Just Kate Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) My 9 year old dd is having stomach problems. She has always had stomach aches (for the past several years) - very frequent complaints that her stomach hurts. Last spring, we saw her pediatrician who sent her for an x-ray. They said she was constipated and put her on Miralax. When we had our follow-up appointment three weeks later, the new x-ray still showed constipation, but dd said she was feeling better. Ped said to continue Miralax. Stomach aches continued on and off. Over summer (while at the pool) dd started having severe stomach pains. She threw up a few times, then was fine. This has happened two more times, one of which was earlier tonight. She cried and cried of stomach pains and then finally threw up. She has also dealt with some heartburn. I had taken her off of the Miralax for a few weeks and she seemed okay. Then she suddenly started having heartburn symptoms. After talking with a friend who said that constipation can cause heartburn, I put her back on the Miralax and she hasn't had more of those symptoms. Dd does go to the bathroom regularly (at least daily), however she always tells me that she doesn't go much (small amount). I'm calling her pediatrician tomorrow and I hope I can get her in. Any suggestions or thoughts for me? According to our ped, stomach problems and constipatiin are normal for kids, so I'm afraid she'll blow me off. I'd like to have a few other thoughts when we go in tomorrow. ETA: One other thing I just thought of...dd still has a poochy belly, kind of like a toddler has. She isn't over weight, but she isn't on the thin side either. But she has a big tummy and I've noticed that her friends don't have tummies like that any more. Could it be related? Edited January 26, 2017 by Just Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 have you ever checked her diet? gluten intolerance can cause that - so can yeast or dairy. not something that will show up on a blood test. best way is to do an elimination diet - she can't have *any* gluten, dairy/casein, yeast for a minimum of a month. then you can slowly add things in (one type of food at a time), give it a few days, before adding another, and see if she reacts. be sure and read labels. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 have you ever checked her diet? gluten intolerance can cause that - so can yeast or dairy. not something that will show up on a blood test. best way is to do an elimination diet - she can't have *any* gluten, dairy/casein, yeast for a minimum of a month. then you can slowly add things in (one type of food at a time), give it a few days, before adding another, and see if she reacts. be sure and read labels. I've wondered about trying her diet, but I've never known exactly what to eliminate (I would have never guessed yeast!). Certainly an idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 My 9 year old dd is having stomach problems. She has always had stomach aches (for the past several years) - very frequent complaints that her stomach hurts. Last spring, we saw her pediatrician who sent her for an x-ray. They said she was constipated and put her on Miralax. When we had our follow-up appointment three weeks later, the new x-ray still showed constipation, but dd said she was feeling better. Ped said to continue Miralax. Stomach aches continued on and off. Over summer (while at the pool) dd started having severe stomach pains. She threw up a few times, then was fine. This has happened two more times, one of which was earlier tonight. She cried and cried of stomach pains and then finally threw up. She has also dealt with some heartburn. I had taken her off of the Miralax for a few weeks and she seemed okay. Then she suddenly started having heartburn symptoms. After talking with a friend who said that constipation can cause heartburn, I put her back on the Miralax and she hasn't had more of those symptoms. Dd does go to the bathroom regularly (at least daily), however she always tells me that she doesn't go much (small amount). I'm calling her pediatrician tomorrow and I hope I can get her in. Any suggestions or thoughts for me? According to our ped, stomach problems and constipatiin are normal for kids, so I'm afraid she'll blow me off. I'd like to have a few other thoughts when we go in tomorrow. One of my daughters could not tolerate dairy products, and she had symptoms similar to your daughter's. But we also found out, purely by hit and miss, that she could not tolerate red food coloring, and that she could eat anything at Taco Bell; mystery-cheese broccoli potatoes at Carl's Jr. was fine, but the hamburgers hurt her (she could eat the hamburgers that I cooked at home); she could eat regular recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken but not the extra crispy. Gluten sometimes causes those symptoms, too. And I think your ped is a crazy person. My other dd did not have stomach problems or constipation, nor did I. It is possible that your dd is reacting to food, most likely dairy or gluten. Happily, you do not need your doctor's permission to do an elimination diet on your own. That's what I would suggest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Dd 14 has had the same symptoms since she was 10. The same...stomach hurts, eventual vomiting. It intensified leading up to her starting her period (12yo). Doctor said anxiety...but some foods do seem to trigger it. Hope your daughter feels better and you get some answers. Not a fun thing to go through... