Chronic tummy ache

[hjordan423]

My 6 yr old daughter has always had tummy aches off and on. Doctors have not been concerned about it in the past, but now it has gotten to where it's every day. She wakes up with it many mornings and has it throughout the day, before and after meals, and other times. The doctor did an xray and showed no blockages. We also did a blood test to look for gluten allergy, crohns disease, etc and it came back negative for those. The doctor wants us to try prescription prevacid for 2-4 weeks, thinking it may be acid or reflux. My daughter is a bit of a worrier so I wonder if it's a nervous tummy. There's no nausea, just ache.
Anyone experience something like this? Any suggestions? Thanks!

[Harriet Vane]

The first thing I go to is food allergies or intolerances.

 

Did you have a full allergy workup with an allergist (not a general practitioner)? If not, that's step one. Make sure it's with a pediatric allergist if at all possible, even if you have a bit of a drive for it. If not a pediatric allergist, at least an allergist who has some children as patients.

 

After a full allergy panel, then consider food intolerances. The tests for celiac are notoriously unreliable, unfortunately--especially the blood tests. You might consider a GI sample, but make sure it is done by someone experienced with celiac sampling. They should sample many sections of the bowel, and the samples should be evaluated specifically for celiac by someone experienced in identifying it.

 

As far as I am aware, there is no test to determine lactose intolerance??? With my own ds, it is painfully obvious that he is lactose intolerant. The allergy test came back negative, but he has a horrible stomach ache, diarrhea, and vomiting with milk exposure.

 

Your other option is to try food elimination diets. Start with dropping the most common offenders--dairy, gluten, and soy. Your child should have a paleo diet of meat, veggies, and fruit for a minimum of a month. Then you can try adding back in one food group at a time, for about two weeks each. As you are in this process, keep a daily food and symptom diary. It takes a long time to do this, but it is well worth it to determine what is causing this daily pain.

 

In your shoes, I would probably insist on the GI sample for celiac first as well as the allergy testing, and then try the food eliminations. I would not go to prescription antacids or reflux medications without first addressing the question of food allergies or intolerances.

[J-rap]

I'm sure others have more experience with this, but I'll just throw out a couple of ideas. My son had chronic stomach aches for years, but once he went on a gluten-free/dairy-free diet, they went away. I don't think he is actually allergic to either of those, he just feels better without them.

 

Another daughter had stomach aches often, and then as a teenager began to get migraines. Migraines run in the family so this was no surprise. However, we have since learned that you can actually get a headache-less migraine, and just have the stomach ache. I believe this is what my daughter had -- a migraine stomach-ache, which eventually morphed into the migraine headache.

[ThisIsTheDay]

We did when my dc was that age. Her tummy aches had gone off and on for several years, but they always disappeared and were inconsistent. We thought it was stress related.  When she was 6, we mentioned it at the dr. appt., but the dr. immediately recognized it as encompresis. She confirmed it with an x-ray, and dd went on Miralax for several weeks.  But obviously, your dr. didn't see that.

 

Your dd's symptoms, however, mirror mine.  Off and on, no rhyme or reason, no nausea.  A bit of a worrier child.

 

However, my dd's stomach troubles have continued in different ways over the years.  They are different aches than what she suffered as a child.  She found she had a mild lactose intolerance--she can eat, for example, pizza, but she can't have ice cream for dessert.  She moderates her diet accordingly.

 

She continued to have other stomach troubles, unrelated to the others. Her doc thought it was stress, but instead, we chose to put her on Prevacid for a month. This was two years ago, and we will always refer to this as her Miracle Cure. (!)   But she was 16 when she went on Prevacid, and I can understand your reluctance to commit to it.

 

Her stomach troubles have almost entirely disappeared.  She is careful of what she eats, dairy but not too much; she avoids motrin, Tylenol and aspirin because she knows it can bother her stomach.

 

I would encourage you to continue to do what you can to help your daughter.  For several years, dh and I went with the "nervous stomach" thought.  We were too passive, and I regret that now.

[Ellie]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

My younger dd also had recurrent tummy aches. I was pretty sure it was food related. She didn't get dairy, and back in the 70s, no one was talking about gluten, and there was no Internet to do research. We eventually figured out that red food coloring was a culprit (red cotton candy doubled her over within minutes; happily, we rarely had cotton candy, lol). She could eat anything from Taco Bell; she could eat the baked potato with broccoli and mystery cheese sauce from Carl's Jr., but hamburgers from anywhere except home made her tummy hurt. (We had moved and were waiting for escrow to close on our home, so we were eating out frequently.) Those reactions seemed so weird to me, KWIM?

