6 year old saying has a sore tummy every day

[AmplePinkBear]

My daughter is 6, since about may she has been complaining of a sore tummy almost daily. She has seen the gp twice, had stomach checked, poo tested, temp, urine etc and all fine.

she’s still eating, playing, sleeping etc and there is no patterns to when she says it in terms of certain foods etc.

she hasn’t been having diarrhoea or constipation.

Not sure what to do about it really. GP thought it was the after effects of a virus and would go away itself but that was a month ago now.

Anyone else’s kids had this and had any outcome?

My son is now 9 but he’s gone through phases of this for years. I’m not sure if it’s related to recovery from illness or growth spurts or just in his mind. But I’ve found kids probiotic gummies really help him, he doesn’t like actimel but the belly gummies seem to make a difference.

Baffled that my reply has been hidden… it was normal boring advice!

Any food allergies?

Any rashes or itching? Worth considering allergies.

What about anxiety? When did it start? Any changes in her life?

Is her weight and height right for her age? Has she lost any weight? Celiac disease maybe?

What about blood tests? - liver function, cancer, deficiencies?
Lungs/diaphram?
Hernia?

GP needs to investigate further.

She had cows milk protein allergy as a child but outgrew this by 3 years old. Egg allergy which she outgrew by 5. And there are no typical allergy symptoms that we saw with those. I can’t find any connection between foods and when she says it.

My ds complained of tummy pains constantly when he was about 8 - he had quite a few GP appointments and we were told he was probably suffering from 'abdominal migraines' and was given medicine that had no effect whatsoever.
After visiting the GP approx 5 times, we eventually saw a locum, who decided it needed investigated properly............. ds had a hospital appointment and had a camera down his throat and they found an ulcer on his oesophagus.

We were told to cut out all acidic food and drink and to give him wholemeal bread etc instead of white, processed bread.
He had medication too and it eventually healed.

Thing to remember is that a tummy ache may have nothing to do with the stomach. Children aren’t very good at pinpointing abdominal pain.

I did this in school for a year around the age of 8 because I was being bullied and was having serious anxiety.

I did wonder this too and read into it but she has literally no other symptoms.

she is normal height and weight for her age. Will say it’s sore one minute but then be asking for a snack the next and playing and dancing about like normal.

True- Anxiety can literally cause abdominal pains, vomiting, fainting, panic attacks (feel like a heart attack), etc

I'd expect the GP to do a blood test to rule out coeliac disease. Better to test just in case.

Is it only on school days by any chance?
Just a thought......

That’s what I’m worried about is that there is something else going on here that’s not being found.

thanks for your post, I’m glad your son is better now. I think we will need to go back to gp again and see what else they can do to investigate

I thought it was anxiety in my now 8yo a couple of years ago. Switching to lactose free milk solves it. He hasn't forgiven me for leaving him in pain yet...

Worth a try maybe?

Sorry, just seen someone has put similar.

No we are in Scotland, she’s been off since end of June.

I have asked if she’s worried about anything etc but she says no.
she’s just her usual happy self in all other ways and says she feels fine other than this.

Yes OP, definitely ask for further investigation.

When does she get them? Might it be anxiety?

Is a neighborhood kid bothering her?
Trouble at school?
Something like that?
I didn’t want to go to school - that’s the cause of my tummy troubles when I was six.

Something icky here but - This was lots and lots of years (take 6 from 74) ago but I remember having abdominal pain that could not be traced. The doctor said I might have worms. At 6, I found it horrible to poo in a jug. It was worms. The dewormer was AWFUL.

I was just about to say the exact same thing. I think i was 9 at the time. It was because of a terrible teacher who I was terrified of. This was the 70s and she used a cane regularly...way too regularly.

My niece had this and it was celiacs disease. I believe it’s easily diagnosed with a blood test.

That’s something I’ve not thought of. But wouldn’t it have shown up in the poo sample they tested?