Would you take your child to the doctors for this?

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

Ds is 6, (7 next month) and has a extremely fast metabolism (he gets treated on a diabeties type diet)

He is 3st 2oz and wears 5-6 year old clothes.

We call him tin ribs as you can see every rib in his body, including his back bones.

When he eats, he needs to use the loo on average 5 to 30 mins after every meal and sometimes even snacks.

He is pale and over the past few weeks has started getting dark circles under his eyes.

He's fit and healthy otherwise, plays football twice a week, does karate, and runs around like a normal 6 year old.

I'm just worried about his weight and metabolism, he eats well and has a good varied diet.

Is this normal or would you get your child checkout if it was them. Just seems he's not growing (been in the same shoe size for 20 months now and showing no signs of sprouting. (Shoes size size 10.5)

[SurvivalOfTheUnfittest]

Sounds like your description could be related to intolerance/allergies to me. Is there any history in your family? Does he have any hay fever, asthma or eczema? I would definitely take him to your GP but be aware that you need to have a good GP who will have a discussion with you - the ones in our practice who like to prescribe prescriptions were not good at listening to our concerns. Pop over to the allergy board if you want any more advice as there are lots of useful folk there.

[BlackholesAndRevelations]

Just saw tour message about him waking up hungry. No bloody wonder as he's not digesting his food properly therefore us getting bugger all out of it. I used to feel empty straight after eating certain things; bulgar wheat for example. Something is clearly very wrong with him

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

Il put a appointment on first thing in the morning (poo is varied, sometimes floats, sometimes not) I don't know if it smells as I don't have a sense of smell.

decided I have to have a close inspection of poo

Will defo let you know 5mad.

It's just horrible seeing him eating all the time yet a few hours later he needs a build up, when he gets ill get gets absolutely floored also.

[BlackholesAndRevelations]

Just go to the doc and say you want a referral for blood tests for diabetes and coeliac disease ( and I'm not sure of anything else that might be wise to check?) no asking questions, just demand it.

[LynetteScavo]

Yes, I would take him to the GP, and it is very rare that I take my DC to the GP.

[DorisIsWaiting]

Could be any number of things one thing it is not is normal and healthy.

DD2 has CF if she does not take her enzymes her poo is awful. she also does not gain weight despite eating a Very high fat diet. She now has a supplement in addition which is help massively.

When she does not have enough body fat she does not grow.

[DorisIsWaiting]

maybe check for CF too

And if you can try and get a different GP this time!

[5madthings]

Well I shall let you know what our go says as well.

[CailinDana]

Yes, bring him to the doctor, ask for him to be thoroughly checked for digestive disorders.

Incidentally soup without bread, even lentil soup, tends to fill you up quickly but then leave you hungry later. It might be worth packing more into his dinner if you can - potatoes and some heavy protein. Lentils are very high in fibre so they're not a good option for someone who poos a lot. In fact a lot of what he ate today is high fibre, is that typical? Fibre is good normally but given his problems it might be worth laying off it for a while and sticking to more stodgy foods like potatoes, cheese, polenta (which is gluten free), eggs, etc.

[Havingkitties]

Wow, your son has an amazingly healthy diet! I'm in awe!
Agree that he should get checked out by doctor. Diabetes is easy to check at GPs with a wee dip test so should be done as standard for anyone with weigh loss/thirst/peeing lots.
Does he get tummy aches? Second top thing that needs a look at would be to rule out inflammatory bowel disease or coeliacs. Needs his tummy examined by docs and possibly bloods if they feel its possibility.

If you're concerned always get it checked, best scenario is that your just a worried mum and he's just a string bean type. Most doctors would rather you bothered them and he's well rather than worrying about it and letting it fester if there is something underlying.

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

I'm asthmatic acute, as is ds2 and dh had childhood asthma, ds2 also has eczema.

He's also badly allergic to penicillin, and a few moths ago, we had to throw his fleece housecoat away as every time he wore it (even if freshly washed) he was getting very bad hayfever symptoms.

[oldraver]

With eating the amount he does I would expect him to be bigger and it also sounds like he isnt making use of his food and it is going straight through him.

