Tess in the Burbs Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 My dd has had tummy aches a long time. It comes and goes. It will often be 45 min after going to bed she comes out to tell me it hurts. I tried Tums for awhile but it's really candy to her and not really fixing the pain. Â The PA she saw recently said it's probably hunger and feed her before bed. We aren't that kind of family. We rarely do snacks anyway. We eat, clean kitchen and it's done. It's not a habit I want my kids to get into. Â I have read online that tummy aches are common in kids and often it's nothing or just hunger pain. Â I feel bad she 'hurts' every night. It's been like this off and on for years but the Dr always said it was nothing....kids get tummy aches. Â Any ideas from the HIVE? Is it worth pushing the Dr to do blood work or see a specialist? Dh doesn't want to keep feeding her Tums every night, I agree. I am not wanting to do food at 8pm but would consider a banana or veggie. What do you think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I think I'd try a snack first, before conidering testing or specialists. :grouphug: I hope she feels better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Could it be anxiety? My dd has had anxiety for years, and used to always come out after being put to bed-something always hurt. Her therapist says it's because she's so active all day, and that's when she really has a chance to think & worry, and she is hyper-sensitive to any type of physical pain. Â This being said, for your own piece of mind, I do think I would look into it more with the doctor. It's so hard when they say "tummy", because is it the actual tummy? My dd has acid reflux, and it took us months to figure it out, because she kept saying her chest hurt. Â I hope you figure it out; I know how it to feel so helpless because you want to help your child.:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Tums aren't that great for anyone and they have negative affects, too. I read about this recently but..... I'm sorry, I don't remember the details. I found that using natural digestive enzymes with papaya has the same results for me. Â I would feed her if she was hungry. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "not being that type of family.". If a kid is hungry, she needs to eat whether or not you want to feed her snacks. Â I saw a Dr. Oz show last year where he told people to have a tablespoon or two of almond butter before bed for better sleep. I thought, "yeah, what good will that doo?" but it truly DID have results for me. Maybe something small like that will help? Â I also recently started to have stomach pains at night only so I knew it was food related. A few weeks of ACV water with digestive enzymes and it went away. It was acid related for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I would think about a banana or carrots or something right before bed. If that doesn't help, consider cutting some dairy. DD11 gets tummy aches if she has too much dairy. It doesn't bother her at all in the morning, but if she has ice cream for dessert I *know* she will have a belly ache. I haven't had her dxed with lactose intolerance, but I am, so I know what she can handle or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Could it be anxiety? My dd has had anxiety for years, and used to always come out after being put to bed-something always hurt. Her therapist says it's because she's so active all day, and that's when she really has a chance to think & worry, and she is hyper-sensitive to any type of physical pain. This being said, for your own piece of mind, I do think I would look into it more with the doctor. It's so hard when they say "tummy", because is it the actual tummy? My dd has acid reflux, and it took us months to figure it out, because she kept saying her chest hurt.  I hope you figure it out; I know how it to feel so helpless because you want to help your child.:grouphug:  :iagree: there is also the term "nervous stomach" for kids but I would try a snack and acid reducers, natural ones if you can.  My dd had a "sore throat" for a year before we found out it was GERD. She also had tummy issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 :iagree: there is also the term "nervous stomach" for kids but I would try a snack and acid reducers, natural ones if you can. My dd had a "sore throat" for a year before we found out it was GERD. She also had tummy issues.  Yes! My dd had a sore throat forever, and we kept taking her in & checking for strep! It all finally "clicked", and now I am trying to help her with it without putting her on a bunch of meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 I'm not quite sure what you mean by "not being that type of family.". If a kid is hungry, she needs to eat whether or not you want to feed her snacks.  I just meant we aren't snackers. I know people who every night have a family snack right before the kids go to bed. We just don't do it, never have and don't want to get in the habit of eating so late.  My kids don't always like dinner...so if they knew a snack were coming later they would skip dinner and wait it out for the snack you know?? :glare:  It could be anxiety. She has some stress from the gymnastics. But maybe I will try some almond butter or something before bed. And dairy....that is possible....need to keep a food diary.  Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 It could be reflux disease. It could be simple hunger. I don't understand not feeding a hungry kid. Have you considered feeding her more at dinner time if you expect her to do 12 hours (I'm assuming dinner at 6, waking up at 6) without food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Â My kids don't always like dinner...so if they knew a snack were coming later they would skip dinner and wait it out for the snack you know?? :glare: Â Â What happens if they don't like dinner? Could they be going from lunch to breakfast the next day without food because they don't like dinner? That is cause for a stomach ache right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Could it be anxiety? My dd has had anxiety for years, and used to always come out after being put to bed-something always hurt. Her therapist says it's because she's so active all day, and that's when she really has a chance to think & worry, and she is hyper-sensitive to any type of physical pain. This being said, for your own piece of mind, I do think I would look into it more with the doctor. It's so hard when they say "tummy", because is it the actual tummy? My dd has acid reflux, and it took us months to figure it out, because she kept saying her chest hurt.  I hope you figure it out; I know how it to feel so helpless because you want to help your child.:grouphug:  My son who has anxiety went through a period where he would come to the top of the stairs every night and complain of a stomach ache. For the most part he is out of that stage now, but it crops up every once in a while.  We were fairly certain it was anxiety and since he was always fine during the day (and his appetite and "output" were normal) we did not investigate medically. If there were any other signs, though, we would have done some testing I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 This was us last year. It had gone on for two years, but dd had had a serious diagnosis and subsequent surgery so I put it off as anxiety. Finally, the stomachaches were interrupting her going to sleep--and our sleep--every night, so dh, the calmer one, finally insisted we look into it. Â We went to a great pediatric gi doctor, who went through a throrough family history and came up with a great, systematic plan to figure out what was going on. The long and short of it was, that dd is lactose intolerant. I would have never, ever guessed it because I never saw any direct connection with dairy consumption and her feeling sick. Â The gi doc said our first step should be giving up dairy strictly (no lactaid, etc.) for two to three weeks. After three days, dd's nightly stomach aches went away and did not return. It was unbelievable!!! The gi doctor explained that kids who can tolerate some lactose have a problem in the evening/night because all the lactose from the day builds up in their system. Â Dd hasn't had a problem with night time stomachaches in many months. On the rare occasion she says she feels sick, I can ask what did you eat today, and quickly find the cause. It won't be a glass of milk OR ice cream OR pizza, but it will be more lactose than usual, as in multiple servings of dairy. Â So, in our case it wasn't anxiety or GERD or hormones getting going as I thought it could be. It was a very simple fix. I'd try it if I were you. Â I told our story once before when someone else posted about the same type of problem and they discovered it was lactose intolerance, too. Â HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 My dd is in the early stages of puberty and was having some crazy wicked nightmares every night (my mom thinks hormone related bc it happened at the same time she started getting a little filling out in the chest). A few days after that started, she started with the nightly tummy aches. After a few nights of that, I finally figured out it was anxiety over her 'anticipating' the nightmares for the night. What cured it? More exercise and a nightly call to Granny. Seriously, my mom can cure anything with just a phone call...want her number? ROFL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I was that kid! I had stomach aches every day of my life. I think it was a nervous tummy, as in high school it turned into IBS and now it's all pretty well managed but I am very aware that I get bad anxiety over really stupid stuff. I think it was all connected. The hard thing was...the stomach aches were real. I might have just been having anxiety, but they were real! We tried Zantac, food journals, acupuncture, I had a barium x-ray, blood work, and even went on some heavy anti-nausea drugs. Nothing worked because I think the anxiety was the underlying problem. I just couldn't articulate it until I was much older. Â Maybe your dd is just hungry, so I'd try that first. Then, I'd try teaching her some relaxation techniques, etc. Â And, in all honesty, bedtime was the worst, still is, and I WISH my mom would have known about melatonin back then. It would have saved me so much sleep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Well last night we ate out. My dd ate her entire meal and one bite of dessert. So I know she wasn't 'hungry' last night. But she had the tummy ache. It's her stomach from where she touches. It's not heartburn b/c we talked about it and it's not going up the chest. Â On a night they don't like dinner we usually ask for a few bites. But in the end it's up to them to chose. I am not forcing meals. We don't make horribly yucky meals either. But they will basically love a meal, eat a few bites, then decide they hate it and want no more. :glare: My kids help pick the meals, cook the meals. Veggies are picked by them. I am not making stuff they didn't already chose. And we don't make them eat if they don't want to. So yes, some nights it truly could be hunger. But years and years of it....we just can't decide if she's hungry, sick or just likes to get out of bed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I just meant we aren't snackers. I know people who every night have a family snack right before the kids go to bed. We just don't do it, never have and don't want to get in the habit of eating so late.  