Stomach pain in daughter?

[bry's-gal]

For the last several months my eldest daughter has been complaining of stomach pain. She is fairly consistent with it- several times a week that she says something but she does have a fairly high pain level so it could be bothering her more and she just doesn't say. Or it could just be her trying to seek some attention?

 

We've had no major changes in our lives or in our eating habits. Her bowel movements are pretty much the same- I thought it might be constipation so I've made sure she gets more fruits/vegetables/water and I've been mixing a little bit of fiber into one food item daily. I can find no pattern to her complaints- it is at different times of day and different locations. She does not have any one spot that hurts more then others.

 

Any ideas on what it could be or what we could try? I don't necessarily want to take her to the Dr. yet- they'll order a bunch of expensive tests and more then likely come back and tell us they don't know.

[Jennifer in MI]

Try keeping a food diary for a while and see if you don't see a pattern there.

 

Does the pain keep her from doing her every day activities?

 

Does the pain occur right before she needs to use the bathroom? (I have a dd who complains of a tummy ache regularly and then will run to the bathroom within a couple minutes!)

 

I have one ds who suffers with abdominal migraines. These interfere with his daily activities and are centered around his bellybutton. Advil relieves the pain if we catch it early.

:grouphug:

[Daisy]

Does she take a multi-vitamin?

 

My husband had frequent stomach cramps when he was in upper elementary grades. He still occasionally struggles with it when he stops taking a vitamin. He had a pantothenic acid deficiency and taking B-vitamins really helped. It is pretty rare though to have that particular deficiency.

 

I guess I'm saying that it might be some form of vitamin deficiency and it might be worth trying a multi-vitamin if you are not already giving her one.

[Hedgehog]

Is it possible that she's upset about something? I used to get terrible stomach pains due to stress, when I was very young.

[Tabrett]

I would have her checked for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). My dh, FIL and SIL all had the bacteria. When my oldest dd was in 3rd grade, a little girl in her class had it and it took them for ever to figure out what was wrong with her. Around of antibiotics will get rid of it.

[JFSinIL]

My dd had tummy pains off and on for a couple years - we figured it was from dairy (she IS lactose intolerant, as are many in the family on both sides) but a couple times we almost took her to the ER to check her appendix. Anyway - at a doctor visit about her leg pain (that is another tale!) I mentioned the frequent tummy aches. Doctor ordered an ultrasound and....dd had her gall bladder out a short time later!!! It was malformed (long and skinny like a pencil) and full of stones!

 

If your dd has tummy aches after anything fatty...it may be her gall bladder! I still feel bad that my dd had at least two gall stone attacks and we never had her treated - who thinks of gall bladder problems in a young person? But it can happen, so I'd have a doctor order a test. If we had only gone to the doctor earlier dd would have been spared a lot of stomach pains. Please go.

 

 

PS - after one full year of x-rays, ct scans, MRIs (2 - two of the spine and one of the leg), and a bone scan...among other tests...we STILL do not know why dd gets sharp, stabbing pain in one particular part of one upper thigh. She is on daily painkillers AND has a couple dozen Vicodin on hand for when it is real bad. At least the tummy aches are over!!!!

Edited November 30, 2010 by JFSinIL

[Parrothead]

Is it her actual stomach or her abdominal area? Stomach could be ulcer. Abdominal area could be anything from hernia to a food allergy to a GYN problem. Take her in.

[keptwoman]

It's not so common, but children can have tummy migraines, where the blood vessels to the intestines (rather than the head) contract so the intestines cramp up. It does lead to an all over kind of pain, where as constipation pain tends to be concentrated on the left hand side of the body.

 

J was diagnosed as suffering from tummy migraines by a ped after a full work up, with our family history, the all over type of pain, the fact he could "think over it" or be distracted from it, and that it built up towards the end of the school term. He seems to have gotten over it, but I'd say he has a decent chance of suffering from head migraines as an adult.

[Carrie12345]

It *could* be just about anything... or nothing (medical).

 

For my 7yo, it turned out to be frequent UTIs. She never once complained about pain with urination, just abdominal pain, but the cultures have come back positive for infection each time. No known cause.

[bry's-gal]

I don't think it is stress- nothing new is happening around here. It doesn't happen right before the bathroom. She does do a multi-vitamin on most days. It might be a UTI- she has said once or twice that it hurts when she pees- whenever she does that I up her water and monitor. By the next day the pain is gone so I figured the water had flushed it out. I hadn't even thought about the gall bladder- I thought that was an older person thing! I'll have to start the food dairy and see if I can figure anything out there!

[bluemongoose]

For me it was food allergies. When I was young I had lots of tummy aches. As I got older it got worse until I couldnt actually keep food down sometimes. It took us a while to find the cause, it is not a common food allergy, but if I stay away from the allergen, I am fine!

 

I think keeping a food diary is a good idea if you are unsure, also you might want to get a culture if she has been complaining off an on about it hurting to pee.

[sbgrace]

I would have her checked for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). My dh, FIL and SIL all had the bacteria. When my oldest dd was in 3rd grade, a little girl in her class had it and it took them for ever to figure out what was wrong with her. Around of antibiotics will get rid of it.

That was the case with my son as well. Another it was food intolerance (I had to keep a food diary to figure it out).

Metametrix comprehensive stool test is really good for finding a variety of causes for unexplained stomach pain if a doctor will run it.