 

Today, she's 35ish; she knows that she cannot eat dairy very often, but she still has tummy aches for no apparent reason. I think it could be gluten, but she's a grown-up person and has to work on that herself. But if I had known when she was little the things I know now, I would have relentlessly pursued it with her doctors. There really are tests for so many things, if our doctors are willing to order them, and it can make the process so much easier than trying to figure it out on your own.

 

ETA: I read your post again more carefully, and I see that you have done many things already. Some conditions don't show up in blood work--I don't think celiac always does, for example. Keep after your doctor. :-)

[mathnerd]

My son says he gets a "stomach ache" when he is nervous, anxious or under stress. For him these situations are typically related to watching scary TV content (very sensitive kid - even Nick Toons gives him anxiety), performance anxiety (when he is being timed on any activity) and when he makes mistakes (perfectionism). I am even sure that he does not know what a "stomach ache" is, but just that the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach related to nervousness is like a stomach ache to him. We generally try to keep him unstressed and let him read books that are age appropriate, ban all TV time and let him know that it is OK to make mistakes and the important thing is to improve from them.

So, I suggest that you let your daughter be more relaxed and remove all stressors from her life. Also, try changing out her food intake - remove all acidic content from her food - like tomato sauce based food, orange juice etc to see if that helps with any possible acid reflux issues. 

And another thing that I always do for my DS is to put him on a chewable probiotic supplement for kids (I get them from Whole Foods) and let him eat a probiotic yoghurt every day - they generally help in keeping the digestive system healthy - especially for kids who have been on antibiotics and have lost the good bacteria from their system.

Good luck.

[twoxcell]

 

Your other option is to try food elimination diets. Start with dropping the most common offenders--dairy, gluten, and soy. Your child should have a paleo diet of meat, veggies, and fruit for a minimum of a month. Then you can try adding back in one food group at a time, for about two weeks each. As you are in this process, keep a daily food and symptom diary. It takes a long time to do this, but it is well worth it to determine what is causing this daily pain.

 

In your shoes, I would probably insist on the GI sample for celiac first as well as the allergy testing, and then try the food eliminations. I would not go to prescription antacids or reflux medications without first addressing the question of food allergies or intolerances.

I agree with this and I would also start her on a good probiotic.

[Upward Journey]

I tested negative for celiac/gluten intolerance, however going off gluten got rid of my chronic headaches and stomach aches.  Occasionally I have gluten (because you know I tested negative) but when I do they both come back.  I guess what I'm saying is tests can be wrong, and sometimes you just have to use trial and error to figure it out.

[Mom0012]

My dd had chronic stomach aches for a long time.  After a full workup, it was determined that she was constipated.  I didn't believe that at the time because I knew she was using the bathroom regularly, but I did follow the doctor's suggestion of using Miralax for an extended period of time and it did resolve her tummy pain.  After a number of months with no tummy pain, I switched her to junior primadolphilus (sp?) and gave her one pill a day for a couple of years.  Her stomach aches have not recurred.  Just another thought.

[soufflegirl]

It could just be acid/reflux.  DS improved immediately once he started the meds, so it's worth trying in the meantime, should you decide to go ahead with other testing.

[Harriet Vane]

It could just be acid/reflux.  DS improved immediately once he started the meds, so it's worth trying in the meantime, should you decide to go ahead with other testing.

 

It definitely could be this. I would not rule out that possibility. However, taking antacids may interfere with the other testing for other conditions, and will definitely interfere with any food intolerance diet trials. I would strongly advise the meds only after the other conditions have been ruled out simply so that the meds do not mask an ongoing condition.

 

Edited to add--I have personal experience with this. I have two sisters who have had to have their gall bladders removed. One sister has a definite diagnosis of celiac disease (confirmed by all the tests--her case is classic and is quite severe). The other sister masked her symptoms by taking prescription antacids. As her reflux got worse she simply took more meds. By the time she went to the hospital with symptoms the meds couldn't touch, she was in dangerous condition with gallstones both in her gallbladder as well as in her ducts, which caused liver damage and pancreatitis. Underlying all this is a probable celiac diagnosis. She is in process on that diagnosis now, because the trajectory of her illness follows the same path as our other, celiac sister. My experience and my research into this leads me to the advice I mentioned above--don't take meds until you have ruled out celiac, allergies, and food intolerances.

