Never ending tummy pain in ds - someone tell me he's not making up

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This has been going on a year.

Worse at night and in morning.

Had blood tests to rule of coeliac.

Showed slightly raised eosophiles.

Has dust mite allergy.

Was on Gaviscon 3 times a day, every day and doing OK, so stopped under Paed advice to see how he got on, with advice to give it only if he said he had pain.

Last week collapsed with severe tummy pain. No warning at all so had not given Gaviscon - in fact he was running around playing, then fainted in dinner hall. School called amublance, they took him in as he had high temp and low blood pressure. Hospital discharged as by the time he was examined (3 hours after collapse) pain had resolved after some Calpol, that the hospital administered.

Told to give Ranatidine for 3 weeks to stop stomach acid and see how he does. He has complained of pain every day and night. Not agony, but pain.

Seeing GP again this afternoon.

If one more person tells me 'kids get tummy ache', 'is there something troubling him at school' or 'he seems easily distracted from it', I will lose my mind.

Anyone with ideas, experience, advice? What should I do next. This is causing so much disruption to our lives, to his school work, to his sleep, his overall health.

I am literally at the end of my tether over this now.

Mesenteric adenitis - I suffered for years with this as a kid and it followed an ear/chest infection. It's an infection of the mesentery commonly bought on by other infections. It often lays dormant and flares randomly. I was hospitalised with pain twice after passing out at primary school. Gastro team sorted me out. Hope your dc gets a diagnosis soon x

You need to get him seen by a gastroenterologist. Dd had stomach pain or years and we were never sure whether to believe her. Eventually got a referral. She had camera both ways and biopsies. She was diagnosed with IBS and GERD and has been on PPIs for over a year now and sees gastro every couple of months. They always believe her and old us to.
It was a relief though to get physical proof through biopsies and were told she'd had her GERD since birth.

Sorry, cardinal sin of not reading the whole thread should be doing a million jobs instead of messing about on MN. My friend's DS (6) has had terrible stomach problems since October; my friend has had a bit of a nightmare with various GPs / the local A&E etc. Finally after kicking up a big fat fuss, he's been referred to a paediatrician. One thing that a paed nurse friend of ours suggested was pushing for a test to rule out the H-Pylori bacterium which can lurk in the gut and cause loads of problems - especially acid indigestion and ulcers. It can be diagnosed through a simple breath test. She (the nurse) says that they see it loads in children and that it's very easily treated. Might be something to consider? Best of luck, sorry for not reading the whole thread

I'd push for a gastro referral too, even if it is only to rule things out. You know your child best, so go with your gut instinct. Then, if things come back clear, you can start exploring other options.

Afternoon all, thanks for contributing. The H Pylori thing is interesting. He had full bloods done but don't know if they tested for this too. I will find out.

He's been having Gaviscon twice a day for 3 days and he seems much brighter, had a really good nights sleep last night - longest he's slept in ages, and he's eating more. He hates taking the Gaviscon but actually asks for it as he says it makes him feel better, so sticking with that for now.

As said before, sounds very much like helicobacter. The breath test and blood test may not detect it. As your DS has had weeks of pain, that reached such a level to make him faint, I would ask for an endoscopy to be done. With a biopsy they can then confirm or rule out a lot of things, incl. Helicobacter infection included.

But did anybody here mention food and diet? Did you receive a list of banned food? Gaviscon just acts on the symptoms, but if there is a suspected gastritis, spices, vinegar, tomatoes, fat (does he eat crisps, french fries, fired eggs regularly?) ..... should be avoided. Chocolate as well may increase acids. I am not even mentioning Coca Cola.
In case of Helico Pylory infection, sugar must be limited, and bifidus yoghurt can help fight the infection, combined with high vitamin C.

Also with raised eosinophils, which can also be a general indication of an 'allergic' child or something else, eosiniphilic gastritis - pretty rare though, cinncinati childrens have good info about it. If he had a lot of antibiotics previously, have you tried some probiotics too to see if they help?

Sometimes you do not realise your children are constipated, there is impacted 'matter' further up the colon, which can only be seen with abdom x ray. I also suffered abdo migraines as a child, I think I drove my parents mad who were convinced it was all in my head. Like another poster mine proved to strongly be linked to blood sugar levels and disappeared overnight with dietary changes. Show your DH this thread !!

Did he have lots of nurofen when he had the ear infection - that is a common culprit for pain in the area you suggest where ulcers can develop.

I was wondering if you got to the bottom of this as I am going through something similar with my son. We have taken out acidic foods, fruit, tomatoes and chocolate but still not 100% and keeps getting strains and pulls in his neck. I don't think he is absorbing nutrients properly as he is very pale all the time.