HappyGrace Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 it's been going on well over a month. We have an appt w/ a pediatric gastro but can't get in for a few more wks. The pediatrician had no idea what it could be. She is 11 yrs old. It's not really pain that she gets, but an uncomfortable feeling up where her stomach is (not intestines). She feels full, and like the contents are moving around. It is hard to fall asleep at night with it. Jumping around or being active makes it worse. Acidic foods seem to make it worse, also carbonated beverages. That's the only food connection I've been able to make. She is extremely uncomfortable with it. When it is flaring up, it is painful to be touched. I would say there is not much time in a day that it is actually gone, but some times are definitely better than others, and sometimes it is "flared up" more where she is much more uncomfortable. We thought it might be acid reflux, so we've tried her on antacids (doesn't help much), Betain Hcl (natural stomach acid thing), aloe vera juice, and probiotics. Nothing is helping that much and anyway, the pediatrician doesn't think it presents as acid reflux. I'm getting worried because eating makes it worse, and she is starting to refuse food, etc. She is eating enough to be ok, for sure, but it is disconcerting. It's upsetting to not have anything that makes her comfortable, at least until we can get to the doctor. Everything I google (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis, etc) seems to do more w/ the intestines, and this is up higher. Any ideas? Anyone dealt with something like this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I had horrible IBS when I was younger and it sounds eerily similar to what you are describing. Has she tried going dairy free? Soy free? Low fiber diet? Also eliminating caffeine, fruit and veggies. No sorbital (found in sugar free foods) either. Hope she gets some relief soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacie Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Sounds like stomach ulcers to me. They are awful. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovin Learnin Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 The symptoms do not sound familiar but Crohn's disease can present anywhere in the intestinal tract. Hopefully she won't be in too much discomfort before she sees the GI doc. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Have her tested for food allergies. I have had to really go to bat for myself and my kids regarding being tested for food allergies, for some reason the doctors we've seen have been hesitant to do so, but sure enough, most of us have allergies and our gut problems disappear when we avoid the problem foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Gastroparesis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 sounds like gastritis. you need an acid blocker like prevacid. stop any tomatoes, sugary, acid, dairy items. gastritis is when your stomach is irritated and swollen from meds or foods. if it gets worse it turns into ulcers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Is it gas? I've had that before, way up high, and it hurt to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arstephia Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 My daughter had very similar symptoms for nearly 3 years. I took her off all MSG, all nitrates, yeast, and all corn syrup and it cleared up very quickly. She has had a much more natural diet and has not had another occurance in 6 months, so her stomach issues were diet related. We ate very healthy before, but I have to be uber-viligant in reading labels now, but it is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 We eat an organic diet w/ no preservatives, colorings, nitrates, etc Not to say that it couldn't be food allergies (wheat, dairy, etc). I wonder why the pediatrician didn't mention that? She is a very astute and gifted diagnostician (we've been w/ her all dd's life and she has shown excellent wisdom, etc) I am off to google the things you all mentioned so far...please keep any ideas coming! I so appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) I'm saying gastritis because you're saying tenderness and sleep interference also not daily attacks just triggered which is good. Those are classic signs. Nausea is when it's bad. It will take time to heal if that's what it is. Just a mild diet for quite a while and blocker if kids can take that. They may scope her stomach and be sure. Edited February 12, 2012 by treestarfae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I would try an elimination diet. Gluten causes my stomach to feel full quickly and it hurts when I eat too much gluten. Ironically when we went organic and started eating better it got worse, because better foods have more wheat products in them rather than corn and soy. I make my own bread and mixes now to avoid gluten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Sounds like food intolerance -- have you recorded all foods & drinks on paper? Then trying to eliminate certain foods like gluten, nuts, dairy, etc on trial days/weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) I thought we ate a healthy diet, too, until I met my girls' food intolerances. :tongue_smilie: And truth be told, we did eat a healthy diet, it just wasn't healthy for them. It's still possible it's reflux, despite your dr. saying it's not an obvious presentation. Check out sulfite sensitivity-- http://www.readingtarget.com/nosulfites/index.htm Basically, sulfites are in many processed foods, including organic. Anything sweetened with grape juice has sulfites. Also look into citric acid--it has sulfites and is grown on mold cultures, a truly nasty additive that gives many people reflux. The advice to look into other food allergies and intolerances is a good idea. A high dose probiotic would also be helpful. Is there any food you've added to your diets recently? Best of luck. You are your child's best sleuth, and be sure to ignore medical professionals who tell you everything is just fine. They will only slow down your process of discovery in helping your little sweetheart. Keep a food/symptom diary and go with your gut. Amy Edited February 12, 2012 by Acadie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwlKnits Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Gastroparesis? :iagree: This was my guess too based on the description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) it's been going on well over a month. We have an appt w/ a pediatric gastro but can't get in for a few more wks. The pediatrician had no idea what it could be. She is 11 yrs old. It's not really pain that she gets, but an uncomfortable feeling up where her stomach is (not intestines). She feels full, and like the contents are moving around. It is hard to fall asleep at night with it. Jumping around or being active makes it worse. Acidic foods seem to make it worse, also carbonated beverages. That's the only food connection I've been able to make. She is extremely uncomfortable with it. When