Unrelenting tummy ache in ds13 since jan...

[mooseloose]

Ds is just 13.he has had relentless tummy pain since jan, centreand to the left. he has had every test done, two lots bloods, urine, a scan. He has been on dairy free and had lactoloose. And it is no better. He has tummy ache every day, but no sickness or diahorrea or any other symptom. He insists he is happy ( he has always been emotional). Says not worried about anything and it's not butterflies in Tum etc. we are back at hosp next month after being told in July To stop asking if ok etc. can anyone help , hosp have said they see children and never do find the source and it eventually goes. I thinks it's rotten really :-(

Have you tried gluten free? Probably worth a go at least.

Dd has IBS (8) with no diahorrea or constipation. She has to be on diet that excludes numerous foods such as anything deep fried, takeaways, chocolate, caffeine, certain veg, no spices or pepper, no fizzy drinks, nothing coated like oven chips or fish fingers. Her life has radically improved with this diet.

I was going to suggest coelac disease ( gluten free) as well

I can sympathise. My DD - now 9 has had ongoing tummy problems since toddlerhood. Every test, private and nhs done. Nothing comes up. She still has tummy pain and we have tried everything.

I am going to look into IBS as she sometimes does have loose stools with a combination of constipation. Although mostly normal.
We had medicine and it helped when she was a toddler but not the last bout of poorliness.

I hope you find an answer soon for your DS.

rainbow can I ask how you got a diagnosis of IBS? Or if it was just trial and error?

The bloods ruled out caeliac and ibs and he was no different on dairy free.....

Have you tried exclusion diet? Basically cut out sugar, gluten, dairy, bananas, peanuts, potatoes, red meat and shellfish and dried fruit. Keep to the exclusion diet for 3 weeks and then introduce the excluded foods, one at a time over a 3 week period, giving a few days between each new food. If it's a food related issue, this should show up the culprit(s).
Because your DS is still young and growing, you may need to include some multi-vitamins (low allergenic) to ensure all his nutritional needs are met. Obvs worth checking with GP about this before starting, but it has meant that we could move past 'general IBS' as a diagnosis to a point where we have clear understanding of what the foods that cause the problems are.

Dd had stomach pains on and off since she was about 2 but they came very frequently from 7ish. She was tested for everything then put on non-irritating diet and our whole lives have changed. Given diagnosis and diet by gastrolenterologist who we see every couple of months for this and for GERD which she was also diagnosed with at the same time.

My friend's dd had tummy ache for years. Turned out she had horrific ulcer which has required two major surgeries since then. Trouble is it didn't become apparent until hospital finally did exploratory op (after she had been admitted for several days with horrendous pain). I think something like this is the least likely explanation, but it does still happen in young children.

Was he eating a LOT of gluten before the tests? Basically, the blood tests (according to my gastroenterologist and GP) will only be effective if you have been on a high gluten diet for a few weeks before the test- they get a lot of false negatives because people who suspect gluten as a trigger tend to cut it out well before they have a blood test for coeliac disease.

Also, it is possible to have a severe intolerance to gluten but not be coeliac. It may be worth trying an exclusion diet.

I hesitate to contradict when you have clearly gone through a lot of medical tests, but I don't believe IBS can be ruled out via blood tests as you said earlier.

I was diagnosed with IBS last year, though I spent many weeks telling the GP my symptoms were not bowel related. What brought the diagnosis of IBS in the end was not something showing up in blood tests, but the absence of anything indicating any other condition. My GP confirmed that IBS cannot be positively diagnosed, but can only be said to occur when all other likely conditions have been ruled out. So it may be worth looking at IBS again.

I took some anti spasmodic drugs for a couple of weeks, and within that time, the tenderness (it was never quite pain or even necessarily what I would describe as an ache) which I had had every day for months beforehand, went completely. It does come back from time to time, but, now that I know what is causing it, I find I rarely need drugs to deal with it. BTW, I had no constipation or diarrhoea either, and, while I am a fairly highly strung individual, I wouldn't say I lead a stressful life either.

Thanks for all your replies,it's really helpful. The only thing they haven't done is a camera, and I know that is a last resort.nThe docs make me feel neurotic. They told me to go away, stop the symptom and food diaries and checking he is ok, have a nice summer playing, and hey presto they are pretty sure it would go. They said he has grown a bit (he is always very thin, like his brother is) , and a. Bit of sunshine has put colour in his cheeks. I really hoped if it was in his head he would be better over the summer. He has played out a lot, and seems more confident, he is back at school and in top classes still. I know he likes being at home though, so I do think it could factor ? But this will never go if it's in his head. I just don't know where to go with it really. Docs said if they had another symptom it would give them something to work on. It's interesting about the ibs as I thought it was hard to diagnose.the last loads looked at allergens for dairy , ibs, gluten, and we're pronounced to be normal. He has sandwiches for school luch, so yes he does eat bread every day. I thinki may try eliminating something to see if helps, maybe bread. I wil need to go onto a mumsnet food thread now looking for alternative school packed lunches!!

