumption in the hours before these episodes? My daughter was dairy sensitive and it would give her some of the symptoms you mentioned. Best of wishes to you.
the first two things i thought of were constipation or an umbilical hernia both of which could cause those symptoms.poor baby, good luck!!
Hello T.,
We dealt with the same thing about 2 years ago. It ended up being celiac disease...which comes with a number of food allergies because of the damage it does to your bodies digestive track, which makes it more vulnerable. If you are going to have her tested for it, make sure she stays on all gluten until the bloodwork is done. From the most recent research, doctors are now preferring blood tests to any type of biopsy work, because of all the false negatives biopsies have given. Hope you find your answers. I know how horrible it is to have an ill little one and not know how to help. Some of the episodes my daughter had were heart-wrenching to watch. Even now she will have an occasional bout with it, but we can usually retrace our steps and pinpoint what ingredient caused it. Please keep us updated.
M.
Not sure she is old enough but I know menstuation is starting so much earlier than it used to so thought I'd share. When I was about 15 yrs old I used to have terrible period cramps & had the exact same symptoms, one month being rushed to the E.R I was in so much pain. We never found out exactly what caused it but after I went on birth control pills almost all my symptoms stopped.
Best wishes to you to find out what it is. Poor little thing.
I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is having such troubles. I do think you may have her checked for Krohn's disease or acute IBS. There is help. The best of luck. God Bless