My kids don't always like dinner...so if they knew a snack were coming later they would skip dinner and wait it out for the snack you know?? :glare:  It could be anxiety. She has some stress from the gymnastics. But maybe I will try some almond butter or something before bed. And dairy....that is possible....need to keep a food diary.  Thank you  Well I cook ONE meal and all my kids knew that. I don't have picky eaters so that was rarely an issue. If a kid did not like what we were eating, they were welcome to make themself a plain peanut butter sandwich or two, but that was it. It only happened a couple of times.  What I have learned is that there can be a delayed reaction to any food reaction. Maybe try a food journal to see of you find any patterns? Also try daire and gluten free to see if that helps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Asher complained of his tummy hurting almost every day for years. We talked to our ped about it and he said that if the pain was not severe enough to wake him from sleep, and it wasn't accompanied by diarrhea or constipation, they rarely do testing. He said that kids have some kind of syndrome where it's like a headache for their tummies. They eventually grow out of it. We kept a food diary but didn't see any consistencies. He has complained only about two times a week for the last six months or so, with no changes in diet or routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I was that kid! I had stomach aches every day of my life. I think it was a nervous tummy, as in high school it turned into IBS and now it's all pretty well managed but I am very aware that I get bad anxiety over really stupid stuff. I think it was all connected.The hard thing was...the stomach aches were real. I might have just been having anxiety, but they were real! We tried Zantac, food journals, acupuncture, I had a barium x-ray, blood work, and even went on some heavy anti-nausea drugs. Nothing worked because I think the anxiety was the underlying problem. I just couldn't articulate it until I was much older. Â Maybe your dd is just hungry, so I'd try that first. Then, I'd try teaching her some relaxation techniques, etc. Â And, in all honesty, bedtime was the worst, still is, and I WISH my mom would have known about melatonin back then. It would have saved me so much sleep! Â I have another, older dd who has regular stomachaches during the day that have at least some connection with anxiety. If you ever found a good solution and want to share, please, please do. We're needing some help here. (Feel free to pm if that's better for you.) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Â What I have learned is that there can be a delayed reaction to any food reaction. Maybe try a food journal to see of you find any patterns? Also try daire and gluten free to see if that helps? Â I am gluten free and lactose intolerant. So I think we are going to start there, eliminating those foods and keep a record and also offer a snack at bedtime. Â thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Asher complained of his tummy hurting almost every day for years. We talked to our ped about it and he said that if the pain was not severe enough to wake him from sleep, and it wasn't accompanied by diarrhea or constipation, they rarely do testing. He said that kids have some kind of syndrome where it's like a headache for their tummies. They eventually grow out of it. We kept a food diary but didn't see any consistencies. He has complained only about two times a week for the last six months or so, with no changes in diet or routine. Â YES!!! I remember being told this for one of my kids, probably dd12 as she's had gut pain for years. This year, hlwever, I removed dairy and gluten and she is doing great. Â Tess, since your dd's stomach still hurt after a full meal, I would be highly suspect of an acid issue or an intolerance. But it may end up being a nervous tummy in the end. I lean more towards it not being nervous tummy, though, because it only hurts her at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I am gluten free and lactose intolerant. So I think we are going to start there, eliminating those foods and keep a record and also offer a snack at bedtime.  thank you  The gi doc decided to start with the lactose free diet because of family history, besides it being so non-invasive and easy. She was very clear that it had to be strictly dairy free in the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 The gi doc decided to start with the lactose free diet because of family history, besides it being so non-invasive and easy. She was very clear that it had to be strictly dairy free in the beginning. Â Well I have been wanting to go dairy free for myself and to try and eliminate nighttime wetting in my ds....so this is now enough reason to completely upheave the kitchen and cooking :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 For my 4 and 7 year olds, it was gluten. We cut it out and it's 100% better. Fr my 4 yo, it was also peanuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I am gluten free and lactose intolerant. So I think we are going to start there, eliminating those foods and keep a record and also offer a snack at bedtime.  thank you  This is the combo I would try. My 8yo went through something similar last year. Eating before bed seemed to help, even if it was just more dinner. We've recently gone mostly gluten free and dairy free as a family, for other reasons. She hasn't had any tummy aches in this time. She convinced me to buy some kefir yesterday, so it will be interesting to see if that causes her trouble.  