[soufflegirl]

It definitely could be this. I would not rule out that possibility. However, taking antacids may interfere with the other testing for other conditions, and will definitely interfere with any food intolerance diet trials. I would strongly advise the meds only after the other conditions have been ruled out simply so that the meds do not mask an ongoing condition.

 

Edited to add--I have personal experience with this. I have two sisters who have had to have their gall bladders removed. One sister has a definite diagnosis of celiac disease (confirmed by all the tests--her case is classic and is quite severe). The other sister masked her symptoms by taking prescription antacids. As her reflux got worse she simply took more meds. By the time she went to the hospital with symptoms the meds couldn't touch, she was in dangerous condition with gallstones both in her gallbladder as well as in her ducts, which caused liver damage and pancreatitis. Underlying all this is a probable celiac diagnosis. She is in process on that diagnosis now, because the trajectory of her illness follows the same path as our other, celiac sister. My experience and my research into this leads me to the advice I mentioned above--don't take meds until you have ruled out celiac, allergies, and food intolerances.

Ah, see I had originally read it as the doctor was fairly sure it was reflux. I see your point with meds screwing up the results of diet trials.

[Ellie]

It could just be acid/reflux.  DS improved immediately once he started the meds, so it's worth trying in the meantime, should you decide to go ahead with other testing.

 

But wouldn't reflux be caused by something? Wouldn't it be better to find the cause than to take meds?

[soufflegirl]

But wouldn't reflux be caused by something? Wouldn't it be better to find the cause than to take meds?

Eh, DS's was fairly mild and the doctor thought it had more to do with the way he was sleeping than anything else. I wouldn't want them as a long term solution with no other explanation, but for short term until he got better at not migrating all over his bed, I was ok with it.

[hjordan423]

Thank you all for the input.  Some of these things I have never heard of, so it is very helpful!

 

Ellie, I agree and would prefer to find out what's causing the aches before resorting to meds that may bring relief, but mask the real issue.  

 

Harriet, the GI testing sounds like a good idea, but how scary/painful is that for a child?  How do they do it, I guess is what I'm wondering.

 

To all of you who have taken your children off dairy for a period of time (or on limited dairy), I was curious what you use to replace the calcium they miss from milk.  My instincts tell me to try the elimination diets and then maybe see a GI pediatrician and/or allergist.  

 

Can anyone suggest any good resources for learning more about gluten, and figuring out what foods have them and what foods don't.  Or even recommended diets for children with gluten allergies?

 

Thank you everyone!!   :wub:  Sending you hugs!  

[jengjohnson]

My dd8 is working with a pediatric gastro now to try to solve her almost constant tummy aches and chronic diarrhea.  Her blood tests and stool samples all came back normal, but they did see an awful lot of stool on an x-ray so they had us clean our her colon.  She's also on a daily probiotic and miralax.  Her stomach seems to hurt a bit less, but she still has constant loose stools, several times a day.  Now the doctor wants us to try dairy-free for 3 weeks.  She likes soy and almond milks and loves broccoli which I also think has quite a bit of calcium.  There's also calcium fortified OJ.

[Ellie]

 

 

 

To all of you who have taken your children off dairy for a period of time (or on limited dairy), I was curious what you use to replace the calcium they miss from milk.  My instincts tell me to try the elimination diets and then maybe see a GI pediatrician and/or allergist. 

 

Nothin'. Remember that millions of people in the world don't consume cow's milk, and don't try to replace the calcium, and yet seem to have perfectly healthy bones. The dairy industry spends bajillions of dollars a year in advertising to keep themselves in business, KWIM?

 

 

 

Can anyone suggest any good resources for learning more about gluten, and figuring out what foods have them and what foods don't.  Or even recommended diets for children with gluten allergies?

 

Gluten is in wheat, which is what most of us think of, but it's also in things like some vinegars, some vanilla flavoring, hydrolized vegetable protein, and more. Here's a web site to get you started.