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 Dd 14 has had the same symptoms since she was 10. The same...stomach hurts, eventual vomiting. It intensified leading up to her starting her period (12yo). Doctor said anxiety...but some foods do seem to trigger it. Hope your daughter feels better and you get some answers. Not a fun thing to go through... Well, this is interesting because ds (who is now 12) dealt with stomach problems a few years ago. He missed a bunch of school and I was convinced he had celiac's disease or something. The difference was he never threw up. We had a bunch of tests run but never found anything. Ended up taking him to a psychologist (he had some other issues) and he was diagnosed with anxiety. He eventually grew out of it. I think that's my problem here. I pursued so many things for ds but in the end he was diagnosed with anxiety, which I completely agree with. Dd is so different though. For one, she has thrown up with the stomach aches. For another, she hates to miss school (ds constantly had stomach aches and needed to miss). They seem completely different to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeenagerMom Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) My son had issues for 2 years, test after test...Miralax, PPIs, then a scope. Scope found nothing....stay on meds....then a few weeks after DS's scope, he woke up feeling like he couldn't breathe. Hit the PCP's office and she diagnosed him with Atelectasis, probably caused by not being ventilated during the scope....started breathing treatments and inhalers.....within 3 days, DS's chronic stomach pain was gone. His stomach pain was caused by his Asthma rearing it's ugly head. He had been on updrafts for 4 years as a little, then outgrew it. His stomach was hurting because his diaphragm was having to work so hard for him to breathe. So...the moral of my story is that it may not necessarily be her stomach that is the issue. Edited January 26, 2017 by TeenagerMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Stomach problems and constipation were my "normal" as a kid/teen/young adult/adult too. Turns out I can't eat grains. I'm 40 years old and I've only not had stomach issues for the past 3ish years since I accidentally discovered this while investigating My DD's stomach and dizziness issues and experimenting with dietary eliminations for her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) Stomach problems and constipation were my "normal" as a kid/teen/young adult/adult too. Turns out I can't eat grains. I'm 40 years old and I've only not had stomach issues for the past 3ish years since I accidentally discovered this while investigating My DD's stomach and dizziness issues and experimenting with dietary eliminations for her. This made me think of all of the times that dd will cry and say that she wishes she were normal and didn't hurt all the time. That is terrible that too had to deal with this for so long! Can you tell me how you started an elimination diet for you and your dd? I just don't know where to start with this as there is so much info online. Also, am I correct in assuming that I should do an elimination diet on my own and not involve our ped? Edited January 26, 2017 by Just Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 Just looked at the symptoms for being lactose intolerant...and dd has every symptom! A few that stood out are gas (she will often tell me that her tummy makes crazy sounds all the time), rash (she gets random rashes on her legs that come and go), and even headaches (she almost always has a headache in the car, but has been having them more frequently at school or home). So maybe she does have an intelerance? Is it still worthwhile to take her to see her pediatrician? If I do try an elimination diet, what sources do you recommend? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) This made me think of all of the times that dd will cry and say that she wishes she were normal and didn't hurt all the time. That is terrible that too had to deal with this for so long! Can you tell me how you started an elimination diet for you and your dd? I just don't know where to start with this as there is so much info online. Also, am I correct in assuming that I should do an elimination diet on my own and not involve our ped? I can't say one way or another whether to involve your pediatrician. I didn't. Doctors don't have a whole lot of nutrition training. What started out as me wanting to try gluten-free for my DD, quickly turned in to basically doing paleo/whole 30-ish for one simple reason. It is easier to cook meat and veggies than read every single food label. Lol True story. I'm lazy! Not saying you have to do this, but I eliminated as much as possible to start, then added stuff back in to check for reactions because if you only eliminate one thing at a time, it's difficult to know whether to blame this morning's breakfast ingredients or supper two nights ago ingredients because it can take up to 72 hours to have a reaction. Also, if you eliminate one food, but she eat 2 more she's intolerant to, you'll think food #1 is not the cause, because the problems are still there, so add back in #1, eliminate #2 and still have problems. It can be a vicious cycle and you still won't have the answers you're looking for. KWIM? Fast forward three years...my diet is restricted permanently because I react within minutes (stomach) to half an hour (headache and extreme, can't see straight fatigue) and DD "goes paleo" for a few weeks when her stomach bothers her, she starts getting dizzy spells, or her acne gets bad. She doesn't stick with it long-term but she is able to "detox" her body so that she can eat pizza like a normal teen the rest of the time. She is currently in "detox/paleo" mode for the past week and her (very inflamed skin/acne) acne is about 60% better already and her skinny jeans fit better she tells me. :) Eta: DD was already dairy free for several years prior. Edited January 26, 2017 by fraidycat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 ETA: One other thing I just