I hope you figure it out for your dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miselainia Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 My ds7 has been complaining of a stomach ache at night and while I probably should pay more attention to what he eats after dinner, I often give him a peppermint candy (one of those soft mint kinds, because of its high oil of peppermint content). I'd rather him not eat candy at night and I have to give it to him while the other kids aren't watching, but Altoids is too strong for him. I think the peppermint is a better way to go than Tums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 YES!!! I remember being told this for one of my kids, probably dd12 as she's had gut pain for years. This year, hlwever, I removed dairy and gluten and she is doing great. Tess, since your dd's stomach still hurt after a full meal, I would be highly suspect of an acid issue or an intolerance. But it may end up being a nervous tummy in the end. I lean more towards it not being nervous tummy, though, because it only hurts her at night. :iagree:It doesn't have to feel up in the chest/throat to be acid. If the offending substance/intolerance has made it to the intestines it could cause the upset about bed time.  I'd try an elimination diet and prop up the head of her bed. Don't give a snack at bedtime if it is reflux. That will just make it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I would think that a 9yo would be able to differentiate between hunger and stomach pain. Â Gas? Constipation? Is it pain or nausea? How severe is it? Can she be distracted out of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupOCoffee Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 :iagree:It doesn't have to feel up in the chest/throat to be acid. If the offending substance/intolerance has made it to the intestines it could cause the upset about bed time. Â I'd try an elimination diet and prop up the head of her bed. Don't give a snack at bedtime if it is reflux. That will just make it worse. Â ^^this. We have been going through all of this with Dd-11. We first went dairy free. That eased some of what she experienced. But she describes her "stomach aches" in 3 distinct ways: 1) point to her stomach area and says it burns; 2) points lower down and says it feels crampy/full; 3) says that she just feels "blah" and wants to lay around. Â We cut out dairy and it helped with the lower crampiness. We've made dietary changes to help with the "burning" (we believe it's reflux). We do: 1) smaller meals; 2) none of the "heartburn trigger foods" (spicy, tomatoes, high fat, etc); 3) no laying down for at least 2 hours after eating; 4) taking papaya enzymes after every meal; 5) free access to spearmint chewing gum (she swears by it). Â These things have mostly eliminated the symptoms. She still does experience some stomach aches, but near as much as before. We will be taking her to the docs, since the "natural" things have not totally eliminated her problems. Whether we will turn to meds remains to be seen. I tried to get her to take ACV, but, well....let's just say THAT didn't go over very well at all :lol: Â Anyway, there seems to be so many us going through this with our kids, I hope something I wrote helps. I asked for advice here a few months back, and did get some wonderful ideas -- some of which we've done with some success. The last thing we haven't done yet is raise her bed; we need to get the materials, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Well I have been wanting to go dairy free for myself and to try and eliminate nighttime wetting in my ds....so this is now enough reason to completely upheave the kitchen and cooking :tongue_smilie: Â You've got some great ideas here. I would choose one of them and try it for two weeks and see how it goes. That way you'll get a clearer idea of what's helping and not have to make inconvient changes that might not be necessary and could overwhelm you if all done at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 It might be worth checking with a pediatric GI. My son had nighttime stomach pain that was accompanied by vomiting at times. It got to a point where he wouldn't eat. He also had a lot of diarrhea during the day. His weight was also a problem. The GI doc did an upper and lower endoscopy. They biopsied his colon, esophagus, and stomach as well. He was negative for Crohns but he had a large ulcer in his stomach and lots inflammation in his esophagus. We were able to treat it medically and he gained weight and felt so much better. He has since had more gastric ulcers but we now know what signs to look for. My ds is not very good at expressing how he is feeling (typical male, I guess!). Â If your dd has normal weight and stools I wouldn't be too concerned unless the pain is very intense. Â Hope she starts feeling better ASAP! Â Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 This is our story. After years of Tums and complaints, I decided to ask my regular old pediatrician. Oh why did I wait so long? He immediately ordered 2 vials of blood to be drawn. A few days later they called and said she is allergic to Sesame and to egg whites. So, you can eliminate gluten. You can eliminated dairy. You can spend tons of time guessing. But my advice is to ask the pediatrician to do the blood test and find out quickly and for sure. On another note, my niece had a similar story and her mom ignored her for years. It turns out she had Crohns and ignoring it had serious implications for her. It wasn't until another relative reminded me of this that I got serious and brought my own dd to the pediatrician. I had no idea there was such an easy test and we could know for sure. He was so nice about it. He said the test shows immune response I think, but I don't know what it was called. