To ask you to help me diagnose my daughter before I take her to the GP?

[BonjourMonsieur]

Before I get flamed… I’ve taken DD to the GP about the same issue multiple time’s and we’re getting nowhere with it. Im going back on Thursday with her and need some ideas of what could be causing these symptoms so I can push to have it investigated further.

Since December last year, DD has been suffering from persistent nausea. It started around the time of an increase in Covid cases and lots of isolations happening amongst her friends. We initially though it might be anxiety. Fast forward to now and it’s still going on. The main issue is nausea after eating and nausea preventing her eating her full meal. She has a small appetite now and seems worried to eat sometimes incase she feels sick. But on occasions where she doesn’t seem worried to eat, she’ll eat some and then the nausea will kick in. This was very problematic at the start because it would result in her spending half an hour with her head over the toilet. We gave suggestions like “try going to the toilet” or “let’s get some fresh air” and we’d take her outside to the garden to try and almost distract her out of it. She now believes that both of these things help, to an extent.

So she’ll only have a small breakfast, because otherwise she’ll feel sick and won’t be able to brush her teeth and then will be late for school etc. There are all these scenarios that she’s dealing with daily to try to mitigate it. And she shouldn’t have to. There have been time’s we’ve been about to go for a day out, to a place of DD’s choosing and then the sickness will come on after breakfast/lunch and she’ll say she can’t go. I know for 100% that she isn’t faking this in any way.

I’ve also noticed, on the odd occasion she forgets to flush the toilet, her stool is lighter in colour than I would expect.

So far, the doctor had put it down to anxiety. We’ve also been advised to give a daily actimel which we do. She says at school she goes to the toilet immediately after eating lunch and then straight outside to play (fresh air) and that stops it from getting too bad at school.

Can anyone help? What could be causing this? 😢

You're getting some really good leads here OP. Definitely push for more action here.

Oh and ffs weigh her. It doesn't need to be a big song and dance but you do need to know if she is losing weight and how much.

I can understand why the dr thinks it’s anxiety as it sounds like it is.
As long as your dd has been investigated thoroughly (hopefully she has), then I would at what could be causing her to be worried. Sometimes it can be so subtle. I’m at teacher of 20 years experience and see this often.

Sounds similar to how my dd was and it was coeliac disease - push for a blood test.

Other things: what was the stool test for? Has anyone done a faecal calcoprotectin (sp?) test (measures immflamatory markers)? Or test for H.pylori?

Has she had any bloods done? If not ask for some. They should do a full blood count, check liver and kidney function, crp, vit b12.

Ds2 is currently in the gastro wing of our local children's hospital. There isn't a child in there that doesn't have a story of repeated gp visits. Not saying that your dd definitely has something seriously wrong just that the minor problem can be very difficult to sort from the very serious when it comes to gastric complaints.

Oh yes, blood panel should also check for coeliac disease

As somebody with equal experience - and have not just been the responsible first aider, dealing with children who have been dismissed as anxious when they're in pain by doctors, parents and most off, teachers, but have celiac myself - do you not think that not knowing whether the food you're eating is going to be nice or make you feel bloody awful could cause some level of unease?

It still bothers me at times because you can never fully trust anything you haven't prepared yourself.

It sounds like gastritis to me... the permanent full feeling and mild nausea after eating.

Get a blood test for coeliac disease. Nausea, occasional sickness and weight loss were the only symptom my son had and doctor didn't pick up on it. The dietician suggested a blood test.

This is ridiculous. Considering every reply is saying something different, it’s begs the question, how on earth are mumsnet meant to know what it is?!?

So true 😂

They're not. The OP just wants a list of physiological possibilities for the GP to test for instead of just patting her on the head and telling her it's anxiety - take her to a meditation class and eat more yoghurt.

This is interesting as my dd is having something similar at the moment, in her case she also has chronic diarrhoea. She is waiting for blood tests. I have wondered about an intolerance, possibly dairy, but she did get abdominal migraines when she was 8 or 9, for a few years. The GP she saw recently put it down to stress, and she is stressed, but I think there is something else too.

DD suffered nausea and vomiting for years, from about age 20. She’d have to rush out from work (a shop) to be sick on the high street, in the middle of serving a customer. Numerous GPs said it was anxiety. She excluded wheat, then dairy on their advice - no good. I had to ask her every day, what she thought she could eat for dinner.

