Random sickness... any ideas?

[hbj0208]

My middle son has had 6 episodes of vomiting in the last year (one was def a bug as we all had it)

The sickness always goes like this.. wakes up between 5am and 7am and is sick then repeats this for about 4 hours. Each time I noticed a common theme that dinner was not eaten the night before (he’s picky anyway)

He’s very pale and won’t talk while this is going on and will cry and retch (nothing in him to sick up) (no temp)

Then he will sleep for an hour or so and wake up starving and can tolerate any food and apart from being lethargic for a bit by the late afternoon he’s pretty much ok.

He always has the nail varnish smelling breath with it too which obs has me googling diabetes etc.. I also was looking at abdominal migraines

I’m going to see a doc but has anyone’s child had something like this? Google is prob not the best place to be lol

Thanks

Hi there

I'm not a medical expert at all and it might be an idea to speak to your GP about this, but it sounds like low blood sugar - on one occasion caused by a sickness bug and on other occasions caused by not eating for a long period of time (missing dinner).

The lethargy, nausea on waking and 'acetone' breath is classic for this. Some children are more prone than others to it - my niece really suffers. It's called childhood hypoglycemia.

A carby snack just before bed and immediately on waking can really help, especially if your son hasn't eaten dinner. A sugar hit in the form of a jelly baby or a spoonful of jam can really help to raise blood sugar quickly if needed.

I hope this helps, but also do speak to your Dr to rule out diabetes.

Please go to gp.

I’m no expert and obviously get this checked out at GP BUT it sounds like one of my DC’s friends who has cyclical vomiting syndrome. Happens the same time of night each time and the episodes sound quite similar

Hi. My son had cyclical vomiting syndrome which started when he was about 7. Exactly the same pattern as you describe, he would wake very early, be sick and severely nauseated for 3-4 hours and then feel better and be hungry. It happened every few weeks at first then settled to about 6 or 7 times per year, although he would occasionally get a period where it was more regular.

I asked the GP to refer him to a paediatric gastroenterologist who made the diagnosis. He was prescribed anti sickness medication to be taken as soon as the vomiting started and this helped a bit. You can have a read about triggers but I think going without food can be one (similar triggers to migraine) so try to get him to eat something before bed.

He's now 18 and hasn't had any more sickness for over 2 years.

My son also presented like this but on other occasions he had severe head pain with it. Diagnosis was migraine - can sometimes just present as vomiting and sometimes with headache too I’m children. He had no visual disturbance etc usually associated with migraine. Definitely one for the GP and I’d want a paediatric referral. Good luck with it.