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 This is our story. After years of Tums and complaints, I decided to ask my regular old pediatrician. Oh why did I wait so long? He immediately ordered 2 vials of blood to be drawn. A few days later they called and said she is allergic to Sesame and to egg whites. So, you can eliminate gluten. You can eliminated dairy. You can spend tons of time guessing. But my advice is to ask the pediatrician to do the blood test and find out quickly and for sure. On another note, my niece had a similar story and her mom ignored her for years. It turns out she had Crohns and ignoring it had serious implications for her. It wasn't until another relative reminded me of this that I got serious and brought my own dd to the pediatrician. I had no idea there was such an easy test and we could know for sure. He was so nice about it. He said the test shows immune response I think, but I don't know what it was called. Â The blood and skin tests are incredibly inaccurate, though! They give false negatives for so many people that our pediatric allergist told us that an elimination diet is THE only way to test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) Nm Edited September 28, 2012 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I have two kids that need snacks before bed, actually I need one two or my tummy hurts. I would try that first. Maybe some nuts or something that will stick with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 The blood and skin tests are incredibly inaccurate, though! They give false negatives for so many people that our pediatric allergist told us that an elimination diet is THE only way to test. Â Our allergist wouldn't do them either but I thought the reason was too many false positives. I think they'll only do them if a kid wasn't a candidate for a scratch test. Our pediatrician won't do them either. :( Â In Japan, though, allergies are usually tested through blood tests. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) .  Edited September 15, 2016 by wapiti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 It took me forever to figure out was wrong with the boys. They are both sensitive to gluten and dairy. Baby girl seems to be sensitive to just dairy . All tummy pains have gone away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabbymom Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 No one has mentioned parasites? Besides stomach ache, other sign of parasites are: Â grinding their teeth in their sleep waking between 1-3am diarrhea itching bottom nausea after eating/drinking etc, etc. Â Even though it's not as prevalent in our country as some countries where the water isn't clean/safe, kids ARE more susceptible to parasites because their stomach acid isn't strong enough to kill the parasites. If you have animals in your home, live on a farm where the kids run barefoot, your kid has a sleep over with someone who has parasites, swim in a pool that's contaminated, don't wash their hands good enough, or even eating peanut butter, or a whole host of other ways, your kids can get parasites! Â Sorry to bring it up, gross I know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I've heard that a small protein snack before bedtime is good. Also, my son had stomach aches off and on for years. Finally about two years ago he pretty much stopped carbs and dairy, and now he is "tummy-ache" free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 No one has mentioned parasites? Besides stomach ache, other sign of parasites are:Â grinding their teeth in their sleep waking between 1-3am diarrhea itching bottom nausea after eating/drinking etc, etc. Â Â Sorry to bring it up, gross I know! Â Â Gabbymom, this sounds like my dd! What kind of parasites are you talking about? What would the treatment be? Please share more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Could it be anxiety? My dd has had anxiety for years, and used to always come out after being put to bed-something always hurt. Her therapist says it's because she's so active all day, and that's when she really has a chance to think & worry, and she is hyper-sensitive to any type of physical pain. This being said, for your own piece of mind, I do think I would look into it more with the doctor. It's so hard when they say "tummy", because is it the actual tummy? My dd has acid reflux, and it took us months to figure it out, because she kept saying her chest hurt.  I hope you figure it out; I know how it to feel so helpless because you want to help your child.:grouphug:  Yeah, we went through this too for about a year. It was nothing. He outgrew it. He still says he feels better when he eats healthy foods though, so maybe that did have something to do with it (eating junk foods at parties, or whatever). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 My son had this exact problem starting at age 6. He also had very loose stools. Took me 8 months to figure out that he had become lactose intolerant. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner since I am lactose intolerant, but I didn't get it until I was 12. So I took him off dairy, and the tummy aches went away. He is now back on acidophilus yogurt and very hard cheeses. Â Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 We went to a great pediatric gi doctor, who went through a throrough family history and came up with a great, systematic plan to figure out what was going on. The long and short of it was, that dd is lactose intolerant. I would have never, ever guessed it because I never saw any direct connection with dairy consumption and her feeling sick. The gi doc said our first step should be giving up dairy strictly (no lactaid, etc.) for two to three weeks. After three days, dd's nightly stomach aches went away and did not return. It was unbelievable!!! The gi doctor explained that kids who can tolerate some lactose have a problem in the evening/night because all the lactose from the day builds up in their system.  