 

[Bree]

Could it be Candida yeast overgrowth. http://www.nationalcandidacenter.com/candida-self-exams/ There's an easy way to test for it at home for free. I tested positive because I was always having stomach issues, and my dd was also positive for it so we added probiotics, hers are sprinkled in greek yogurt and we have eliminated a lot of the foods that feed it. At first it made it worse feeling, but after about a week we have felt so much better. 

[Hedgehogs4]

I would absolutely eliminate grains from her diet, and possibly dairy. After 30 days add one thing in at a time to test. I haven't read the rest of the replies, but I'm sure others have said the same. 

 

 

[prissygirls]

Could it be Candida yeast overgrowth. http://www.nationalcandidacenter.com/candida-self-exams/ There's an easy way to test for it at home for free. I tested positive because I was always having stomach issues, and my dd was also positive for it so we added probiotics, hers are sprinkled in greek yogurt and we have eliminated a lot of the foods that feed it. At first it made it worse feeling, but after about a week we have felt so much better. 

My dd had this and it caused major stomach aches. I would look into this as well. Very easy to treat.

[hjordan423]

Agstefko and prissygirls:

 

Thank you so much for this post!!  I am not yet sure if my dd has this, but I am 100% certain I do...and I never would have known or even thought anything was "wrong" with me had I not seen your posts.  

 

Now, what I'm trying to figure out is how to treat it.  You have both indicated it's easy to treat, but so far, everything I've read says the stuff to the contrary and suggests products that cost hundreds of dollars.  Other than adding probiotics (don't know if probiotic  yogurt is sufficient?), what else did you do?  I will continue researching it online and will ask my doctor also, but if you can tell me what you did, that would help!  (I'm sure doctors just love it when patients come in and say..."I was reading on the internet that.....")    :lol:

 

As for my dd, I gave her the test this morning and I think it's possible that she's positive, but I want to try it again tomorrow morning to be sure.

 

I am considering ALL of the advice above and will be also trying an elimination diet for her.  

[hjordan423]

Agstefko and prissygirls:

 

Thank you so much for this post!!  I am not yet sure if my dd has this, but I am 100% certain I do...and I never would have known or even thought anything was "wrong" with me had I not seen your posts.  

 

Now, what I'm trying to figure out is how to treat it.  You have both indicated it's easy to treat, but so far, everything I've read says stuff to the contrary and suggests products that cost hundreds of dollars.  Other than adding probiotics (don't know if probiotic  yogurt is sufficient?), what else did you do?  I will continue researching it online and will ask my doctor also, but if you can tell me what you did, that would help!  (I'm sure doctors just love it when patients come in and say..."I was reading on the internet that.....")     :bigear:

 

As for my dd, I gave her the test this morning and I think it's possible that she's positive, but I want to try it again tomorrow morning to be sure.

 

I am considering ALL of the advice above and will be also trying an elimination diet for her.  

[briansmama]

As someone who suffered chronic stomach aches as a child, I think it's great you're looking into the possible culprit. If it were my dc, I'd look at her diet and work there long before I'd consider medicating. In my case, it was stress but compounded by a processed foods diet. Stress/anxiety/nerves can cause digestive problems that a whole foods diet with minimal inflammation-causing foods can help.

 

So, I'd remove gluten/dairy from her diet right away. Removing those helped me tremendously. Both can cause inflammation in sensitive people and impair digestion.

 

From there, I'd see if she feels better. If not, I'd look into the GAPS diet for healing. It's pretty restrictive, but it's temporary.

 

I feel for your dd!

[briansmama]

My dd8 is working with a pediatric gastro now to try to solve her almost constant tummy aches and chronic diarrhea. Her blood tests and stool samples all came back normal, but they did see an awful lot of stool on an x-ray so they had us clean our her colon. She's also on a daily probiotic and miralax. Her stomach seems to hurt a bit less, but she still has constant loose stools, several times a day. Now the doctor wants us to try dairy-free for 3 weeks. She likes soy and almond milks and loves broccoli which I also think has quite a bit of calcium. There's also calcium fortified OJ.

Homemade bone broth is another good source of calcium and other minerals for those who can't consume dairy. It also can help heal the gut.

[prissygirls]

Agstefko and prissygirls:

 

Thank you so much for this post!!  I am not yet sure if my dd has this, but I am 100% certain I do...and I never would have known or even thought anything was "wrong" with me had I not seen your posts.  

