What's going on. I thought it was constipation but not sure now...

[Pancakeflipper]

I have a 6 yr old.

About 5/6 weeks ago he came out of school white as a ghost and burst into tears saying he had tummy ache. Tucked him up in bed. He wasn't sick or a runny bum. By the afternoon of the following day his tummy felt better.

A week later the same thing occured, comes out of school with a hurting tummy. This time he had a few urgent dashes to the for a poo. It was loose but not runny. Took over a day for the tummy ache to go. His appetite hadn't gone - and he was wanting food even though he had pain.

2 weeks later. He comes out of school fine. We are walking home. He goes white as a ghost, bends over double and the tummy pains are back. To bed he goes. He had a few urgent dashes to the loo for a poo that day and the following day.

Then he doesn't do a poo 4 days. I am thinking 'constipation' so we go to the Dr who gives him some syrup stuff. We also up the fibre content of his diet which has always been pretty high. His poo's have been ok. Going each day, not too hard, not too soft.

Then last night after taking this syrup for about 2 weeks, he comes home happily from Beavers. Full of life. Goes to bed happily. I heard him go the loo about 10 mins later and he shouted me up.

He was sat on the loo doing a poo ( loose-ish), awful shade of white. Shaking, retching and in agony, tummy had swollen and looked very bloated.

Eventually managed to tuck him up in bed again. Tummy gradually deflates but he has pain in the right hand side of his stomach. Still stomach ache at 3am this morning and at 6.30am.

I thought it was constipation. I am not so sure now..... I don't think it is a viral thing as we have been ok and he's not been sick.

Obviously I will try to get him to the Dr today again but I really would like to hear if you have had similiar with your kids and what happened?

Thanks lots

Sorry it's very long. Congrats if you bothered to get to the end...

Shameless bumpity bump....

Hi, there is something called 'impacted constipaton' which is when, usually child has been so constipated that it has formed too hard a lump to move, smaller amounts can get 'past' and child can seem not constipated because of passing a little, can require different type of laxative to get moving. Just something to ask about.

Have only heard of this as DS was very constipated as baby/toddler, although never impacted, and looked into everything in great detail, fortuanately he grew out of it.

Thank ImeldaM. We go to the Drs early evening. I will keep that in mind. I just fear going in and coming out the none the wiser then it happen over and over again.

If he's going even every 4 days then I wouldn't have thought it was constipation. (I used to go once a week growing up . Sounds a bit like IBS, but in someone so young. Is he stressed at all? Is it coinciding with anything at all emotional? I have tons of tummy probs (from about the age of 8) and I know quite a bit of it is emotional. The other day I had to take my 4 year old to A & E as he was in a lot of pain and awake from 12-1am. Turned out to be 'just a tummy ache' but did coincide with a day where me and his Dad argued a lot, I wasn't feeling well and the kids had a horrid Saturday.

Maybe start a food diary to see if anything is setting it off. Also I think urinary infections can cause tummy pain, but I'm sure doc will ask for a urine sample.

I would keep a food diary - this may be an allergic reaction (they can cause gastric symptoms rather than a rash etc. sometimes), or, less likely, it could be coeliac disease. My son had terrible stomach aches on and off for eight years before being diagnosed coeliac when I insisted on the blood test. A food diary would indicate if your DS, for example, ate more wheat/gluten on the day of the stomach aches, or a specific food is always associated with a stomach ache later. Hope you can find what is causing it quickly!

Well the DR thinks it is still constipation related. So now given Movicol.

And I am petrified by that. I think I have heard too many daft rumours about it.

Pancake, I would do some of your own stuff as well like the food diary and figuring out if it coincides with any stress at all. GP's aren't always very good at these things! Just so that if you figure it out yourself you can take him off Movicol, or if the Movicol doesn't crack it then you've already made a head start. May be hard to follow if he has school dinners, but they should be able to tell you the menu for the week.

Wise words MerryM. I shall do a food diary and I have the school dinner menu so I can check that out.

Casually quizzed him on stress. But nothing really apart from he's not got some power ranger. He is quite an open book on emotions usually.

I have decided to take him to the cranial osteopath ( his brother has seen him for spinal stuff). I don't know if he can help but worth a try in my eyes.

We had a sachet of movicol this evening. He hated it. I tried a tiny bit on a teaspoon. It was grim.

Golden Linseeds are excellent for constipation and IBS symptoms. My dd had encopresis (stool witholding and leaking)when she was younger and after several ineffective medicines from the gp we started giving her a tablespoon in linseeds each morning and withing 5 days she was passing normal stools and the tummy pain had gone. She still has them now as part of her regular diet and we've never lookedback. There is lots of info if you google linseeds, and you can buy them from wholefood shops or big supermarkets. Hope this helps you as much as it did us.

