Frequent vomiting episodes in child

[sah2241]

Looking for some opinions about whether I need to be pushing for more tests for my daughter. She is now 7, but since she was a toddler she has had random vomiting episodes on a fairly regular basis. They tend to follow quite a distinct pattern: she wakes up earlier than usual, maybe around 5am, saying that she feels "wobbly". She will be white as a sheet and quite uncommunicative. Shortly afterwards she starts vomiting, sometimes just the once but often multiple times. She will then fall asleep and when she wakes up she is pretty much better and starts asking for food. The whole thing is usually over by lunchtime with no lasting effects. When she was younger it would happen probably once every two to three months. Recently it hasn't been just as often but it has come back with a vengeance and she has had three episodes this month. I'm going to take her to the doctor but in the past when I've raised it with them they have been quite dismissive, so my question is is this something that just happens sometimes and nothing to worry about, or should I really be pushing for them to investigate further to try and find a cause?

Migraine

Sorry stomach migraine.

Following

@tittietinsel that is exactly what I have been thinking. She doesn't complain of a headache but otherwise the pattern is very similar. DH's family are all prone to migraines so there is a family history there. When I mentioned that to the dr he looked at me like I was crazy but that was a couple of years ago now so maybe he'll be more open to I given that it is still going on now. Thanks for your reply.

Headaches are not a symptom of abdominal migraine anyway.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome?

An episode of low blood sugar - google ketotic Hypoglycaemia sometimes known as toddlers Hypoglycaemia. Can be Similar symptom list as you describe.

Allergies? You should try keeping a food diary for her to see if you can spot a pattern. Sometimes allergic reactions are delayed, it might be something she has eaten the day before the vomiting.

Abdominal migraine was my first thought!

Ds use to do this and then developed what they think are actual migraines.

They aren't how you'd imagine a migraine to be though. He gets extreme pain over his eye - is nauseas or actually vomits and then loses full consciousness for up to 10 minutes. He then recovers but sometimes will sleep for a bit afterwards. His look worse though because he also has a neuromuscular condition and when he sleeps/full relaxes his muscles go in spasm (myoclonus)

Sounds like it could be ketonic hypoglycaemia. Have your daughter’s blood sugar checked next time she is having an episode. Can also make a child sleepy and clammy when glucose levels drop but giving a small glass of orange juice can provide quick relief. I would push to have this checked at least.

Hi my sister had this for two years she's four, she would randomly vomit and then eat then wake up and be sick again, turns out she has IBS x

She would also be so tired all the time and lost a lot of weight before it was diagnosed

Thanks all, I've just googled ketonic hypoglycemia and I'm not sure about that as she generally eats well and had definitely eaten a decent portion of dinner the night it last happened. The migraine explanation seems to fit better but I definitely need to take her back to the doctor and get them to check her out a bit more thoroughly. Really appreciate your responses.

Just to add - the Hypoglycaemia can occur even if they have had a meal the night before - can happen if they are viral, tired, unwell & there body focuses on that and there body allows sugars to go low - symptoms of sickness, or shaky or grey looking etc - some children/adults can get these symptoms from rebound sugar levels called reactive Hypoglycaemia.

It is not common, but not as rare as people think. It is not linked to diabetes as some people think. Children usually grow out of it as there body gets more effective. But the clues from your original post made me think it may be, but migraine fits too as I am sure other things do.

Best keep a diary - including food, as food may be a trigger if migraine too & see if you find a trigger or pattern.

Sounds similar to my DD it turned out in her teens (after thinking it was migraine triggered by diet coke for a couple of years) that she is lactose intolerant.

Have found the medical profession as a whole (including family member who is a gp) completely useless on this but we have worked it out with lots of trial and error and obsessive food label reading. The Lactofree range by Arla has been our saviour.

Try eliminating dairy, particularly anything with whey powder, and see if that makes a difference.

Before I was diagnosed with coeliac disease i would sporadically wake feeling out of sorts with sickness/vomiting. There was no patter. To it at the time but it's not happened since being GF.

DS has cows milk, soy and egg allergy and sometimes has random vomiting over night related to food I think.

Bizarrely my two year old also went through a phase of it but has no medical issues. I chucked away all the bath toys and it stopped so assume it was related!

It sounds exactly like me when I had cyclic vomiting syndrome. I'd wake up early, feel very specifically peculiar, then vomit (and keep going for hours, falling very deeply asleep between).
I eventually transitioned into having classical migraines, but it went on for years. I kept a bowl with full fat lemonade and plain salted crisps under my bed eventually so I was ready for it

Does she cough a lot and especially overnight? I ask because I was always throwing up due to coughing as a child - I'm allergic to dust mites and early mornings were particularly awful due to a full night of exposure to a bed full of them. Asthma was the cause - it wasn't as common as it is now and I was not diagnosed until I was 12 whereupon I was given allergy testing and found out about the dust mites. The vomiting stopped immediately once I was on inhalers. I never really got wheezy, just coughed and coughed until I irritated my throat and was sick.

Sounds exactly like my son who was diagnosed with cyclical vomiting syndrome when he was 7. He would wake up early, be very pale and vomit a number of times for the next 3-4 hours. He would then sleep and wake up feeling much better and hungry. Sometimes it would be 2-3 times a month and other times he could go months without it happening. He is now 19 and hasn't had an episode for about 3 years. When it started our GP wasn't very helpful but I asked to be referred to paediatric gastroenterology and they did tests to rule out other things and he was given anti sickness medication to take as soon as he felt sick which shortened the episodes a bit and made him a bit less nauseated.