thought of...dd still has a poochy belly, kind of like a toddler has. She isn't over weight, but she isn't on the thin side either. But she has a big tummy and I've noticed that her friends don't have tummies like that any more. Could it be related? Yes, this could be related. You might want to read the description of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and see what you think. The paperback book I bought on Amazon has helped my daughter more than the pediatrician, gastroenterologist, naturopath and nutritionist combined. (And for a heck of a lot less $$$ I might add!) http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/p/science-behind-the-diet/ I hope your daughter feels better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 ETA: One other thing I just thought of...dd still has a poochy belly, kind of like a toddler has. She isn't over weight, but she isn't on the thin side either. But she has a big tummy and I've noticed that her friends don't have tummies like that any more. Could it be related? Have you tried eliminating gluten (wheat, barley, malt, etc), dairy, and/or corn from her diet? I had a poochy belly ALL throughout grade school. Years later, when I stopped eating gluten, lo and behold, the poochy belly melted away. Before I stopped eating it, I would constantly have stomach aches. At first, NOT consuming it will be difficult - mentally. But help her by saying, "you need to tell yourself I can eat this OR I can not have a stomach ache." Hope this helps! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadenceSophia Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Despite all the advice above, I really really believe you should take her to a GI and an allergist who does patch testing BEFORE you change her diet at all. I have gone both ways for myself and my kids. I have certain conditions now that every doctor agrees I probably have but now can never get diagnosed. I have other conditions that require medical management but I basically put it off for years, limping by with my own elimination diet and causing irreversible damage to my body. I can't even explain how strongly I recommend getting a celiac test with biopsy before taking gluten out of the diet. You can't go backwards. A gluten challenge after being gf is not reliable and re-triggering an autoimmune disease is stupid. Better to know if she has it now. Most people are honestly terrible..truly terrible at elimination diets and connecting food with symptoms. The logic is tricky and there is tons of bad advice floating around. It is even harder when it isn't YOU and you have an older child to convince to go through trials and eliminations. If you get patch testing with an allergist you might be lucky enough to get a huge jump start or even a complete answer from the test results. It can save an immense amount of time and agony. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) Any young person who has abdominal issues, make sure that they get an ultrasound of the gall bladder, too. Poor dd suffered frequent bellyaches (so we thought) for a couple YEARS with what in retrospect we all realize included two painful gallbladder attacks, before her ped. thought to get a scan. Few weeks later it was removed, misshapen and full of stones. So it can happen, and needs to be ruled out. BTW no more bellyaches beyond what a normal person would get now (although she has to try and avoid too much fat in her food at any one time now). My oldest, now a 25-yr-old adult, is now on Miralax (or Sam's Club generic cheaper version) daily. I use a gastro doc.. for my own heartburn, and he has told me it is ok to use Miralax for son long term. I still sometimes have to use a Fleet enema or slip him a bit of "chocolate" (Ex-Lax) or use a suppository since he can still get plugged up (in his case, a self-inflicted poor diet is no help, but he has autism and self-restricts his diet :-() Good luck. Don't stop the Miralax, make sure she is drinking enough water, too. And get that gall bladder ruled out. Edited January 26, 2017 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Youngest has always had stomach issues and constipation too. But she was recently diagnosed with Ehler's Danlos Hypermobility and her doctor says it can slow down/screw up the digestive tract. He recommended that she eat smaller meals throughout the day. Just throwing it out there, you never know. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 No clue, but I would insist they look into it more. Who the heck wants to live on Miralax. And to say well kids tend to have these issues. Like that's some normal bodily function thing. No way. I don't buy it. It's normal for people to have these issues from time to time, but it's not normal to live on Miralax. And she's in pain. I'm dealing with somewhat similar issues and it's fracking frustrating to get anyone to do anything other than prescribe some pill. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schadenfreude Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I would request an endoscopy with biopsies checking for celiac disease or Eosinophilic disorders. One of my dc has the later. It is rare and an elimination diet is used to get the symptoms under control. You should make sure it is nothing serious before you try anything on your own. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Skip the pediatrician and go see a gastroenterologist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Skip the pediatrician and go see a gastroenterologist Yes. Just do this. There are so many possibilities and a GI is the best person to help you sort it out. My DD8 struggled with vague stomach pain for years before she finally got a Celiac diagnosis. My DS 11 had a more specific kind of pain that would come and go, along with some bowel symptoms. So he got scoped when the whole family was getting checked for Celiac and it turned out his body doesn't make enough sucrase enzyme to digest sucrose. Now that he's off sugar he is fine. There's no way we would ever have figured that out on our own. