6 year old recurrent sore tummy

[wobblymum1]

Really hoping someone can help, writing this at 5:30am up with her and worried.
she has “sore tummy” every day, at least 3 times then again in evening before bed. Can’t link it to any specific foods. She’s now up with it at 5am and very thirsty alongside it. she only settled with it at 11pm last night so will be off school again tomorrow which is a lot of school missed and another day off work for me which is becoming more stressful.
think it’s cramps. Comes in waves and she is ok in between. No temp, no vomiting though says she feels sick at times with it. She poops every day and I’d say this is more frequent just now but it’s not diahhrea/ constipation.
she was very poorly back in November and in hospital with a uti, norovirus and camphylocater and lost lots of weight due to horrendous diahhrea for 10 days. Since then I’d say she’ll slowly putting that weight back on so not actively losing weight.
no other symptoms apart from cough that is new and I guess unrelated.
what do I do? It’s not an emergency job, it’s not consistent enough to be appendicitis but Gp just says kids are prone to sore tummies. But she’s missing school, I’m missing work and her pain is genuine - when it happens she goes very quiet, pale and hols where it hurts.
im worried, I’m tired and I just need a fellow mama to tell me what to do next. Thank you.

Have her tested for coeliac disease, your GP will 100% try and fob you off.

Lactose intolerance?

I was like that at about that age, I didn't know people didn't have tummy pain all the time.

It can be in foods you wouldn't think about eg sausages.

Thank you so much

Sounds like an intolerance to something. My daughter was similar around that age and turned out to be mildly lactose intolerant and a switch to lactose free milk and avoiding cream was enough for her (she can manage yoghurt and ice cream, but has had to cut out white chocolate)

Mesenteric adenitis?

I would also get checked for an intolerance? However, you mentioned the hospital visit..did the recurring pains begin before or after the visit? ( you may have mentioned that, but I'm still on coffee #1)..is there any chance it could be anxiety related? This can often present as physical pain? The trigger being the illness she had then? Just a thought, but as other have said, I'd get her checked for any intolerances

Thanks so much all.
she did have pains before the hospital admission but more sporadic, nothing like these daily ones and now waking her at 5am after not being able to sleep with it until 10pm. Feel lost.

I would consider coeliac disease or lactose intolerance, ask GP for tests. My DD's only symptom of coeliac disease was frequent tummy aches.

thank you so much. You’ve helped me feel less lost and alone with it, I’m making an appointment today and will push for coeliac and lactose intolerance tests (who knows when I’ll get one but at least I can make it) and hopefully get some answers as we can’t carry on with her and missing missing so much school and work and seeing her so sore ☹️

Second everything OPs have said. You'll have to push for intolerance tests and Coeliac (currently under going tests for IBD or Coeliac myself and 3 months in we're still pushing for answers!) But stay strong and keep pushing because you know your child and if it's ongoing then you need answers.
She isn't anxious about anything regarding school or has any worries? That could also cause tummy pains.
Good luck OP x

Update for all you helpful lovely people 💐
managed to get a cancellation at Gp (amazingly)
she was pretty thorough-tummy exam, finger prick test for diabetes, blood test taken for coeliac and urine screen (negative though trace of white blood cells so sending off to culture)
she had a fever while there (I hadn’t noticed it before) which she thinks is linked to the cough she has.
Her feeling is that her lymph nodes in her tummy are swollen from bad gastro bug before Xmas followed by strep A and antibiotics and this latest cough virus is making tummy sore.
however, when she went to bed tonight she cried saying she doesn’t want to go to school quickly followed by “my tummy hurts I feel sick” so I do wonder a little if it’s a bit of anxiety.

i said to gp I was concerned to hear she has another fever after 2 big infections in last 8 weeks but she said it wasn’t out the norm. She is underweight (19kg at 6.5 years old) so she’d like to monitor that but I let the kid eat as much as she wants as she’s sooo Tiny so can’t do much more there to get her to bulk on more.

does all this sound ok to you guys? I’m on my own so it’s lovely being able to bounce it off you and not sit googling alone!

Underweight in children is another symptom of coeliac disease, is she short for her age too? But might also just be the swollen lymph nodes and all the illnesses she's been having, poor girl. Hope you get test results quickly.

