Child constantly vomiting and missing school

[talliani]

My son vomits a lot. I would say once to twice a month he will just randomly throw up if he gets too hot, stressed, angry etc. He has adhd and autism. GP says he will likely grow out of it and isn't worried as I can usually pinpoint a trigger. My issue is that school always send him home immediately. And it often ends up with him missing 2 - 4 days of school a month. I've explained to them what the GP said but they are firm on their policies. I am a single parent who works full time and I cannot keep missing this much work. I have to deliver a presentation tomorrow and I just don't have anyone to have my son. Has anyone else's child had something like this and grown out of it? He comes home and just asks for food because he is hungry then is totally fine but school will not have him back.

One of my childhood friends did this all through primary school. I think it was nerves related. She had grown out of it by seniors- I think possibly because she felt she had more control (more awareness of time so knew when lessons would end etc).

My child had similar and they accepted the letter from paediatrician saying it wasn’t contagious. Have they actually rejected a letter from the GP? I’d probably escalate to governors.

Ask your doctor to write a letter. Surely that will solve the problem?

Have got another GP appointment booked for this afternoon. Frustratingly I have a suspicion he is making himself sick as he knows he will get sent home from school. Just at the end of my tether.

Dd did this when younger and thankfully school,were accepting of me saying I knew the difference between her normal one off vomits and a stomach bug. Probably wasn’t helped by her frequently telling the teacher “I was sick yesterday “.

anyway turns out she had undiagnosed coeliac disease which was missed for years. I am cross we were fobbed off so much by the gp

No I haven't had a letter which is where I am going wrong. I have just called them and they have asked for us to come in later so hopefully they will write something for me.

Yeah I was gonna say, get him tested for coeliac anyway to be sure that's not underlying...and also get a letter from GP explaining he vomits frequently and it's not contagious, hopefully get the school situation sorted out that way.

I understand it's a difficult situation for you, but surely you can see this from the school's point of view?

If you get written medical evidence that it's not contagious then this may help, but keep in mind that schools have 30 to a class..if we let one student stay in school after vomiting, we'll be inundated with requests from parents that their child is not sent home either.

I haven't complained about the school. I said the issue is that the school send him home and are firm on their policies. This is my issue to deal with and I'm trying to find a solution to it. Taking him to the GP today so hopefully they will be able to write a note for me. I am always very pleasant and understanding re the school attendance officer.

Similar situation. Worth asking GP for test for celiac disease. Also ask if it could be a reflux issue.

Drs have said likely reflux and given meds. Fingers crossed!

If you suspect he is making himself sick then no food when he gets home and he must sit quietly. No playing or tv. He will soon learn it’s not worth it.

My child vomits 1-2 times/month and has done since nursery. Nursery kept strictly to policy so he was forever out. School did the same for the first year but then I got called in for poor attendance in Yr 1 (in the meantime he’d had some tests) and the new headteacher was happy to accept the paediatrician’s diagnosis of cyclical vomiting - they even encouraged that he should come in the same day as he recovers quickly after whatever is sitting in his stomach is fully up. I’m hoping he grows out of it.

Are you sure he’s not doing it on purpose? I can vomit just by flexing my abdomen and bending over… and I’ve met other people like me.

Definitely not. He wakes up in the middle of the night and has to run to the bathroom to vomit. It is more often at night than not but still fairly regularly in the day. Comes out of nowhere

My DS did it in nursery, luckily they recognised it for what it was and didn't send him home. Other than one occasion which did turn out to actually be D&V.
He has grown out of it, it's very rare that he is sick now. He is also autistic. He has since had an EP assessment and EHCP with provisions for meeting his sensory and communication needs which could be a big factor in it stopping.

Reflux medication worked wonders for my child. Hope it does same for your son.