Recurrent vomiting

[brogueish]

Has anyone had this with their child? Around a year ago my 4 year started a pattern of vomiting every day for 2-3 weeks, then nothing for 6-8 weeks, then vomiting again daily for 2-3 weeks, then nothing for 6-8, etc. He has absolutely no symptoms apart from emptying his stomach. No temp, pain, anything - he just empties his stomach and is immediately right as rain. We've been keeping a food diary since the last GP visit about this but no identifiable triggers.

He's just started reception and this morning was sick at school, so he's now off until Thursday. I get the 48 hour rule and completely appreciate that the school has to safeguard all the other children, but I know that whatever he has it's not contagious. I am so worried about how much school he is potentially going to miss if we can't get to the bottom of this. This is his first week of mornings and he's missing most of it. I've gone back to the GP and waiting for them to review the econsult, and emailed the family liaison worker at the school to make them aware too.

Has anyone had similar with their child? Any ideas what it could be or anything we should look into to? Thank you.

A friend of mine had similar with her child, although a little younger, and was told it was Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome. Is that a possibility?

@WhatwouldRuthdo I've just looked that up and it sounds horrible and more intense than what mine has, but I'll do some more reading. Thank you for your reply.

Maxolon stopped one of mine’s cyclical vomiting.

That's great to hear. We have an appt for tomorrow so I'll mention it. Thank you.

Any update @brogueish ? what did the GP say? Did the vomiting stop eventually?

@Jasmineblossom24 Apologies for the very slow reply - I hadn't noticed the notification. Sorry.

My son was diagnosed with cyclical vomiting syndrome in November, however he has been very poorly over Xmas and this diagnosis is now being revisited. We are now waiting for coeliac test to come back - along with a range of others, although it seems that coeliac is the most likely. I hope your family is ok. It's so horrible when children are poorly and you don't know what's wrong with them and can't make it better.

Dd was like this and it was mainly coeliac disease. She improved a lot after going gluten free, though still has issues with nausea and vomiting.

Oh sorry, just seen the update that you’re waiting for coeliac results. That’s good. We were fobbed off for seven years before a test.

@CoffeeBoy Thank you so much for posting - please can I ask, how quickly after going gluten free did you start to see a change in your DD? My son became very poorly earlier this month and was admitted to hospital for 4 days last week. We have cut all gluten from his diet since Boxing Day (was meant to be Xmas Day but gluten is in more than we realised...) but we're seeing little to no changes yet.

Dr Google says some people have a rapid improvement (days) but I don't know if this is realistic? Of course it may still not be coeliac anyway so we're at a bit of a loss with how to help him. Paediatrics mainly monitored and ran tests when he was there, although he was on a drip to redyhdrate him and raise his potassium levels specifically. Would be so great to hear your experiences.

A lot of people when they are initially diagnosed as coeliac will also have a severe lactose intolerance and with Dd there was no change until we also cut out lactose. Then the change was there in days. Consultant said to cut out lactose for six months and then introduce it.

has your ds had an endoscopy or just the blood test. I know for kids now they will often diagnose just on bloods.

are you been careful about cross contamination? Different butter, jam, chopping board, toaster, bread knife, etc?

If Dd is accidentally glutened now she has an instant reaction with immediate projectile vomiting, then diarrhoea and dizz8ness which lasts a couple of days.

she still has some issues but the issues she has are different from a gluten reaction. She has other illnesses which I think are affecting her digestive system. We’re going to see the gp tomorrow to ask for a referral back to gastro.

i hope you see an improvement soon.

And Dd had a similar crisis while waiting for tests and was admitted for about 6 days. She also needed IV potassium as it was so low. They did her endoscopy while she was there.

Thank you @CoffeeBoy . This is really helpful. I hadn't realised the link with lactose - he has been asking for cheese today, which I was delighted about because of the calories! He's only had the blood test; it'd be good if he doesn't have to have the endoscopy too. Poor little things.

We've cleaned and cleared two cupboards of anything gluten and we have divided things up to avoid cross contamination.

Really interesting to hear your experiences, thank you so much. I hope that your DD is doing much better now and that you can get to the bottom of the other issues.

Have they told you to stop gluten? Because if he needs the endoscopy he’ll need to be eating gluten for six weeks before the test. Do you know his blood results (actual numbers).

No, the results aren't back yet. When we were discharged on Xmas eve, the paediatrician said that she'd eat her hat if it wasn't coeliac and recommended cutting out gluten straight away, with the caveat that if the result was unclear he'd have to go back on it for the retest. The more I am reading, the more familiar it sounds, things I hadn't connected. I really do hope it is and we can start managing it.

Sounds like it could be lactose / gluten related, but if not migraine might something to consider. My DS started being sick like clockwork on Wednesday mornings - like yours, no other symptoms at all, literally woke up saying his tummy hurt, didn't like the light, would eventually vom up some bile and sleep for an hour then be literally right as rain.

We tried everything diet related and eventually he was diagnosed with migraine (this is how it tends to present in little ones - they run heavily in our family unfortunately). Luckily they are much better now he's at school rather than nursery - something about two long days at nursery Mon and tues then a day off on weds seemed to trigger it.