[bry's-gal]

Well you girls finally convinced me to make an appt- we go in the morning! Thanks!

[Margo out of lurking]

Any ideas on what it could be or what we could try? I don't necessarily want to take her to the Dr. yet- they'll order a bunch of expensive tests and more then likely come back and tell us they don't know.

 

My dd, at that age, had complained off and on about stomach pain for over a year. We thought she was stressed. It was intermittent, we couldn't connect it with any food. Whenever we'd make a dr. appt., it would go away. We finally mentioned it at her regular ped check. The doctor asked dd to show her exactly where the pain was and she immediately diagnosed it, confirming it within minutes with an x-ray.

 

Someone here will know what it was. (I don't remember.) Her colon? was stretched out and she was unable to go to the bathroom easily. Dr. put her on Miralax for 6 months to allow everything to pass more easily, the colon shrunk back to normal, and she's had no trouble with it since.

 

We also discovered a few years ago that she has a lactose intolerance. She's able to manage that a little better though, by watching her dairy intake.

[wapiti]

You may want to rule out strep as well.

 

Apparently, sometimes tummyaches are the only symptom (we learned that is often the case with my dd - tummy hurt, often at night, with some nausea; I never would have guessed if the ped hadn't checked for it).

[Denisemomof4]

does this happen AFTER she eats? Dd had this but also with the stomach pain she had a "sore throat" and it all turned out to be GERD. I treated her naturally after the prescription medications weren't helping, even after increasing the dose a few times.

[bry's-gal]

Strep? Wow- would have never thought of that one!

 

I'm wondering if she might have reflux? She says the pains moves up and down from her stomach to her chest. When I asked her how she would describe the pain, she said it feels like she has a burn on the inside. Can children have reflux? I thought it was an older person thing?

[momto2Cs]

My son had/has something similar. In his case, the drs believe it to be irritable bowel syndrome. With probiotics, a daily fiber-filled smoothie, and some Tummy Mint tea in the evenings, he is doing a lot better.

[bry's-gal]

Denise- We were posting at the same time. I've not noticed a set pattern but I have started a food dairy this week and writing what she eats and anytime she complains about her tummy hurting. If it is reflux, I'll have to see what more natural methods worked for you!

 

Momto2C's- I thought about IBS also. I did a very light search on it and we'll just have to wait and see. That is encouraging that more natural methods help!

[Denisemomof4]

Denise- We were posting at the same time. I've not noticed a set pattern but I have started a food dairy this week and writing what she eats and anytime she complains about her tummy hurting. If it is reflux' date=' I'll have to see what more natural methods worked for you!

 

Momto2C's- I thought about IBS also. I did a very light search on it and we'll just have to wait and see. That is encouraging that more natural methods help![/quote']

 

the food diary is good because it could be allergies, but the food diary could also show you that it's GERD. What I did was VERY simple. I placed her on the GERD diet, gave her a LOT of fresh and canned pineapple, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 3 x day in a glass of water, natural digestive enzymes after every meal. The ACV may help her anyway, and I'd definitely start good quality probiotics.

 

These are the enzymes I gave dd:

 

http://www.iherb.com/American-Health-Chewable-Super-Papaya-Enzyme-Plus-180-Tablets/5059?at=0

 

I definitely would at least give her a gentle diet.

 

I treated dd for a year and it's been six since I started. She's been completely symptom free for five years.

[hsbaby]

Is it possible that she's upset about something? I used to get terrible stomach pains due to stress, when I was very young.

 

Yes, this was me too. I was naturally a nervous child. I was even hospitalized for three days with stomach pains, only to be dx with a "nervous stomach". There was never anything in particular I was upset about, just general anxiety I guess. Could this be a possibility? Is she prone to anxiety and or nervousness?

[bry's-gal]

the food diary is good because it could be allergies, but the food diary could also show you that it's GERD. What I did was VERY simple. I placed her on the GERD diet, gave her a LOT of fresh and canned pineapple, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 3 x day in a glass of water, natural digestive enzymes after every meal. The ACV may help her anyway, and I'd definitely start good quality probiotics.

 

These are the enzymes I gave dd:

 

http://www.iherb.com/American-Health-Chewable-Super-Papaya-Enzyme-Plus-180-Tablets/5059?at=0

 

I definitely would at least give her a gentle diet.

 

I treated dd for a year and it's been six since I started. She's been completely symptom free for five years.

 

What is the GERD diet? And why pineapples and apple cider vinegar? We do a lot of smoothies already and I put yogurt in those. Hopefully, the Dr. will actually be helpful tomorrow!

[datgh]

This sounds like my son when he was your daughters age. We went round and round with the doctors for a couple of years. They kept saying he was constipated or he had a nervous stomach. One day a mom tipped me off to the possibility of allergies. He was finally allergy tested and guess what. He was allergic to the dog! We had had an older dog when he was born so he was immune to that one but once we bought a new dog into the house with a different dander his system couldn't handle it. He never sounded congested and no sneezing either so we never would have guessed. We pulled the carpet from his room, got an air purifier and his problems cleared up. I think he has outgrown the allergy now seven years later. Hope you can find an easy answer. I would feel so frustrated with it all some days.

[mcconnellboys]

Well, I'm having this problem with my son right now, but it's anxiety with him. Anxiety can eventually lead to an ulcer, too. I think they have a pretty inexpensive test for ulcers now....