Yes she’s quite short for her age. Not the smallest in her class but not far off. But she’s sooooo thin ☹️

Abdominal migraines? X

Any coeliacs in the family?
My DD was small before she was diagnosed but now she's been gluten free since she was 4 and is normal height and weight so caught up in her growth.

No one close- my mum’s cousin’s son is but no one more directly related to us. that’s great your DD has caught up her growth, I’d love to see my daughter look healthier, she looks like a beautiful twig ☹️

I’m not familiar with these, are they headaches but felt in tummy?

Sounds as though she's had a thorough check over by the GP, which is positive. Especially with all the tests being done. So I'd be reassured by that.

Could be slight anxiety there if she's mentioned the school, next step would be to find out why she doesn't want to go? My middle DS hates PE days so will use every excuse under the sun the night before or the morning of. Bless them! He's a similiar age as he's 7! If this isn't the main cause it could well be adding to it! So worth trying to nip it in the bud if you can, though I know this is easier said than done though!
Hopefully the results will all come back clear and OK and there's nothing more to it. You're doing and have done all the right things, keep going mamma 💪❤️

I so truly appreciate this, thank you 💞I’m on my own so to be cheered on here is priceless for me.
i did ask why she doesn’t want to go to school and she just got very upset saying it’s a long day without me, but wasn’t able to say anything specific. I do know she hates pe too! But not sure what’s caused this sudden anxiety. Maybe the 3 weeks she was off at end of last term due to being in hospital then poorly at home with strep A. I keep reassuring her but not helped much so far ☹️

Yes. My daughter suffered from these for several years starting at age 7. They would come on very suddenly and be an excruciating and debilitating pain low down on her abdomen. She was unable to stand or straighten up. She would then eventually vomit, and sleep for several hours. No headache.

Your poor daughter ☹️Did anything help? my dd is definitely sleepy when the pain has passed which I guess makes sense as she’s been In pain and tensing ☹️

I had to cut out dairy for my youngest - she suffered constant uti’s, stomach pain etc. You’ll need to push for the gp to test for coeliac disease and some of the other possible suggestions etc but in the meantime you could try cutting out all dairy. You’ll have to read ingredients very carefully though - milk powder and lactose can be added to all kinds of odd things.

Bless your heart! It can take it's toll sometimes especially when you don't know what's wrong.
My DS can get anxious over PE days, and also a certain teacher as she's very old school and a lot different to his usual bubbly and fun teacher apparently! 😬😂 it could be the smallest of things though. You could even mention it to the school when she's back just say she's having tests etc to check for anything wrong health wise, but you'd like them to keep an eye on her and let you know of any concerns they have - if any at all.. or if she mentions tummy ache, feeling sick to them too. It's all worth knowing to try and eliminate things and find out what's possible causing it.
Like you said it could even be the change of routine the end of last term with 3 weeks off, got too used to being off and being with you and it's almost like being home sick isn't it. My boys definitely get like this after a long time off and takes them a couple of weeks to adjust again!
Hopefully you're not waiting too long for the test results and it'll make things easier and clearer for you. Meanwhile, just keep doing what you're doing. 🥰 xx

Interesting. She was badly allergic to dairy and eggs as a baby (I remember when she was 4 months old her brother just kissed her cheek after eating an ice cream and within 10 mins she was COVERED in hives ☹️
we did the dairy ladder challenge etc when she was 2 and eventually got to top and she now has it and seems ok. However she never got a taste for milk or cream or cheese so most she’d have now is a frube….though she loves chocolate so tbf could be having it from there. Could she have become dairy allergic again?

She was referred by the GP to a gastroenterologist. He was excellent. She did have bloods taken which were all ok. She was prescribed a preventative medication which she took at night for several years which worked really well and reduced their occurrences significantly. Just the odd tweaking of doses here and there. In her case the pain really was excruciating and she was always violently sick. It could come out of nowhere. However, I do think that stress could sometimes be a factor. I kept a record of when and where they happened and what she had eaten to try and build up a picture which might be useful for your GP. My DD is absolutely fine apart from this and they are now well managed 😊.