Her boyfriend, a medical student took her to the GP to insist on a referral to a gastroenterologist. It turned out to have. a physical cause, where her food was getting held up in her colon. Consultant said she would suffer lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, wind and constipation. He recommended a low fibre diet, and she was fine!

This could have been written by me, about my daughter 5 years ago. Struggled to eat, terrified of being sick, nausea constantly.

Eventually saw out GP who was amazing. Ruled out lots by blood tested and talked to her to make sure she wasn't trying to lose weight.
Referred her for counselling (tough to find one - eventually found one privately)
Massive anxiety issues & emetophobia. Much improved 5 years on (21 now). Anxiety will always be there, but coping so much better. We have even managed meals out!

A friends son had these symptoms and it was coeliac. He couldn’t keep weight on and lots
of digestive problems. Worth asking for that to ruled out.

They should be ruling out, not fobbing you off. Bloods and a stool sample definitely to rule out coeliac, infection etc.

My DH had gastro paresis after Covid and both DD1 and I had persistent nausea and bowel issues. It is common with kids post Covid. If you think this might be a factor head over to Long Covid Kids website and Facebook group as there are many people on there with children who have similar issues who may be able to share what helped there child and what referrals were made/tests they had.

One thing that helped us was an over the counter antihistamine like cetirizine. Probiotics and prebiotics also helped. Cutting out dairy helped DH and DD. If she is losing weight they need to investigate, but I wouldn't start excluding foods until you have had initial tests done and under medical advice as you don't want to reduce potential sources of nutrition that she needs.

Alos people fobbing off the anxiety off as a diagnosis. It’s just as serious and can cause just as bad medical and mental symptoms and illness.
man’s if that then causes and eating disorder like emetophobia it can be just as bad.and warrant just as much help and serious urgent support.
try and make meal times as light as possible with no pressure.but also make sure she knows she has as much support as she needs in or out of the dining room.
you said the breathe of fresh air helps straight after so she’s associated that to relieving it. Maybe you could try something similar.how about a tv episode straight after or a walk round the garden together.or you have a safe space you both go to to do some breathing practice.
also the work on her anxieties around the time of it starting.getting her to get herself to the present.that it was a really hard time but she isn’t there anymore.times have changed and she braved it and survived it and was so strong and able.she got through it and is here in the right now doing amazingly.

Well done to your girl! Takes so much guts to fight an Ed.

Actimel and yakult is useless, try kefir. It could be coeliac, which if it is can be fairly easily found and dealt with (easy or straight-forward, it'll still be a life change).

It sounds like the anxiety I used to have as a teenager, I'd feel naseous, dizzy, etc in the mornings before school, going out or even just sitting at home not doing much. I had some counselling due to another issue completely unrelated and in it I discussed my nausea and we worked through it, within 6 weeks I was fine and back to normal.

I also wonder if this could be pre-puberty hormone related, whether that's causing anxiety or if there's something else going on. She's young but it's not uncommon for 9 and 10 year olds to start puberty

What a useless GP. Push for more action and if it does turn out to be something diagnosable report them to the General Medical Council for negligence as your DD should not have been sent away in the first instance.

@kateandme
I'm so proud of her...she graduated this year and is working. Her anxiety will always be part of her, but her counsellor has been amazing, and continues to be so.

Does she feel sick outside of eating at any point? Going into certain situations etc? It could be anxiety. I had this as a kid after a bad bought of throwing up, I basically started fearing feeling or being sick which made me avoid certain situations including not being able to eat big meals. It's called emetophobia. Maybe read up on the symptoms just incase because if you do think it's that then it's important to get her help now otherwise it could make life very difficult for her. I still suffer from it now.

Hopefully it's something medical/easily treatable though. If she's underweight and you're worried, put your foot down and insist she's seen by gastroenterology.

Oh wow what a star.the key thing is how she deals with it isn’t it.
that her anxiety doesn’t come out in forms of food or inwardly to herself.that’s kudos to her and you.she must feel pretty safe in order to show her anxieties in other ways now.

As others have said, it's been neatly a year now....GP needs to be sorting out tests for your poor dd! I've just had a series myself due to similar symptoms. My symptoms were caused be some shallow ulcers and these were picked up by a camera down the throat procedure. I take omeprazole twice daily now. I really would be inclined to at least question your gp on why he/she hasn't referred her for further investigation yet given the period of time it's been. So many medical reasons for your dds symptoms! Go in there tomorrow armed with them and don't let them fob you off with anxiety again! Let us know how you get on.