Good luck, hope you find the answer soon 😊

@squeak52 Thank you, and sorry to hear about your DS - that sounds really similar to the cyclical vomiting syndrome that mine was diagnosed with (related to migraine - overtiredness is a common trigger apparently). I'm glad to hear that you were able to get to the bottom of it and that he's doing so much better now.

Things here have rapidly moved on today, and the consultant called earlier to let me know that DS definitely has coeliac. The blood test levels were "off the chart", so the next step is being referred to the coeliac clinic, and the dietician will be in touch after the weekend. I am very relieved to have a definitive diagnosis and so looking forward to my little boy being well again, with colour in his cheeks and some energy back 😊

Honestly OP, it’s the best news that you have a diagnosis. Both my DC are coeliac (DD was sooo poorly but DS was fine!) and the main issue with us was finding nice pasta / bread / wraps as they are packed lunch at school usually. I recommend Old El Paso wraps (5 for £3) as you cannot tell the difference between them and gluten wraps. The bread with seeds in also is OK, not amazing but nice once toasted.

IMO, get a second toaster that is exclusively for GF and get things labelled; you will need separate butters / Jams / peanut butter etc. remember, one small gluten crumb can set DC’s stomach recovery back by 6 months. My DD has been GF since May and she doesn’t have any more heartburn, tummy aches etc, but you can tell when she’s been glutened as she gets horrendous tummy aches and diarrhoea.

Always take snacks with you as it can
be a buggar to find something GF if you’re out and about. Own brand crisps (Tesco / Asda / Sainsburys) are often GF.

Download an app called Coeliac UK and you can just scan barcodes of food and they will tell you if it’s safe or not for DC - I still double check the packaging just in case!

Sorry that’s a lot of info but we are seasoned coeliacs! Best of luck x

Also, schools can usually accommodate GF food so worth speaking to them to see if that’s possible for them to do - I like it for my DC as it’s variation to the same wraps / sandwiches! Also, ask your consultant / the dietician to get a letter to you detailing what your DC can’t have (wheat, barley, rye) so they can compile an action plan at school (same as they do with nut allergy). It’s super important the school know to contact you if they do ingest gluten as well as it can make DC very poorly - once the school gave DD a huge plate of normal pasta and garlic bread because the TA got confused between gluten free and dairy free… we ended up in hospital as DD was in so much pain and the doc thought she had a bowel obstruction!!

Its just learning what you can / can’t give DC but I would drill into them that they must ask the adult who gives them food “is this gluten free”? Make sure any event your DC goes to also knows - cross contamination is the big risk as lots of people won’t think twice about cutting a GF sandwich with a knife used on a gluten sandwich!

@Jaybird43 thank you, I am pleased that we can now start to manage it and he can feel better. Those tips are great, keep them coming!! :) Just joined Coeliac UK and downloaded the app.

How long did it take after going gluten free for your DD to start feeling better please? My boy is so unlike himself at the moment. The consultant said it can take up to 8 weeks to start seeing improvements, which feels like a really long time...

Yeah I think with DD it was pretty much instant - her stomach (which was so bloated before) went down within days, heartburn stopped, but I think it took a little longer for the tummy aches to stop. Her levels were over 250 so well off the scale, so the change in her was incredible. DS had a level of 49 and OGD confirmed Marsh 3 changes, so very minimal and we didn’t notice any change with him as he was obviously positive but not symptomatic.

A good tip we learned is to always call restaurants prior to going and ask if they can accommodate coeliacs (it’s more than gluten free as they must not contaminate the Gf food with the same spoon, for instance). Lots of places do offer food and they can give you an idea of their selection.

With my DC going to parties, I let the host know they are coeliac and I usually pack them their own party food to take with them because if kids touch the food they can contaminate the non-gluten foods.

Asda and Tesco and sainsburys have good GF options - lots to experiment with and try! It honestly does get easier and you will learn to live with it. I know it can seem daunting but you have your answer as to why your poor DC was so poorly - mark my words, in a few months you’ll feel like you’re looking at a different child as they recover from the effects of the gluten.

I do remember her paediatrician saying it can take up to 6 months for the gluten to leave the body, so don’t be alarmed if symptoms do go on a bit longer. Your boy will need a yearly blood test just to check anaemia / gluten levels are down and you’ll have a chat with the dietician - we just had ours in December but haven’t had our results yet.

start your boy on a probiotic yoghurt / daily vitamins and zinc - these will help restore his gut and get him back on form x

Good news on the diagnosis.

when he’d previously Been eating gluten in damages and flattens all the villi in his digestive system. As he stops eating gluten these will repair but this takes time and while the villi are flat he won’t absorb as many nutrients. So at diagnosis a lot of people are anemic, low in vit d, calcium, etc which can also make them feel rubbish. Might be worth a good multi vitamin for a bit.

Just wanted to add that both of my DC have coeliac friends who are thriving now. I made a gluten free birthday cake for DC2’s last party. One friend even came round for pizza this week (he had his own pizza handled on a separate worktop and cooked in a separate oven to everyone else’s).

it seems that once everyone gets used to a gluten free setup it’s really not so difficult. Good luck!

@Jaybird43 amazing, thank you x

@CoffeeBoy thank you! He's been prescribed some iron drops as they picked up anaemia in the initial bloods, he does take a basic multivit but revisiting that is a good call. That makes sense - he's dropped from 91st centile at 2 to 9th now (4.5) despite eating like a horse so his absorption must be shot to pieces.