Worry over daughter with constant bowel movements after food

[emma16]

I'm starting to become increasingly concerned about my 6 year old daughter who is going to the toilet for a poo after every time she eat's a meal.
She's always had a habit of going after tea around 5pm but over the past 4 months or so i've noticed she's started increasing from one bowel movement at tea time to also another time during the day, but now she is going for a poo after every meal, and some times in between if she has just a snack of an apple or a cereal bar etc.
I've noticed that she's also eating less complaining of feeling full or sick. My husband wondered if it's because she's scared of eating for then having to go for a poo but i don't think that's the case as she's always loved her food (and still does) and certainly show's no fear when it's put in front of her or when she starts eating.
It seems to be after so many mouthfuls that she quickly starts to 'feel full/sick'.
She often complains of her tummy 'hurting', feeling sick, looking peaky & tired. She has a good bedtime routine & is in bed by 7.30pm. Sometimes she can still be awake when we might pop upstairs to the toilet around 8pm time but most importantly she's rested in bed & she's happy to be there.
I know some people will be thinking just take her to the doctors & I am planning on doing so, however i know the first thing they will say is to keep a food diary along with toilet habits so that's what i'm doing at the moment & have about 5 days worth.
I just wondered in the meantime if anyone else has had any experience or knowledge of something similar.

How old is your daughter?

My daughter has got a bit better, but i defo think we have it worse just before she has to leave the house too. Which makes me think it might be an anxiety thing.

My daughter has just turned 7 and it seems the more i talk about it, the more this seems to be common in this age girl.

My daughter requests to use the toilet a lot at school too. She is forever ‘just going to try for a wee’. I just ignore it most of the time.

school also assure me no bullying or issues at school.

Hoping she grows out of it. I would say it was really bad in December but she hardly even mentions it anymore.

She does seem to burp more than she has ever done before. No idea why. But once she has burped she always says she feels better.

Good luck. Im sure its nothing

I was also going to suggest getting her tested for coeliac disease. I have it, no one else in my family (knowingly) does. It took me YEARS to get diagnosed. It started - for me - with feeling sick and needing to go to the toilet a lot more than usual.

If she has coeliac, that would explain why she doesn’t look entirely well. You’re often deficient in vitamins because you’re not absorbing them properly from your food.

I am completely and utterly cured with my gluten free diet and I feel great.

@Gemsyb4 i read all your answer and omg my son is exactly the same ( especially with the burping)
I am worried sick because he gets bellyache each time he eats. Please did you get to the bottom of it ? What did you do and try !

Hiya. Well its been a while now and id say she just grew out of it. Either her anxiety settled down, or her body started to cope better. I dont really know. She still burps every now and then or says she has a trapped burp and feels sick (then she will burp and says ooh i feel better)

i think just time. Try not to worry.

my now 4 year old poo’s about 4 times a day (starting at 5.30am) but im just riding it out.

i figure their little bodies are just adjusting and getting used to processing things.

i would say from all the people i spoke to and all the advice i got-its all pretty normal for them.

try not to worry x

@Gemsyb4 Thank you. I had sleepless nights worrying and searching ! Thank you so much for replying

also did she used to get stomachache with every meal ? And did her stool have normal shaped or varied.
mine normal formed stools, then they looks stringy and then he has once a week a bout of diarrhoea. :(

Yes we went through the tummy ache at every meal. Or feeling sick after every meal.

its such a worry isnt it. But i found in time it just all eased off.

yes for the most part stools were pretty normal but yes she would sometimes say ‘that way came out fast mummy i think it was loose’

you could keep a food diary to see if certain foods make the tummy ache worse.

by all means take him to see GP

one thing i wouldnt do is worry all day and night (coming from someone who worried all day and night). Its totally wasted energy and honestly at the very worst i imagine he has a food intolerance to something, and that is possibly something he has daily like diary/wheat/gluten.

i let me daughter tell me when she feels full. I let her tell me when she wants a big meal and when she just wants a plate of crackers (picky tea). She still every now and then gets up and goes to the loo during a meal. I just let her excuse herself.

when I stopped focusing on it and just kind of went with it, i think it all just started to get better. Not overnight, but over a few months.

but have him checked out if you are worried (Gp will ask for food diary, 28 days i think but could be wrong, and obviously make notes on days its worse and days its better so then can see if there is a link)

If GP says nothing to worry about, then just let his little digestive system work itself out.

im sure he is fine but i understand, i was worried out of my mind with my daughter.

i still think anxiety played a bit of a part in it all. Covid did a number on these little ones.

good luck x