Dumblesdoorgirl, what spasm drugs did you take, out of interest?thanks

Sorry, iPad typing is a bit rubbish!

Dd had a camera all 3 ways before being diagnosed with IBS and GERD. The IBS is because nothing else could be causing the stomach ache and the diet works for us so confirmation. Her pain was spasms.

A lot of people that test negative for gluten and coelac are in fact intolerant to it and cutting it out stops the tummy pains.

I have had cameras every which way and they found nothing, had blood tests which showed a 'level of gluten intolerance', done the elimination diet which is a bit of a pita but is the only thing that has actually helped me to figure out what the issue is.

IBS is really hard to diagnose, and afaik there is no test actually diagnoses it. The cameras will only show longer term damage, so if the issue is a short term thing caused by food, they won't show because the gut has to be empty for a time prior to the camera.

It's all very frustrating, even more so when it is your child (dd2 has silent reflux and lactose/egg allergy). I hope you find some answers soon.

DS1 had terrible problems with his stomach for years. We were made to feel neurotic too when we begged for an endoscopy, but he was vomiting blood so obviously we were really, really worried.

In the end we moved house and area and were referred to a paediatric gastroenterologist. He did an endoscopy which showed DS had 2 ulcers, he had 6 months treatment with Omeprozaloe then a repeat endoscopy and the ulcers had gone.

Another thing, I had bloods done that showed I might be Coealic, and was told the only way they can be 100% sure is to do an endoscopy and biopsy, which I had and it was negative. I do have IBS, have had it 20 years, but have never had a blood test.

In your shoes, I would be pushing for Barium X-rays, an endoscopy and anti spasmodics like Buscopan (can buy it over the counter) or an antacid like Omeprozaloe, if you haven't already tried it because you won't know until you do.

Oh, and has anyone mentioned Gastric Migraine? can't link because I am on IPad. But google it!

DS1 started having sore stomach problems when he was 6. It was burning, but also when it wasn't burning, it was just sore for him all the time and he bloated visibly after eating.

Omeprazole didn't make much odds, it reduced the burning a bit, but did nothing to help the constant pain.

An endoscopy revealed nothing except a bit of inflamation and irritation from the reflux.

Then I read about the link between gastric problems and tongue tie. I had always suspected that he was tongue tied, but hadn't thought it relevant. We had his tongue tie revised and within two days, he was bloating less and not so sore all the time (despite the revision not being done properly) and he has continued to improve.

The medics poo pood it of course, but in ds1's case, there was no doubt that the incorrect chewing and swallowing action was making him swallow a lot of air causing bloating, pain and reflux. He also wasn't able to chew his food properly which didn't help matters either.

Mooseloose the drug the GP put me on was Mebeverine. I did not think it would do anything, but he persuaded me to try it for 2 weeks and it had some effect within 3 days. He later told me, it had a 50/50 chance of working, so clearly it works for some IBS sufferers and not others.

Since then, I have discovered, at the back of a cupboard, another anti spasmodic I must have been prescribed years ago by another GP. I have no memory of this, but clearly I thought that GP was talking rubbish and did not take many of the pills. (Long term IBS deny-er here ). That drug is Spasmonal, and I have to say I find it just as effective as Mebeverine, and easier to take as you take it at any time of day whereas Mebeverine has to be taken 20 mins before a meal and I find it quite hard to judge when I am 20 mins from eating (or, sometimes, I find it hard to wait 20 mins before eating!)

There are other anti spasmodics of course.

Good luck getting to the bottom of ds's problems.

thanks for answering my Q's rainbow I am going to try some things with DD. And in the end the Drs thought my DD had gastric migraine.

Ladies you are so helpful, you have thrown up a lot more questions and issues to think about. I've had a busy weekend so no time to look into things properly. But I have decided to cut bread as it seems significant that we has gone back to school and been worse, not only tummy ache but teary with it too (he is soft anyway) saying he feels poorly. Also I have had two wet bed this week, just found another, so I need to talk to him when he gets home if he has pain with a wee? He has done this over the years and I think he just sleeps heavily? He was also on ulcer med when he first went to hosp, as they guessed on this. Made no difference. We go back to hosp first week in oct, do you think then I need to push for a camera ( not nice though). Thanks gain all of you x

Hi. yes, I think it worth asking about the camera and, in the meantime, I think it is really worth keeping a strict eye on what he is eating. IBS can also affect his weeing - both my dad and brother found this.

Bread, pasta, and breakfast cereals are gluten heavy. You can always replace with the wheatfree versions for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference. My GP just advised me to make sure I had a multivitamin, as bread and cereal are loaded with Vit B and Vit D.

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

I'm sure you have considered this, but are you 100% sure this is not a reaction/anxiety about being back at school?

Has he exams this year? New courses? New teachers/ children in his class?

Was also wondering that as well. My nephew complained of tummy pain for months, and it was anxiety in his case. My friend's son, on the other hand, complained of tummy pain for weeks on school days, and she was talking to the teachers about anxiety etc. Turned out it was an intolerance to banana which he only had as a snack on school days...