Advice please? At my wits end.

[JTTWC]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is not the correct place to post. I know the chat thread is quite busy so I’m hoping I would get more answers.

My daughter is 7. She has suffered with bellyaches as far back as 2018 (that is when the GP had on record that I first took her regarding the issue).

She always says the pain is around her bellybutton. It is relieved by having a wee/poo most of the time. She was premature and is slim however has an excellent diet and does eat a lot of food.

For the past year she has complained of headaches, more often than not accompanied by the belly pain. The headaches are not bad, she has a low pain threshold and they disappear before they have even begun. She sometimes complains of feeling sick, and does ‘sicky’ burps. She belches a lot and is quite gassy.

So far the GP has said:

She drinks too much milk, this was the case a couple of years ago now she has hardly any

She has acid reflux and GERD. The Gaviscon made her worse as she said it made her feel sick and it would make her constipated

And finally that she suffers with abdominal migraines, I have a family history of migraines, abdominal and head

Tonight she has what I would describe as an ‘attack’. It was the worse bellyache I have seen her have. She was crying in pain. It seemed like it came in waves. I have a family history of IBS also and my partner is lactose intolerant.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? What was the cause?

I have been to the GP so many times, but they have never been concerned.

She does well at school, is happy and rarely I’ll except for these horrendous belly aches

Sorry I should also add she has been tested for the H Pyroli bacteria and that came back as negative.

Go to a different GP?

Has she had bloods done to assess for coeliacs?

Are you keeping a food and drink diary? That might good to see if anything is bringing on an attack. My dc had awful stomach issues and we went to the Gp numerous times and were fobbed off as DC is severely autistic. Turns out they also had coeliac disease.

Any stress in her life? Does she have a stop start gut, with stuff backing up? I think there's a valve at the top of the colon that can get swollen and cause pain.

Hi @TracyMosby. I have tried different doctors at my particular surgery. Each different issue I have listed are from different GPs. If that if what you meant? I wouldn’t be able to join another surgery as that is one for the area and the others are too far afield and I wouldn’t be able to join.

@JTTWC

Hi *@TracyMosby*. I have tried different doctors at my particular surgery. Each different issue I have listed are from different GPs. If that if what you meant? I wouldn’t be able to join another surgery as that is one for the area and the others are too far afield and I wouldn’t be able to join.

Abdominal migraines are a distinct possibility. Sounds like me as a child. The abdo pain was intense. Have you tried analgesia

She needs to be seen by a specialist.

Agree with food/ drink diary then see GP again

Thanks for the replies. She has never been tested for coeliac disease. Although I have always wondered if she does have it. Would there have to be a family history of it? To be honest she does have stress in her life. She has 2 younger brothers who can be a handful which stresses me out and in turn stresses her out. @SpaceshiptoMars sorry could you expand on what a stop start gut is? Would that pain be felt around the bellybutton?

I also agree she needs to be seen by a specialist. I should have mentioned she has had a LOT of bread today. And today was the worst her belly has been. However there are periods of a couple of months where it doesn’t hurt. I’m not sure if a food allergy would be a bit more ‘constant’.

My friend was diagnosed with abdominal migraines- turns out it was gallstones.

We had no family history of coeliacs, when she was four she started consistently complaining of stomach pains. Also tummy migraines and aura migraines. Pale coloured stools, as well IIRC.

We went to our GP, whose nephew had recently suffered similar symptoms, and been diagnosed with Coeliacs. She had bloods done, and they were off the charts for coeliacs. This was confirmed by an endoscopy.

Stop start gut - my words, but this used to be called a spastic colon. Sometimes things move through the gut OK, the peristalsis waves move food through, and sometimes they just stop for a while. ?Allergies, ?magnesium deficiency, stress etc. Don't underestimate stress, especially if there is any bullying going on.

My dd going through exactly this at the moment. 8 week wait for a blood test

@Jessica60 did the GP give you any indication on what they think the issue might be?

My ds(6) went through this, on and off for a year. He does have a milk allergy so is dairy free. Had been tested for coeliacs and went on Movicol incase of constipation. Eventually it went away. He hated starting school, and was miserable for over a year. As soon as he caught up academically and made some friends his anxiety about school disappeared and looking back that coincides with when the tummy aches stopped.

We have an occasional reoccurrence if he’s worried about something in particular, and strangely just before he is ill.

Is she anxious about anything at all?

My dd was like that until we took her off milk and all things dairy.

Hope you get it sorted. Book a private allergy test if need be, that's what we did.