Anyone with a child with IBS?

[GlitterySparkles]

My DS (9) has been complaining for several months of stomach ache, it comes and goes. Sometimes it's triggered by stress (school friends etc), other times it isn't really related to anything. As far as I know, his stools are normal - no constipation or diarrhoea. He has a healthy diet, particularly loves fruit and vegetables, doesn't eat much junk and no fizzy drinks at all ever.

I suffer from colitis which was diagnosed 6 years ago when I was 30, and in my early teens have vague memories of having the same prob as my DS does now, and ended up taking mebeverine which helped. I don't know what they actually diagnosed, neither does my DM.

Should I put my DS on a dairy, wheat and gluten free diet to see if his symptoms improve? And then slowly reintroduce the above? I'd keep a food/pain diary. Has anyone else done this? Is it hard to do?

Any advice would be helpful

Or if I should try the FODMAP diet? Any advice appreciated

Do not go gluten / wheat free until he has been tested for coeliac disease.

Thanks MsDran but I don't think he's celiac. He doesn't fit the symptoms. I was hoping to avoid going to the GP unless I found something

My DH and both DSs are coeliac, only DS2 fitted the symptoms. Only got DS1 tested after his brother was diagnosed. DH never had any symptoms either, but after going gluten free for a while (we are GF at home because of DSs) he became very sensitive to gluten. Unlike DSs he is undiagnosed as you have to be consuming gluten for 6 weeks prior to testing and he is not prepared to make himself ill for that long.

Ok, that does make sense and I totally understand what you mean, I just feel like I don't want to pester his gp for a tummy ache that comes and goes with no other apparent symptoms iyswim. My DSis is gluten and wheat intolerant and I'm lactose intolerant, but we both tested negative for coeliac.

My DS is happy to use my lactose free milk and avoid custard, yoghurts and cheese at the mo, and see if it helps. After Easter holidays, if it hasn't helped then maybe we should visit the GP. I just feel like a hypochondriac mother sometimes!

My DD , 11,often complains of tummy pains. This has been going on since she was 7/8 yrs old. Sometimes nothing seems to set it off.
She is particularly small for her age too. I'm worried that she is somehow failing to absorb goodness from her food. Like your DS.she eats a varied diet. She doesn't suffer fatigue but her stools can be really foul smelling.
After I stopped breast feeding her at 12 months old we discovered she was lactose intolerant. We were strict with her keeping to a dairy free diet and she does seemed to have out grown the original symptoms. But who knows if it's now presenting itself in a different form.
I,too feel silly about going to gp-especially as when we discussed her Lacoste free diet=no symptoms they just said it was coincidence

Are you sure it isn't cows milk protein intolerance as breastmilk is full of lactose so they would have had symptoms while being breastfed too.

p.s. If she has lactose free dairy products then she would still be getting exposed to cows milk protein which could explain ongoing symptoms

test for coeliac first before deciding he isnt as symptoms can vary - any long term gastric type symptoms may be coeliac so rule it out by blood test first before going down other routes