DS is the same age, weight (19.8kg) and clothes size. he is slightly smaller than most of his friends but doesn't look ill/malnourished at all. He doesn't eat anway near the amount you discribed

[DorisIsWaiting]

Maybe also ask demand for a referal to a dietician.

[CatPussRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

Coeliac disease. (There is an awful lot of wheat/gluten in that diet.)
DD had the same thing at about the same age. She looked shocking. I took her to the GP fully expecting a serious disease, and the relief I felt when the GP mentioned Coeliac was overwhelming! She also had tummy aches, head aches and pains in her legs. I'd been taking her to the GP for at least 2 years for the aches and pains. Was told they were growing pains. It took a new GP to sort the problem.

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

He would normally have more stodgy foods, however we were in Scotland for the new year and traveled home today and lentil soup was in the freezer, quick lazy meal

He loves jacked tatties and tuna, cheese, toasties, pannini, any pasta etc...

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

Ds aways complains of pains, we have put it down to growing pains, he's sometimes crying in his sleep.

Off to research coeliac now. cries

[CatPussRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

Don't worry. Coeliac is nothing. Have a test, remove gluten from diet, complete turn around! I'm no doctor, but I'd definitely be pushing for the basic tests for coeliac/ diabetes etc!

[CailinDana]

Coeliac disease is easily managed. It can lead to complications but as long as you're careful about diet it should be fine. The great thing is, if it is coeliac disease, a pretty short while on a gluten free diet will mean a massive change to his health.

If you discover he does have coeliac disease I have a lovely recipe for gluten free cake!

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

My battery is running out so now sure if this will be my last text.

Doris I am clueless when it comes to things like CF (which I thought was a mucus/breathing thing, clearly not) I will let all you lovely ladies know what the dr says tommorrow.

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

Mmmmm cake, me and ds favourite. //grin

[myhandslooksoold]

My son is also 6, 7 in a few months and has a lot of similar issues.
I am currently waiting for an appointment with a gastro specialist, will have this end of January.
He has initally been seen by a surgeon as we thought his poo problems were related to a rectal prolapse he suffered when he was a toddler.
My ds says he wants to poo all the time and will go to the loo frequently throughout the day. He rarely stands to wee as he feels the urge to poo. Then when he goes he will either have a tiny poo, a very soft one, a normal one or a runny one. He is not constipated.
He has very thin, slow growing hair. His belly can often be distended like a famine victim.
He's had sone blood tests to check for chrones and ibd but these have come back' within normal limits'.
We have done some cutting back on dairy (we didn't exclude completely) and I thought this did imrove it, but it coincided with the return to school in september so I think he was still going to the loo as often but he was in school so I couldn't supervise.
I am very worried, I am still wondering if it is chrones or something like that but it hasnt been detected by the tests.
So yes op, definitely one for the gp and possible referral.
I would be very interested and grateful for any stories that can help, thank you very much.

[WeWilsonAMerryChristmas]

Don't worry, take him to the GP and stand your ground. Coeliacs is only serious if not treated, and if that's what it is you'll see an amazing difference. If its not anything physical, I'd look to get more fat and protein into his diet.

[CailinDana]

I think you're confusing CF and coeliac disease. CF is cystic fibrosis, which is a serious illness caused by a failure to produce certain enzymes that the body needs to function properly and leads to a buildup of mucus in the lungs along with digestive problems. Coeliac disease is the inability to process gluten, which is a component of wheat and easily avoided in the diet. Coeliac disease can cause bowel problems but only in severe cases, for the most part a change in diet is enough to treat it. CF is much more complicated, and requires medication, breathing exercises etc.

[chickydoo]

Could be coeliac disease.
We have it in our family.
Very skinny. Pooing after eating (poo almost liquid) pale skin, dark circles.
Malabsorption leading to vitamin and mineral loss.
Easily diagnosed, and although a lifelong condition it can be managed fairly easily.
Good luck, & get your boy to docs ASAP.

[CatPussRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

IF your GP thinks DS has coeliac, whatever you do, dont go gluten free straight away. This is very important. The gluten causes damage which needs to be searched for in a special test. Removing gluten from the diet causes the damage to heal making the test impossible.