 

Now, what I'm trying to figure out is how to treat it.  You have both indicated it's easy to treat, but so far, everything I've read says stuff to the contrary and suggests products that cost hundreds of dollars.  Other than adding probiotics (don't know if probiotic  yogurt is sufficient?), what else did you do?  I will continue researching it online and will ask my doctor also, but if you can tell me what you did, that would help!  (I'm sure doctors just love it when patients come in and say..."I was reading on the internet that.....")     :bigear:

 

As for my dd, I gave her the test this morning and I think it's possible that she's positive, but I want to try it again tomorrow morning to be sure.

 

I am considering ALL of the advice above and will be also trying an elimination diet for her.  

try this:

http://www.amazon.com/AZO-Natural-Symptom-Prevention-Relief/dp/B001E8ISJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373685817&sr=8-1&keywords=diflucan

[Momofeat]

My ds(now 7) had tummy aches & would throw up about once every 3-4 weeks, usually first thing in the morning. He also had headaches from time to time, and he was a calm, compliant child.

 

Like some of the others in this thread, he turned out to be lactose intolerant. We took him off of all dairy, and within days we noticed an increase in his activity level. What I had thought was a personality trait was a symptom of lactose intolerance! 

 

Frankly, I wouldn't spend tons of money on testing before removing the most likely offenders from her diet. Dairy is pretty easy to replace. Now ds drinks soy milk, he doesn't eat cheese, and we order his pizza without it. I give him Lactaid from time to time (like at a team party last night--pizza & ice cream). I have not found substitutions to be too terribly difficult.

 

His symptoms have disappeared, he has more energy, and he's still a sweet, (mostly) obedient boy. He gained weight at first, but now I think he's too active to gain weight. Busy, busy, busy, lol!

[musicianmom]

My daughter started having frequent random stomach aches several months ago. A friend of mine who's into natural medicine gave her some lemon essential oil to try topically. It worked within minutes. Apparently it relaxes the stomach muscles. We've used it ever since. I still plan to address it with her pediatrician at her next check-up, though.

[ByGrace3]

My 6 year old went through this for the last 1.5 years. We could not figure out what it was. Some times were worse than others but it was consistently hurting over that time. We ran tests, tried OTC reflux meds, eliminated foods, increased fiber and hydration... Nothing worked. And then one day a few weeks ago, I asked him (as I did occasionally) and the pain was gone. Hasn't come back since. Craziest thing ever. I have no explanation, but I am glad it is over.

 

Hugs, I know how stressful it can be!

[Naturalmama2]

My son had similar tummy aches for years. We, too, did blood work after blood work and saw a few doctors about it. We finally figured it out. For him it is tomatoes that cause the pain. He did not test allergic to tomatoes, and I had never heard of them causing people trouble, nor had any doctor recommended eliminating tomatoes. We discovered the culprit by accident on vacation with my parents who eat fresh tomatoes at almost every meal. He had terrible problems, which was a blessing in disguise. We were able to eliminate the food and test it a few times to prove that was his problem. Easy fix for something so painful!. If he eats much tomato or eats any amount of tomato before being active, a terrible stomach ache and diarrhea will follow for a couple of days. I would suggest keeping a food diary to see if you can track it down if it is a food. He will react anywhere from a couple of hours after eating tomato or the next day, so his is definitely a delayed reaction. Be sure to look for patterns, not just problems immediately after eating. Good luck, and I hope your little one feels better quickly!

[hjordan423]

I am beginning to really believe we are dealing with a dairy sensitivity.  She used to drink 2-3 glasses of mild every day.  We took her off milk about 2 weeks ago and she only has soy milk now.  The tummy aches slowly faded out and are now gone (fingers crossed, knock wood, etc.)!  She still has some dairy, like cheese and yogurt - but no milk.  

 

If this continues, I will be thrilled!!  

[Harriet Vane]

Take her off the cheese and yoghurt as well. Also start reading ingredients and avoid milk, whey, any and all cheese, margarine (most contain milk), butter, caseine, or yoghurt. If you truly suspect a milk intolerance or allergy, allowing her to continue ingesting small amounts of the allergen will continue to irritate her stomach and digestive system. Take her off ALL forms of milk--since you have already seen results, you should continue to see results.

