Could my 5 yr old have reflux?

[Yomammasapyjama]

He had it as a baby - not too badly, it was managed with ranitidine and he grew out of it before a year old.

He's always complaining of tummy aches though. I do know that this is often linked to him worrying about stuff (things at school, 'monsters' at bedtime etc) and he usually tells me if that's the cause. It's usually, but not always, at bedtime which makes me suspicious that he's trying you stay up but I also wonder if it's because he's laying down, which obviously makes reflux worse.

Often though, he'll say it hurts all the way up his belly to his throat. And sometimes he will say that 'a bit of sickness came up'. The other day, he actually had to spit in the bin and when I looked, it was a small mouthful of sicky fluid.

He doesn't have any other reflux symptoms (ie no frequent cough, wheeziness, reluctance to eat etc) and when I've mentioned it to the GP, they've pretty much dismissed it.

Any similar experiences? Anything OTC I could try?

Could be reflux again. My son had it as a baby and had a long course of ranitidine. He's now 7 and in past year it's come back, painful tummy and up the chest. Gp recommended course of kids gaviscon as first action. He took it am and pm for nearly a month and it really worked. Recently hes has had milder sore tummy several times. I think food like tomatoey pasta doesn't agree. Also nervous, stressful day or Drinking or eating too much at once can trigger it. Still trying to figure out. It's nice though they can communicate at this age now!!

Yes, if it was just a tummy thing, I wouldn't really be concerned as I know a lot of kids feel most things in their tummy - stress, worry, any kind of illness even cold. I had it with DD.

But it's the "up the chest" thing he describes and the fact he says that "sickness comes up".

Do you need a prescription for kids' Gaviscon? My GP just dismisses the reflux when I mention it.

I mean even A cold, not cold as in temperature!

Kids gaviscon is otc.Yeah I think when they have cold there are glands in tummy area that can cause tummy pain too. My son definately has sensitive tummy anyway . But with these 'reflux' symptoms he was complaining for ages (months) and before bed, like you thinking it was a ploy to stay up. It got worse and worse, crying with what he described 'sharp' pain and 'big ball' in his chest. When we started the gaviscon it settled the pain after a couple of days, but as soon as the pain came back he was urging me to continue the gaviscon. Good test as we know the stuff is horrible! I'm not a a doc, and just saying in my experience, and as moms we know. Sorry to hear its been tricky with gp.

Thank you, Bex, that's really helpful.

My daughter started saying this when she was five, tummy pain/hurting up her chest/sick coming up into her mouth and I took her to the GP thinking it was reflux again. After trying anti-reflux medicine for a few months with little change she saw a consultant...who ordered a blood test which showed coeliac disease. This was confirmed with an endoscopy.

Not to scare you at all, but I wanted to let you know so it could be ruled out.

Investigated and ruled out by a doctor I mean.

Oh bloody hell, poor thing! Were there any other symptoms?

No other symptoms, so no changes to her digestion etc.

It really is unlikely but I wanted to mention it to you just in case. I thought the GP might be dismissive of reflux symptoms in a five year old but they were really thorough at investigating as it isn't 'normal'.

Ok, thank you. I think I'll go back to gp.

My friends 7 year old daughter has literally just been diagnosed with reflux due to anxiety. There is some family history of stomach issues. But the upshot was she needs to try and figure out what is causing the anxiety as this is the root cause. Sounds like your gp isn't being particularly helpful, can you see someone else within the practice?

Maybe you could ask to trial two months of anti-reflux medicine, with a review after?

Yes, I'll try to see someone else. Hmmm, maybe it's anxiety that causes it for him... he's going through a phase of being scared at bedtime and that's when it happens most..