Sounds like a grumbling appendix to me. Make sure you mention it to your go.

Gp I mean

I was also going to say grumbling appendix. I had a similar thing, thought it was period pains on and off over a few days then ended up in emergency surgery and a week in hospital with severe blood poisoning. If he gets that pain again take him to A and E to be checked over, its not nice at all if/when it bursts.

Loss of appetite, funny bowel movements, and pain in the right hand side are all symptoms of appendicitus

Thank you CountrysideMummy. I will deffo try that. I like that idea alot.

Orange B and Wrinkly R - someone else pointed possible that out to me. Then the Dr said " I bet you think it's his appendix?" he said all felt well there. I hope it is but will get him to hospital if it occurs again.

Thanks guys. I appreciate your thoughts.

countrysidemummy do you buy ground linseeds or give them whole? and do you just give them on a spoon?

Appendix can present atypically in kids so get it checked out if it happens again

Well at 7.30pm the tummy ache began again. Started taking Movicol yesterday. It's gradually going. He is trumping like a trooper. Poor kid. He's so fed up with this.

another BIG fan of flaxseeds/linseeds here

I use mine in adjustable grinder and sprinkle over foods, eg mash, salad, soup, main etc for everyone. Best used on food that contains liquid (eg soup) or at least are eaten with a drink as they soak up liquid. Or simply make sure you have a drink with whatever food you decide to sprinkle them on.
Can also be used whole, but my understanding is that you get more benefit if cracked/ground. They are full of omega3, very healthy and not just for constipation :)

I would also watch the wheat, which can cause tummy aches.

Can I ask how much you use?

We get the cracked seeds and dd eats them straight from the box - she is 6 and has up to a tablespoon a day with a big glass of water. You could add them to porridge or something like that if your dc prefers, and i've seen a kingsmill bread recently called secretly seeded which contains linseed.

My 9yo DD has had similar to what describe. Its gone on for about 4 weeks. I think we are just out the otherside of it and it has been put down to a virus.

Its very disturbing. She seemed fine then would go white as a sheet,complain of tummy pain and need the loo.

On the other hand I have had similar symptoms recently as well. Been feeling a bit off and bloated for the past 10 days or so. I have a pain on my right side and a bit of an iffey tummy myself - so it does make me wonder if this is just a bug. That said - the Dr wants to see me again 1st thing Monday morning.

I am no expert with kids on movicol but I am on it long term to control my IBS and it has been like a miracle cure for me this past 14 months. Tastes vile I agree but does keep me regular - stopping the IBS bouts. They do make it in a lemon and lime flavour - which is not much better than the original tbh. I am sure it would not hurt to add some squash to it - to attempt to mask the vile taste.

Good luck and I hope your son is better soon, but dont be afraid to go back to the Dr if it continues.

Thanks Batty, my son has struggled with the taste/ texture of Movicol. Tried adding some orange cordial, didn't mask the taste! But blackcurrent seems to be making it sort-of-bearable. I read somewhere that although it gives a strict amount of water to add ( is it strict with adults dosage?) that it's okay to add something like fruit juice/cordial to get it drunk.

He woke feeling fine so went off to do his sports this morning and spent the afternoon in the park. Usually he'd have to have a full day in bed with tummy pains. So that's an improvement. And he did a poo today. Still straining but the poo looked ok (sorry TMI).

Hope your daughter is over this now.

I shall give Movicol a few more days and if he's ok on it I'll keep him on it for the time length the Dr says. But the linseed was bought today so will introduce that once off movicol

I would say we use a pinch of it at the time, but if I was counting the seeds I would say a dozen or so. They don't really have a taste so can't overdo it in terms of flavour. Apparently they are best if not cooked/processed as high temp cooks omegas, but they would still prob work in terms of digestion, less so for full nutrition.

My ds skin improved no end on just the flaxseeds so we didn't need any more e45 stuff since adding them.
No idea what's in movicol, but we ditched lactulose in the past. If movicol works on speeding food through the gut before it's fully digested then it wouldn't be my cup of tea.

I could be wrong but I think there is a minimum amount of water to be used with adult movicol but not a maximum iykwim.

I assume (dont know for sure) that as it is to aid constipation - the movicol needs a certain amount of water to be good - after all they say to drink more if you are constipated. I have always assumed that my movicol is fine as long as I used AT LEAST what the packet says. Obviously I dont go adding a whole pint of water extra to it but I will quite often have a glass of cordial afterwards to wash it down.

Likewise - I wont take my movicol if I am dehydrated - IE: just in from the gym. I make sure I satisfy my thirst with water,cordial first then have movicol.

A Dr did once say to me that 1 glass of movicol should not replace 1 glass of fluid I would normally consume - so I still drink what I would do, whether taking the movicol or not that day.