DS, aged 7, claims to have had a tummy ache "every day for a year".

[ilovehugs]

DS is always complaining about tummy aches. I took him to the Drs ages and ages ago about it who said he seemed fine.

He eats well, is growing, about the same height as peers (but skinny), no vomiting, active, no constipation, tummy not swollen, doesnt seem to have sensitive areas etc etc.

Yes he is ADAMANT that he always has a tummy ache and it never goes away.

What could this be? He's notorious for mouthing objects, even at his age, he chews lego (and get's told off for it). Could he have bits of plastic stuck somewhere?? Surely he would be poorly? Grasping at straws here.

Any other experiences of this or advice most welcome please!!!

I'm getting like a cracked record on here but get your GP to check for coeliac disease , don't change diet before the test as it can cause negative results. Hopefully it won't be but certainly worth a try.

Thanks Floralnomad. Will look into that.

Just googled it. He doesnt have bloating but it might explain the tummy aches and a few other things. V. worried that it might have damaged his bones. He had pain in his knees when he was about 4 and they did a blood test. It came back saying his iron was quite low. He eats lots of veg but not allot of meat, so I put it down to that. Ages almost 8 is allot of growing to be doing without getting all those vitamins. Hope if it is that and we catch it soon, some of the damage is reversible. Will feel very bad!!!

I'd second going to the GP again, but if it turns out there is nothing wrong could it be he wants more attention? Does he have siblings? Would he like some alone time with you?

Sometimes when the DCs tell me they have a sore tummy I make them a cup of very weak camomile tea and we sit and have a cup of tea together.

Of course, if it is every day then you do need the GP to do proper investigations as well

Would it get batter with a placebo, such as the camomile tea Chrysanthemum mentions? My DD is older now, but she used to say she had a bad tummy when she was worried about something - is everything OK in school? He's not getting bullied, or struggling with lessons in any way? Can you identify when it started, to see if it links to some event?

Is he hypermobile? Kids with hypermobility get tummy aches a lot. And achy joints.

Check by;
Get him to stick out his tongue - is it massively long?
Can he bend his thumb close to or touching his wrist?
Does he have super soft and very stretchy skin?
Do his knees and elbows bend the wrong way?

Yes to the above and that's why he gets tummy ache.

Going to try/test both of those things YDdraigGoch and BlissfullyIgnorant, Thanks so much :)

Just had a quick google - His uncle has super-stretchy skin (is his party trick), his aunt is double jointed and really badly injured her knww last year dancing to James Brown. Will inspect DS when he comes home.

He also has MAJOR issues with handwriting.

Chamomile tea is not a placebo!

Would just really like an explanation. Poor DS x

My DD didn't have half the symptoms for coeliac , all she had was a regular stomach ache and fatigue. Unfortunately she has got coeliac but has now got CFS .

Your poor DD :(. A very close friend of mine had CFS. She is 100% recovered now. She got very poorly in her late teens. She went on something called the 'lightning project'. it really helped, but was in adulthood.

reading your thread with interest, ilovehugs - and hope you find an explanation for your ds, and an easy to manage one.

dd1 often complains of stomach ache, but certainly not every day - I had no idea hypermobility went with stomach ache, but she is certainly double jointed in thumbs, has twisty ankles and flat feet (thus arched back). Without wanting to hijack - does anyone know why hypermobility causes stomach ache? From back/postural issues, or something more organic?

She also has very shaky hands in the morning, but suspect thats not related - dh and dd2 also tend to have shaky hands first thing/when tired/nervous: they look like a bunch of heavy drinkers (dh=teetotal, dd1=8yrs old, dd2=5yrs )

When does your DS complain of having a tummy ache? Could your DS be confusing tummy ache with hunger? Dd1 complains of a tummy ache sometimes, but its because she's hungry (a glass of milk usually sorts her out). Sorry can't be more help.

It def could be gluten which is giving him a tummy ache - even if he doesn't have coeliac disease.

I took my DS off gluten and it's helped enormously.

It's possible that he has abdominal migraines. They are very underdiagnosed. Do migraines run in your family (tend to be maternally inherited). It is also possible that he has a mitochondrial disorder which is currently reckoned to be in 5-10% of the population at some level. And quite often can be treated with simple/cheap nutrients that replace what the body is not producing/absorbing correctly.

Since birth, my ds had a series of complaints including vomiting, weird aches and pains, colds that went on forever and were much worse than the average child (like dd). At age 8 he started getting head migraines and then abdominal migraines, chronic fatigue and cyclical vomiting after that. He is hyper mobile, clumsy, low muscle tone and has problems with handwriting and is very very bright. I finally got him diagnosed this year (he just turned 12), through a series of fortunate coincidences. It turns out he has a mitochondrial dna mutation which impairs the working of his mitochondria which are the powerhouse of the cell. The best news is that it's treatable with simple nutrients (which the mutation is messing up the production/absorption of). He takes high doses of L-carnitine and CoQ10 twice a day. They have zero side effects and have completely "cured" ds. He has been illness free for 7 months now which is the longest period in his little life that he has been well. The doctor who is treating him is the world's expert on mitochondrial disease and recommends that any child with any number of these symptoms (I would include your ds in that) should try taking L-carnitine and CoQ10 in high doses for a few months to see if it makes a difference (obviously then continue it if it does). They have no side effects and are fairly cheap and certainly much easier than being sick...or traipsing around from one doctor/emergency room to another. If you want more information about dosage or links to the literature, please let me know.

elibean with the shaky hands thing, it might not be this, but have they been checked for myoclonic jerks? It's a form of epilepsy which is often missed and can be worse in the morning due to tiredness. www.giantmicrobes.com/uk/products/merrychristmasmicrobes.html

Is he enjoying school? My husband had problems with a teacher who kept hitting him and feigned sickness everyday and looking at his reports, his attendance was terrible. Just a thought rather than it being physical....

Hmmmm he's getting on OK at school. My instinct is that it is a physical thing. Did the hyper-mobility test on him. Def not has that. Going to take him in next week and will report back.

Interesting.

My son has hypermobility and often complains of joint and stomach pain as well constant itchy skin, rhinitis. I have non coeliac gluten intolerance and I wondered if that might be the problem.

However, interested to see hypermobility and stomach pain go together.

Any idea why that is?

Had a brief read earlier - the stomach is a muscle and the control of acids processes etc are due to muscles??

My DD, now a teenager, is similar. She was diagnosed last year with mild hypermobility. She has had stomach pains with bouts of D&V since very young. Blood tests at approx 7 yo showed she was having allergic reactions but they didn't know what to. Had to do trial and elimination on different foods and drinks. We found the stomach pains have stopped after making sure she has no artificial colours and no aspartame (artificial sweetner in lots of squash, low fat yogurts etc) - this is much easier to control nowadays as Sainsburys products are free from all this.

Are you sure he isn't constipated?

Dd2 is a bit of a hypocondriac so it took me about a year to take her to the doctors with a tummy ache. Turned out she was badly compacted-they found it on a scan. I wouldn't have guessed and she seemed to go as regularly as anyone else.