6 year old stomach pain

[lal17]

Our 6 year old has been complaining about stomach pain for weeks now - we had him in A&E twice as he was in tears with the pain. It’s not as bad now but he’s still saying it hurts every day and occasionally crying. He’s had full blood tests, urine, pooh etc and all clear - no vomiting and stomach function seems normal. At a loss as to what to do now. Any ideas on what it could be??

Bump

Stomach migraine?

Anxiety

Our dd suffered with terrible stomach pain for years, although it was around 6yo that she began to be able to explain her symptoms fully. It turned out she was allergic to dairy.

Thank you - I should have said he’s also just started on anti migraine meds (his big brother gets migraines) but that doesn’t seem to be helping.

doesn’t seem to be related to any particular stress or worry but not sure if we’re asking in the right way…

He probably does eat quite a bit of diary. I’ll try that! Am trying not to overworry but he’s really not himself

Thanks again for your thoughts

A few years ago my DC had terrible stomach pain. It was on one side and got worse as time progressed. We suspected appendicitis so went to A&E. The doc was very thorough and diagnosed mesenteric adenitis (may have spelled this incorrectly). It has flared up a few times since but isn't constant.
Has that been ruled out? Its generally on the back of having had a cold/flu or other bug.

In the event that all else has been ruled out, keeping a diary of both foods and events might help pick up some contributory factors.

Thank you riftgibbon they did think it might be that mesenteric adenitis thing but it’s so constant it’s probably not? Is your dc better now?

we’ll try a food diary I think too - its just so rotten seeing him so not like himself.

Thanks lal, yes. We've had a few flare-ups over the past few years, but it had generally only lasted a few days at the most.
If it frequent in your DS it does sound as though something is triggering it, although, if his immune system is a bit off, it could be bad luck with M.A.
Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Has he had covid by any chance? Or a recent viral infection?

my dd began with crippling tummy pains after a viral infection - multiple hospital visits both outpatient and inpatient, different clinicians, multiple tests and they still cannot figure out what’s wrong with her. 3 months later and lives are being ruined over it, We went private to a pediatric gastro who is suspecting an immune reaction to foods triggered from a viral infection (also the conclusion I came to) it’s been a nightmare she can only tolerate very limited food groups now to avoid this pain and have some sort of normality in her life.

her dietitian also said they are seeing an increase in children with strange abdo pain that can’t be explained after the whole covid thing.

keep a food diary, and see if any foods tend to make it worse. We have been ruling out things one by one for a month now but I wish I knew to do that back in august it would have saved us so much pain and upset.

Thanks @Themadcatparade Am so sorry to hear about your DD. Poor thing. And poor you too - I can really see the stress of it all.

He has had COVID - a few times so that does sound like it might be a thing. V interesting that the dietician said they were seeing more of this in children. I do think his immune system has been a bit whacked. So it may well be that he’s reacting to food as well as having bad bouts of MA. I really hope it gets easier for you all and you find what’s triggering it. My elder DD has got different stomach issues (constipated for a long time) and we have had good results recently from the FODMAP diet - she seems loads better without onions and garlic in particular. And for most things you can just sub in leeks for onions. So it’s not quite as disruptive.

i really want someone to do some sort of scan or something to check it’s not a blockage or twisted bowel. And think we may well try to get some specialist help.

Thanks again for comments

We are having the exact same thing with our three year old. They initially put it down to mesenteric adenitis but now are looking to do tests to rule out coeliac disease and chrons. It's very frustrating! Hope you get to the bottom of things soon!

Thanks @Newuser82 hope you get answers for your DC soon too. So hard when they’re that small.

@lal17 i really would push for a scan, that way you can rule out a few of the potential structural issues. We had a scan (after 6 weeks of pressing for one) to find out she was constipated and had a blockage too, fully expecting her pains to clear when she was disimpacted but it turned out it wasn’t the source of the pain (although it couldn’t have helped!)

just a note too, we have introduced a probiotic after lots of research and recommendations from people and their kids with similar symptoms. I’m seeing a slightly better tolerance of her meals on it after two weeks of introducing it slowly (she’s on a full capsule now) but I feel it’s too early to fully tell whether it’s helping. Maybe something you can look in to in case it is food/gut related

My DD had horrendous stomach pains (we were in hospital twice with them as she was bent double and couldn't walk). She had awful heartburn, headaches, diarrhoea... turns out she was celiac (the GP thought she was making it up). Gluten free now and much better. I would urge all parents whose children complain of constant stomach aches ask the GP for a coeliac test. My DS has coeliac and had absolutely no symptoms - we only found out via OGD + biopsies after DD's diagnosis!