To go back to doctors again with my 13 year old even though I've been told 3 times that he will grow out of puking

[BoundandRebound]

My child vomits quite a lot, not as much as he used to but quite frequently

He vomits when he's otherwise fine or when he's nervous about something, or when he gets up too early so first day back at school after half term = vomiting, school trip or performance = vomiting, going out for a day vomiting

It is not retching it is really bad episodes of vomiting that last a few minutes. He also gets really bad cramping at unusual times like when out playing with mates

He has periods when he will vomit every day for a couple of weeks then not at all, he has times when he will be carsick then not at all.

We went to doctors when he was 5 they said he will grow out of it, same at 8 and at 11

He's nearly 13 - he's still does it

Doesn't seem normal to me

Definitely. It sounds like he has anxiety issues that need to be worked on- I think at 13 they shouldn't fob you off with 'he'll grow out of it'.

Trust your instinct and go back. No one knows a child like their mother. Can you see a different doctor? I've pursued doctors twice before and turns out my ds was seriously ill each time and needed hospital admission so I don't trust the doctor now, I go with my instinct.

He never has emotional anxiety, always physical

He deals with it with no fuss and always has done

Have they done any tests at all?

If you're worried then take him, it's a very different symptom but my parents were worried about my walking/balance as a child, they took me to the doctors several times and were told I'd grow out of my problems, I was 30 when I was diagnosed with spina bifida and a tethered spinal cord, my parents felt bad that I wasn't diagnosed and treated as a child but we had comfort in the fact they tried their best.

If they say again that he'll grow out of it then maybe push them for an actual age.

Sounds like severe anxiety, you could ask the doctor to refer you to CAMHS. I cannot believe this has been happening for so long and they have just ignored it, poor boy.

Do you think it's anxiety related? Or are you actually thinking there is something wrong with his gut?

Is he having any other symptoms such as loose stools and / or blood, is he normal growth and weight?

If so and possibly even without these extra symptoms it could be inflammatory bowel disease( although a bit unusual to be such a long history) and you could ask for a paediatric or paediatric gastroenterology referral to the outpatient clinic

Ask to be referred. Doctor might b baffled as to what problem is but that doesnt mean it should b ignored to spare the doctor's inconvenience.

If it is not anxiety related, it could be cyclical vomiting syndrome. However the symptoms of that are pretty severe. I'd go back to the doctor whatever.

I do think its justified to ask for referral, they can then decide to investigate or not based on examination and blood tests.

Take him back to GP mention persistent vomiting and stomach pains and ask for referral. Does he eat normally, and how frequently per day or week does this occur ?

And, without sounding too negative, some GPs tend to presume everything is ok especially with kids, for WAY too long

Go back.
Get him checked out.
To rule out a purely physical, structural problem, he might need blood tests and an endoscopy.
If he has been growing/developing/has energy a structural problem is much less likely.

Which leaves you with a possible functional problem ie how his intestinal system works. This is not readily pinned down with tests.

Discuss with your dr whether medication (for instance something to help stomach emptying southwards) might be worth trying or working on the stress/anxiety side of things.

Or you could consider leaving it alone, provided he is well/growing/full of energy as it sounds like he is coping remarkably well with it.

As to drs not bothering because it is an inconvenience...

Ds2 (age 5) used to do this, sometimes projectile vomiting up to 6 times per day. In his car, the cause was physical, but the doctors did not take it seriously until he did it in the consultants office.

Apart from anything else they should check what damage is being caused to his oesophagus as a result of vomiting. DS2 had burns in his oesophagus to such an extent that we were told even if he stopped straight away, it would take months for the damage to heal.

Keep on at them until you get the help you need.

Has he been tested for coeliac disease?

In addition to the damage being done to his oesophagus, has the dentist mentioned any damage or risk to his teeth? I would have thought all that acid would be very bad for tooth enamel.

The poor boy must also be terrified that he will be sick in front of his mates. That will increase his anxieties. I would certainly be pushing for him to be seen by camhs

Take him back and insist they investigate. I took my son several times with symptoms similar to this. Every time I was told he's fine and all his blood results are normal. By last Easter he had associated weight loss at which point I insisted on referral to a Paediatrician. He has since been diagnosed with Crohns Disease. All his symptoms of sudden vomiting, car sickness (as we thought it was), stomach cramping were symptoms. Hopefully not for your son but it is possible there is some sort of bowel problem.

I was like this as a child. I vomited a lot. I believe it was anxiety as I am very anxious as an adult and still feel sick and be sick a lot when I feel very anxious.

Absolutely push for a referral to a paed gastro. Don't know where you are OP, but we cannot recommend Nigel Meadows at the Royal London enough.

Agree with lateseptember Crohn's disease presents like this , insidiously, but at some point the body stops being able to compensate and you become very very unwell.
It is very under diagnosed in children and GPs may lack awareness.

I agree with Cailin, get him tested for coeliac disease. I was a very sickly child and used to have chronic stomach cramps. As soon as I got diagnosed with coeliac (which is basically where you can't eat gluten, wheat, rye or barley) then I was so much better. What struck me as similar is that mine used to be worse when I was slightly nervous or anxious, although I've never known why this was! Years after being diagnosed I have no such problems! It's only a simple blood test and if it comes back as probable then they will do a biopsy which is a really simple procedure. Hope you find an answer!

I would be careful with asking for him to be tested for x, y or z.

Get him seen by a paediatric specialist.
Get him investigated. Some tests are invasive, not all are diagnostic (the blood test for Coeliac's disease has a high false negative and false positive rate for instance), some have their own risks.
This will include ruling out Coeliac's, Crohn's etc. but won't be limited to it.

Again, vomiting aside, how is he doing otherwise? Growing, developing, energy levels? How much pain? Any bowel upset?

These things are often NOT easy to pin down and rely on repeated assessment and reassessment if things are not going well.

You can look at this the other way round: he has now has this for a number of years, he is well (assuming he IS) and thriving, it has not changed, ie not worsened, which makes it more likely that it is NOT structural.

Get him back to your GP and ask for referral to paeds. Keep an open mind about what the upshot of that might be.

This is interesting, thanks for all responses

He is thriving which makes me think i should leave it, growing and developing well physically and mentally and has no other issues, although no signs of puberty yet - he is slim but has good muscles and does a lot of physical activity including 6 miles cycling daily, martial arts alongside running around with friends a lot.

His father has an autoimmune disorder which was partially diagnosed by a genetic component and chrons is one of the associated family of diseases although dad has no gastric issues

Perhaps a paediatric gastro consultation might be in order - I think I will ask him how he feels about it and whether we should go back to doctor.

I think I'm worried because he's been very picky with food recently - doesn't eat breakfast - never will or has - has a sandwich for lunch, big snack at 3.30 when he gets back from school but then picks at or won't eat dinner

His younger sibling eats considerably more than him

Take him for a curry or Chinese and he will chow down fine though so maybe he just doesn't like my cooking

Take him back, if it were crohns affecting the small bowel for example the symptoms could be less obvious.
Agree with Pacific, steer clear of asking for specie diagnoses and tests, that tends to cause a diversion and waste time, just reconfirm he has persistent abdo pains and vomiting that haven't settled down.

Can you say how often this occurs approx?

Specific

I would take him back, and also get the school counsellor or whatever emotional support type person they have there to have a chat to him.

But it may we,l e that there's nothing the GP can do. I have a male friend who's in his thirties, and since he was a child he had vomited whenever he's especially nervous, or when he has to get up especially early in the mornings like when he has a long day planned or is going on an early flight. He's had tests, they can't find anything wrong with him, it's just one of those things.