Dd hasn't had a problem with night time stomachaches in many months. On the rare occasion she says she feels sick, I can ask what did you eat today, and quickly find the cause. It won't be a glass of milk OR ice cream OR pizza, but it will be more lactose than usual, as in multiple servings of dairy.  So, in our case it wasn't anxiety or GERD or hormones getting going as I thought it could be. It was a very simple fix. I'd try it if I were you.  I told our story once before when someone else posted about the same type of problem and they discovered it was lactose intolerance, too.  HTH!  We had a similar experience with our ds and it turned out to be a gluten intolerance. Some kind of elimination diet may be helpful to see if there is something in her diet she is reacting to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I think I'd try a snack first, before conidering testing or specialists. :grouphug: I hope she feels better soon. Â :iagree: I'd try a snack too. Something carb, fiber, protein mix seems to work best for my kids. The other thing is some kids just get tummy aches when they're tired or stressed too, if you're not seeing other symptoms (constipation or diarrhea, fever, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waa510 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I just meant we aren't snackers. I know people who every night have a family snack right before the kids go to bed. We just don't do it, never have and don't want to get in the habit of eating so late.  My kids don't always like dinner...so if they knew a snack were coming later they would skip dinner and wait it out for the snack you know?? :glare:  It could be anxiety. She has some stress from the gymnastics. But maybe I will try some almond butter or something before bed. And dairy....that is possible....need to keep a food diary.  Thank you   Just wanted to mention that my oldest had tummy problems too- so we instituted a snack for the girls before their bedtime routine. They can't have snack before bed if they don't eat all of their dinner. They are able to have dinner for snack, in that case. So that eliminated the not eating dinner scenario. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Lactose intolerance? Â Her body being stretched out in bed while lying down? Â Excessive stomach acid? Â My dd had unexplained stomach pains for years. There was no consistency. She finally made a connection that, while she could eat some milk products, too much caused her horrible pain. She could have pizza or ice cream, for example, but not both pizza and ice cream. Â That helped somewhat, but she still had stomach troubles. It finally cleared up when she went on two rounds of Prilosec (under a doctor's care). Two words: Life Changing. (Literally.) Â Your poor little girl. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) Our allergist wouldn't do them either but I thought the reason was too many false positives. I think they'll only do them if a kid wasn't a candidate for a scratch test. Our pediatrician won't do them either. :( Â In Japan, though, allergies are usually tested through blood tests. :confused: Interesting. I trust the blood test WAY more then the scratch test. The scratch test said I wasn't allergic to wheat something we know 100% I am. Whereas the blood test showed I was highly, highly allergic to it. I break out in terrible hives, tummy issues, more asthma flareups and my face puffs up when I eat it. I've had trouble breathing after eating food at restaurants that we think messed up and didn't give me the gluten free option. I wonder why so many Dr.'s still do the scratch test? Edited September 30, 2012 by teeniebeenie6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Interesting. I trust the blood test WAY more then the scratch test. The scratch test said I wasn't allergic to wheat something we know 100% I am. Whereas the blood test showed I was highly, highly allergic to it. I break out in terrible hives, tummy issues, more asthma flareups and my face puffs up when I eat it. I've had trouble breathing after eating food at restaurants that we think messed up and didn't give me the gluten free option. I wonder why so many Dr.'s still do the scratch test? Â I'd really like to get my oldest the blood test. :glare: Â She's tested negative for lactose intolerance, is doing better on our three month trial of Nexium, but is still having random bouts of nausea during the day, and occasional debilatating all-day-long nausea which appears to be linked to anxiety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Lactose intolerance? Her body being stretched out in bed while lying down?  Excessive stomach acid?  My dd had unexplained stomach pains for years. There was no consistency. She finally made a connection that, while she could eat some milk products, too much caused her horrible pain. She could have pizza or ice cream, for example, but not both pizza and ice cream.  That helped somewhat, but she still had stomach troubles. It finally cleared up when she went on two rounds of Prilosec (under a doctor's care). Two words: Life Changing. (Literally.)  Your poor little girl. :grouphug:  This sounds very much like the approach our gi doctor takes. If the acid-reducer doesn't help after two or three weeks, then she moves on to testing. One dd was helped completely with the first, eliminating dairy, step. The other dd did better after the acid-reducer but not completely better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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