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I don't know??? 5yos health?


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Sorry, for the ? tread title, but I just don't know:confused:

 

My soon to be 5yos has been complaining for almost a year about his legs hurting, his tummy hurting, his head hurting and being tired. I brought him to the doctor not too long after he first started complaining, and the doctor did strep, mono, lyme and general blood work. Everything looked OK they said. So I felt somewhat relieved and it seemed to quiet down a little after that. It has never completely stopped just less frequent. Well a few weeks ago the kids came down with a virus/flu thing and he was miserable, his legs , head and tummy hurt so much he said "I don't know why God made me like this?:confused:" But he was sick with what they all had so I just gave him Motrin and cold meds and he got better from the cold/flu thing except for the body aches and tired. But even still today he is daily complaining of being tired, his legs and tummy hurting. So I brought him in to the doctor again. She tested for flu???:confused: and mono in the office and said that he looks OK and she doesn't want to put him through all that bloodwork stuff again just yet and if he gets any worse or has new symptoms to call and we will go from there:confused:

 

I am really at a loss. My little guy eats fairly well, plays quite a bit and is not miserable or hopless at all, but to daily hear these complaints from a 4/5 yo just doesn't seem right. He does not do this for attention, because I just matter of fact say go lie down or take a drink... nothing fancy. He is one spoiled boy though being the youngest of 9 has its perks;) And he is loved on all the time by someone. He is also a tough guy, wants to be big, almost 5 going on 13yob.

 

I need to schedule his physical, so should I wait a few weeks and see, or schedule for as soon as possible and push the issue now? I just really don't know.

 

 

Help Please:confused:

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My youngest has had tummy aches for most of her little life. Last year, she started having leg pains and cramps too. She has celiac and is allergic to dairy. Her tummy pains went away when we finally figured out the celiac and took her off gluten, AND a few weeks later, her leg pains went away. They were caused by a vitamin deficiency. If you're going for a check-up, I'd ask look at food allergies too.

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My son had those exact same complaints before he was diagnosed with celiac disease. Within a week of taking him off gluten (ALL gluten, not just obvious), he was a completely different child. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, at least for a few weeks, and see if it helps your child.

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I was going to suggest celiac/gluten intolerance as well. The only problem with totally taking him off gluten right away is that to test for celiac they have to be eating gluten for a certain period of time before the test, so I would push to have him tested for Celiac ASAP. Then, after the test Iwould take him off gluten entirely and see if it helps.

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Even if he doesn't seem miserable or hopeless, does he tend to be a worrier? Stress can cause all kinds of physical symptoms. I had headaches and horrible stomach issues through much of my childhood purely from stress.

 

And I agree- get a new pediatrician. My dd's first pediatrician routinely dismissed all dd's issues, saying that she was fine and not to worry so much. Turns out dd has a rare genetic disorder. If you feel like something is wrong, bring him to someone else.

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And I agree- get a new pediatrician. My dd's first pediatrician routinely dismissed all dd's issues, saying that she was fine and not to worry so much. Turns out dd has a rare genetic disorder. If you feel like something is wrong, bring him to someone else.

 

My first thought was a second opinion too.

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How do they test for celiac?

Generally they do a set of blood tests looking especially for a high tTg. However, going to a pediatric gastroent would be my recommendation because GP's will accept a negative blood test as proof that someone doesn't have celiac - this just isn't true. The blood tests have a fairly high false-negative rate meaning that the blood test looks negative but the patient still has celiac disease.

 

The USA has 2.7 million undiagnosed celiacs, 97% of celiacs are undiagnosed. <- Drs aren't looking for it enough. In countries with better diagnosis rates (where something like 90% of celiac are diagnosed), Drs use the blood test and if it's positive they often just skip straight to the gluten-free diet. The blood test is pretty specific to celiac disease, just not as sensitive in practice as originally claimed in medical literature. Then in those countries (Sweden and Finland if I have my brain on straight) if the test's negative but the patient has symptoms (your child has potential symptoms) they do the small intestine biopsy. This is an outpatient procedure but involves anesthesia, sending a camera down through the stomach into the upper small intestine, and also some tool to clip some samples of the small intestine. Those samples have to be evaluated by good technicians to look for the particular signs of celiac.

 

More detail here: http://forums.glutenfree.com/topic1893.html

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