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Original poster

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

138 replies

BonjourMonsieur · 18/10/2022 21:54

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? 😢

OP posts:
MumofCrohnie · 20/10/2022 08:39

@MrJi
I am not seeing any pm, do you want to try again?

Original poster
BonjourMonsieur · 20/10/2022 17:46

Hi all, been to see the GP (a different one than our usual). He has asked us to begin with cutting gluten out for a couple of weeks and to keep a food diary. Next step would be to cut out dairy. He wants to see DD again in a month to reassess. He has suggested multiple tests we can do but thought if we try both of these and one is the cause, then it will save DD having to go through blood tests. He seemed really supportive and is happy to organise further tests should these two suggestions prove unsuccessful. Thanks so much for all the support, it’s been really helpful. I’ll com back to the thread and let you all know once we identify the root cause.

OP posts:
Riverlee · 20/10/2022 18:54

@BonjourMonsieur Thanks for the update, and I’m glad some progress has been made.

QuebecBagnet · 20/10/2022 18:56

Gp is an idiot. She can’t have an official diagnosis without blood test as a minimum. She needs to be eating gluten for a valid blood test. If she stops eating gluten and gets better she’ll need to eat gluten again for a minimum of six weeks prior to the blood test and if it is coeliac when she starts eating gluten again any symptoms will be 10x worse than they are currently due to the villi having recovered while she was gluten free.

notapizzaeater · 20/10/2022 19:09

QuebecBagnet · 20/10/2022 18:56

Gp is an idiot. She can’t have an official diagnosis without blood test as a minimum. She needs to be eating gluten for a valid blood test. If she stops eating gluten and gets better she’ll need to eat gluten again for a minimum of six weeks prior to the blood test and if it is coeliac when she starts eating gluten again any symptoms will be 10x worse than they are currently due to the villi having recovered while she was gluten free.

This with spades on ! Why haven't they ordered a blood test now ?

Untitledsquatboulder · 20/10/2022 19:13

Fgs don't cut out gluten until she's had the blood test for coeliacs! That's crazy advice.

Gluten is a tricky one. You have to have been eating it for 6 weeks for the antibody test to be valid, so if she gets better without it you'll have to start feeding her with it again even though it makes her ill. It also can cloud the issue - it's tricky to digest and so can act as "the last straw" for some conditions like crohns, even if coeliac disease isn't present.

ItsNotReallyChaos · 20/10/2022 19:33

I'd request to see a different GP. It's surely common knowledge in the medical world now that you don't cut out gluten before testing!

outtheshowernow · 20/10/2022 19:56

On Netflix there is a series called diagnosis. In series 5 there is a girl with symptoms which were similar to your dds. Might be completely different but worth a watch for you anyway I would think. She did get a diagnosis In the end but I can't remember what it was !

PlinkPlonkFizz · 21/10/2022 10:21

BonjourMonsieur · 20/10/2022 17:46

Hi all, been to see the GP (a different one than our usual). He has asked us to begin with cutting gluten out for a couple of weeks and to keep a food diary. Next step would be to cut out dairy. He wants to see DD again in a month to reassess. He has suggested multiple tests we can do but thought if we try both of these and one is the cause, then it will save DD having to go through blood tests. He seemed really supportive and is happy to organise further tests should these two suggestions prove unsuccessful. Thanks so much for all the support, it’s been really helpful. I’ll com back to the thread and let you all know once we identify the root cause.

Please please please go to a different GP. As the posters said above, blood screening for Coeliac NEEDS you to eat gluten for a minimum of 6 weeks solid. Think Shredded, toast, sandwiches, pasta on repeat. Bloods are absolutely essential right now, otherwise your DD continues to suffer and damage her health.

Tiani4 · 23/10/2022 10:11

It's good to get OP has seen another GP who has taken it more seriously
It's also helpful that PPs have posted if coeliac is a possibility a blood test needs to be done whilst DD is eating gluten !
I guess trying 2 weeks without gluten won't clear it from her body that it won't show up jn blood tests but may indicate by absence of bloating and stomach aches that it might be involved ?

My DD2 (18) had problems with dairy as a baby/ young child which she appeared to grow out if according to GP but she stopped all dairy during covid lockdowns rather than go back to effectively closed GP surgery and has realised she hadn't fully grown of if it. She regrets not getting blood tests earlier as zero chance she will eat dairy (cows milk, cheese, yoghurts, chocolate etc) now , even for sake of blood tests to confirm, given she no longer gets nauseous, frequent stomach aches and bloating which Gp had put down to "bad periods.., " when they resurfaced age 13

Tiani4 · 23/10/2022 10:16

I still think gallbladder problems is a possibility. As the symptoms you mention with extreme weight loss are typical of that. I've three friends who had gallbladder problems as 30 year olds. One who shrunk from a size 16 to size 6 (& is size 8 now so she jokes there was something good that came out of 2 years of pain , lack of appetite, bloating, fatigue and nausea) . She is on medication for it and eats a very careful diet. She has her energy back and it's wonderful to see her so well. The other friend had a operation which even after diagnosis she had to wait ages (3+ months) in agony for as had gallbladder stones? / Or something that had to be removed.. and is so much better too now. She also follows a very careful diet

itsgettingweird · 23/10/2022 10:21

BonjourMonsieur · 20/10/2022 17:46

Hi all, been to see the GP (a different one than our usual). He has asked us to begin with cutting gluten out for a couple of weeks and to keep a food diary. Next step would be to cut out dairy. He wants to see DD again in a month to reassess. He has suggested multiple tests we can do but thought if we try both of these and one is the cause, then it will save DD having to go through blood tests. He seemed really supportive and is happy to organise further tests should these two suggestions prove unsuccessful. Thanks so much for all the support, it’s been really helpful. I’ll com back to the thread and let you all know once we identify the root cause.

First thing I thought was coeliacs disease.

The pale stool lead me to think that.

Fwiw I also was tested as a teen as had all symptoms. I don't have it. But I am intolerant to wheat so it could be either.

itsgettingweird · 23/10/2022 10:22

And agree with everyone.

A blood test for the IgE/ IgA before cutting gluten is standard practice

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