it is flaring up, it is painful to be touched. I would say there is not much time in a day that it is actually gone, but some times are definitely better than others, and sometimes it is "flared up" more where she is much more uncomfortable. We thought it might be acid reflux, so we've tried her on antacids (doesn't help much), Betain Hcl (natural stomach acid thing), aloe vera juice, and probiotics. Nothing is helping that much and anyway, the pediatrician doesn't think it presents as acid reflux. I'm getting worried because eating makes it worse, and she is starting to refuse food, etc. She is eating enough to be ok, for sure, but it is disconcerting. It's upsetting to not have anything that makes her comfortable, at least until we can get to the doctor. Everything I google (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis, etc) seems to do more w/ the intestines, and this is up higher. Any ideas? Anyone dealt with something like this before? When I have gas buildup in my stomach, this is exactly how I feel. Have you tried something like Gas-X? Carbonation will definitely make it feel worse. The other thing I thought of is gastroparesis if this is an ongoing problem. Edited February 12, 2012 by LMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Read up on mesenteric adenitis -- dd had it when she was really suffering from lyme's. Ended up having a totally useless appendectomy -- mesenteric adenitis is self-limiting which means it will go away on its own. She did lose alot of weight, and her diet was totally organic when this happened -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'd want her tested for h. pylori. That's the bacteria that can eventually cause ulcers. Her symptoms are consistent in my experience. The GI can (should) also look at her gastric emptying time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 It is helping me to hear all these things so I can sleuth things out for myself a little before we go to the doctor. I want to make sure I am as informed as possible when I go in there because we've had so many problems in the past with doctors suggesting unnecessary things, etc. The best results I've had with doctors is when I've gone in prepared w/ info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 What you're describing sounds a lot like my food sensitivity-related reflux. Can I ask what reflux meds you've tried and for how long? When I'm eating the things I'm sensitive to (gluten and caffeine) every day, the acid meds stop working for me. Also, when things are bad, I sometimes have to take them for a few days--in addition to eliminating the trigger foods--to get total relief. Also, is there is a chance she could be extremely constipated? I've also experienced that (TMI, sorry). Even if she's having bowel movements what seems like regularly, she could still be very backed up. I would keep a food diary as well, until you can get in to see the GI doc. In my experience, many doctors don't seem to take food intolerances seriously, so that's not on their radar to mention. Even my own doc, whom I like very much, kind of dismissed me with a "well, we'll add the blood test for celiac to your panel" when I went to her with major stomach distress. Of course the test was negative, as I knew it would be, but I just eliminated the problem foods on my own and...problem solved *sigh* IMO, that's something you need to sleuth out yourself, particularly since there's no way to test for them. I'm sorry :grouphug: I hope you can get to the bottom of her distress soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'd try three days with no refined sugars. No white sugar, HFCS, brown sugar, etc. Actual fruit is great, but also skip juices for those few days. Be sure to read labels on all processed foods (peanut butter, etc) and replace those that contain sugar with ones that do not. Just try it. It's actually not hard. I did it for a week recently, and I didn't actually drop dead. :lol: If it helps a lot, you can try adding back in small amounts of juices and sugars slowly, and see if you can find a level she can tolerate. Considering the pain she is in, this would be an easy fix. You could do it w/o her even realizing it if you are in charge of shopping and food preparation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I've had similar symptoms with IBS. I've also had small stomach unlcers in conjunction with an IBS flare. Which leads to keeping me up at night. Watching sugar intake and good, natural fiber (flax in my case) and probiotics make a world of difference. Also regular exercise and good stress management. I took acid reducers for a while and they didn't seem to do much for me. Has she had any particular change in diet or any stress in her life going on? By far my worst IBS, ulcer flare when when I had PPD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 We actually just did SIX weeks of absolutely no refined sugar (honey and maple syrup only-in moderation), so unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it ;))that was not it. Just after Christmas we cut it out and she only just had her first sugar on Saturday. I am going to start writing everything down for food so I have something to show the doc-good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Did your ped do bloodwork? Because honestly, it could be a million different things. The gastro-ped will most likely order both an upper and lower GI panel, so prepare your dd for a few tests. There really isn't much he can diagnose until he has the test results. He can guess based on the symptoms, but honestly, over the years, I've seen docs guess and then be totally wrong with GI problems. Most often, diagnosis comes as a process of elimination from the most likely cause to the least. It can also be a systemic illness that has nothing to do with her stomach per se, and the stomach problems will resolve when the illness does. The bloodwork should give the doc a clue if it is something of that nature. Right now, I would just do whatever helps her feel better until you can see the doctor. Radical dietary changes can aggrivate stomach issues if you don't know what's causing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) Diane-I appreciate what you had to say. I know it is such a vague thing to try to diagnose; prbly why our ped just sent her to the specialist. It is good to know to prepare her for tests too! I assume the upper and lower GI panels would be done on a different day than the initial visit (probably need to be done fasting, etc)? It is so hard waiting for all this to get going. Dh also wisely said not to change anything up right now, but we are going to just keep track of foods, etc. I have not seen any pattern at all to it so far. Edited February 13, 2012 by HappyGrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Sorbitol caused problems at our house, in sugarless gum, more than one piece a day can cause problems. And, sorbitol is in a lot of food, breakfast cereal being one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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