[Ellie]

Take her off the cheese and yoghurt as well. Also start reading ingredients and avoid milk, whey, any and all cheese, margarine (most contain milk), butter, caseine, or yoghurt. If you truly suspect a milk intolerance or allergy, allowing her to continue ingesting small amounts of the allergen will continue to irritate her stomach and digestive system. Take her off ALL forms of milk--since you have already seen results, you should continue to see results.

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

....although some people don't react to butter the same way they react to cheese or yogurt. Why is that?? Anyway, this sounds more like lactose intolerance than an allergy, so dairy by-products like whey might not have an effect on her. But definitely, deep-six cheese and yogurt.

 

I've been buying coconut-milk yogurt for the last few months. It's quite tasty. Didn't care for the coconut milk "cream" for my tea :ack2:

[lmrich]

You might want to try almond milk instead of soy.

[morgan]

We've dealt with a lot of health and GI issues at my house, and I know this is extreme, but I would eat Paleo-style for a month and see what happens. My husband has Celiac and we all eat gluten-free, but it wasn't until we removed all dairy, grains and soy that my dd 6 started to have some relief from chronic stomach issues. Then you can slowly add things back and try to figure out what things are really bothering her. We have been told by both our naturopath and the allergist that often generalized stomach pain is from the inflammation caused from allergens. The problem is figuring out what is causing the reaction. I would also try a daily probiotic, but I would find one that is truly dairy-free if you are going to the effort to avoid dairy. If you can't figure it out, I would try to find a more holistic health care provider. In our experience, most physicians just chalk it up to "stress" when that really isn't the case. 

[foxbridgeacademy]

The first thing I go to is food allergies or intolerances.

 

Did you have a full allergy workup with an allergist (not a general practitioner)? If not, that's step one. Make sure it's with a pediatric allergist if at all possible, even if you have a bit of a drive for it. If not a pediatric allergist, at least an allergist who has some children as patients.

 

After a full allergy panel, then consider food intolerances. The tests for celiac are notoriously unreliable, unfortunately--especially the blood tests. You might consider a GI sample, but make sure it is done by someone experienced with celiac sampling. They should sample many sections of the bowel, and the samples should be evaluated specifically for celiac by someone experienced in identifying it.

 

As far as I am aware, there is no test to determine lactose intolerance??? With my own ds, it is painfully obvious that he is lactose intolerant. The allergy test came back negative, but he has a horrible stomach ache, diarrhea, and vomiting with milk exposure.

 

Your other option is to try food elimination diets. Start with dropping the most common offenders--dairy, gluten, and soy. Your child should have a paleo diet of meat, veggies, and fruit for a minimum of a month. Then you can try adding back in one food group at a time, for about two weeks each. As you are in this process, keep a daily food and symptom diary. It takes a long time to do this, but it is well worth it to determine what is causing this daily pain.

 

In your shoes, I would probably insist on the GI sample for celiac first as well as the allergy testing, and then try the food eliminations. I would not go to prescription antacids or reflux medications without first addressing the question of food allergies or intolerances.

This is what I would do also. A friends daughter also showed no allergies, but come to find out she had intolerances to most grains (except wheat!) also lactose, Apples (horrible tummy ache) and Bananas. They went on the GAPS diet, no more problems.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

My 6 yr old daughter has always had tummy aches off and on. Doctors have not been concerned about it in the past, but now it has gotten to where it's every day. She wakes up with it many mornings and has it throughout the day, before and after meals, and other times. The doctor did an xray and showed no blockages. We also did a blood test to look for gluten allergy, crohns disease, etc and it came back negative for those. The doctor wants us to try prescription prevacid for 2-4 weeks, thinking it may be acid or reflux. My daughter is a bit of a worrier so I wonder if it's a nervous tummy. There's no nausea, just ache.

Anyone experience something like this? Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

 

We went through all this recently, my son had all the myriad of blood tests, endoscopy and colonoscopy to figure out why he was having chronic stomach issues (and small stature issues).  He has a constitutional growth delay (small stature) and esophagitis (diagnosed via small biopsy taken during the endoscopy). He is now taking prevacid and the the tummy aches and pains seem to be abating.  It has only been a couple of weeks so we will see.

 

There is a test for Lactose Intolerance, I think it is a fasting test where they give him a lactose drink and measure the sugar levels after a certain amount of time. If you are digesting it properly then your sugars will go up, if not then they won't change much.

 

Feel free to PM me if you want more information on all the testing we did.