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) DD spent years with stomach problems, mostly IBS-C with intermittent IBS-D. After half a$$ing elimination diets (I'm a pushover) she finally did it herself. Gluten turned out to be the main culprit. More than 1 serving of dairy per day also causes IBS-C (which is unusual). Eggs can make her have nausea. So we've cut out all that and she's much healthier (she's also vegetarian so dinner at my house is "fun"). ETA: we also think she has the same issue as PP's son does with the sugar. Anything with a lot of sugar in it, even vegan stuff, gives her a stomach ache. Edited January 26, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Mom Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 The bloated belly you describe is a classic symptom of celiac. I would do a celiac panel to make sure that she doesn't have celiac. To be accurate, she must be eating gluten, so don't change her diet until you do the testing. Also, it is very possible to be very constipated and still go to the bathroom. (She could be impacted and still "leaking" around the impaction.) Usually, if an X-ray shows significant constipation you should do a clean out (laxatives and a large dose of miralax or mag citrate- contact doctor for dosage for her size), and then restart daily miralax. Vomiting can happen with severe constipation. It is awful to watch your kid suffer. Push for answers from the doctors. Ask for a referral to a Pediatric GI doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted January 26, 2017 Author Share Posted January 26, 2017 Thanks everyone for the responses! As an update, I actually think dd has a stomach bug. She threw up several times throughout the night and is now sleeping (she was awake most of the night!!!). Her stomach problems have been going on long enough that I know I need to do something more about it. I think I will start with the pediatrician just to see what she says and then move onto a GI from there. Thankfully we do not need a referral, so if the ped doesn't agree with this I can still move forward. I just hate to put dd through a bunch of tests, but I hate that she is miserable so often. Thanks again!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Just looked at the symptoms for being lactose intolerant...and dd has every symptom! A few that stood out are gas (she will often tell me that her tummy makes crazy sounds all the time), rash (she gets random rashes on her legs that come and go), and even headaches (she almost always has a headache in the car, but has been having them more frequently at school or home). So maybe she does have an intelerance? Is it still worthwhile to take her to see her pediatrician? If I do try an elimination diet, what sources do you recommend? Not all peds are knowledgeable about dairy issues of any kind. You could take your dd to see one, just to be sure to cover all your bases, but.... You can just eliminate dairy without doing a full-on elimination diet. And you would need to eliminate it for *at least* one month. There's something about dairy that makes it able to hang around in the body for up to a month. So that's all dairy--milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, butter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waa510 Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I was diagnosed as a child with lactose intolerance by a gastroenterologist doing a hydrogen breath test. Be careful with eliminating dairy, if that's what you suspect. Casein (a milk protein) was also a trigger for me and is in hot dogs. For a long time, no one believed it could be dairy b/c I was reacting to foods with ' obviously no dairy in them.' :glare: The gastro had to work to educate my family on the different foods that dairy can be found in! Vegan recipes/foods are what I use to ensure that no sneaky dairy ingredients are included in my meals. Just an easy way of not having to check every.single.thing. put in a recipe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Thanks everyone for the responses! As an update, I actually think dd has a stomach bug. She threw up several times throughout the night and is now sleeping (she was awake most of the night!!!). Her stomach problems have been going on long enough that I know I need to do something more about it. I think I will start with the pediatrician just to see what she says and then move onto a GI from there. Thankfully we do not need a referral, so if the ped doesn't agree with this I can still move forward. I just hate to put dd through a bunch of tests, but I hate that she is miserable so often. Thanks again!!! It will be worth it if you can finally get some answers! It was such a relief to finally know how to help My kids feel better instead of playing hit and miss. Getting blood work done isn't that big a deal, and even having the scope done wasn't too hard on my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muttmomma Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 I could have written your post myself. My daughter had the same things. All. Of. Them. First: you will need to continue miralax at least six months because chronic constipation dialates the bowel and it takes a long time to shrink to normal. Second: constipation causes heartburn. Third: we found out much later that she can't have dairy and had celiac. Just cut out all forms of dairy and hluten... continue miralax. Taper off slowly adter six months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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