Stomach aches after eating in 4yo

[Kpea123]

Hi all.

Bit of a lengthy one so bear with! My 4yo has been complaining of stomach aches for quite some time, for the last few months really. At first I didn't think much of it as it seemed to only come on when there was something she didn't want to do like going to bed. When I did take her to the doctor they seemed nonplussed. He suggested it may be because she was a vegetarian, but the bloods came back fine. That was about a month and a half ago.

Her digestion can be up and down, some days she won't go for a poop but then the next day may have very painful poops that are runny. Now, over the past few days shes been off school with a temp and cold-like symptoms but is again saying her tummy hurts. Shes been off her food but every time she does manage to eat something she says her tummy hurts. The past 24 hours she has no temp and is much improved but still says her tummy hurts after she tried to eat some porridge (although interestingly she only said this when I said I wouldn't put more honey in it).

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if there's something actually wrong or if it's just her get-out clause. I will be taking her back to the doctors but just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences? Thanks x

Lactose intolerance? That can cause stomach pains and bowel problems without necessarily causing vomiting.

I did wonder that but shes never had any issues with milk before, wouldn't she have had symptoms before this?

Not necessarily. DS developed the stomach pains etc at around 4 and they got,worse as he got older i.e. we cut out glasses of milk, then stopped adding milk to mashed potato when he had symptoms etc.We just dropped each milk product out of his diet as it caused symptoms but that’s probably not ideal so maybe liaise with your GP about a managed elimination.
Might not be that at all, though! It’s just that I thought at the time that lactose intolerance would present differently (more like an allergy) but it didn’t.

Ours just needs to poo but wants to play instead. We read a story while they sit on the toilet and its a reasonable success, not always but sometimes.

Has she been tested for coeliac disease? That can cause a lot of the symptoms you describe.