11 year old vomiting 1-2 times every week?

[Sugarplumfairy18]

Hi, would really appreciate anyone’s advice or experience. My 11 year old son keeps being sick for what looks like no reason. He is physically well and seems completely fine until he suddenly needs to be sick, he’s then fine again after.

It comes out of nowhere and it is happening at least once or twice a week (for about 2 months now). At first I thought he was eating too much (he has autism and will eat everything that is put on his plate, as he is very rigid thinking and thinks this is ’the rules’ even if he’s full) but now I’m not so sure. I have been giving him slightly smaller portions this past week, but I’m not sure this is the right thing to do as he wasn’t having huge meals in the first place and is a healthy weight, but I didn’t know what else to do. So now I am worrying it’s something other than him eating after his full.

Does anyone have any ideas please?

Is he anxious, as a child I would often vomit due to anxiety (although at the time I had no idea what this was)

I agree could be anxiety - a friend when I was little had this and it turned out to be salmonella!

Thank you for replying. Yes he is (he also has non retentive encopresis due to severe anxiety) but when it’s happening he’s at home and he doesn’t seem anxious and tells me he not. But maybe he is like you were and he just doesn’t understand what the feeling actually is

Thank you. Oh wow! I must admit I’m getting a bit worried now and googling all sorts of things 🙈

Sounds like possible cyclic vomiting syndrome?

I was generally sick at home the night before, often birthday parties (so generally things that people would think are fun) and things, maybe a certain class at school or something like that?

I thought constipation related and then saw in your comment about retentive encopresis and I would definitely consider that maybe it’s related to faecal Impaction.

My 3 year old (awaiting ASD assessment - I think relevant!) was vomiting every few days for 7 weeks earlier this year. After 3 trips to ED and countless GP visits he finally had an abdominal x Ray which showed he was so faecally overloaded that he was vomiting and just had such a distended colon. He had 5 days of klean prep (laxatives) in hospital and now is on 4 Movicol a day and picosulfate.

I’d definitely see a GP (I also think ED isn’t unreasonable if so constipated that he’s vomiting). Movicol Mummies is a brilliant Facebook group for support and advice, I’ve learned a lot from other parents on it

Oh sorry just re-read NON retentive encopresis - forgive me!

I do think what I said could still apply . My son continued to poo during his faecal Impaction so we had no idea he was so constipated

It could be cyclic vomiting syndrome, which has already been suggested.

One thing that really helps with sickness is the cold. So you could suggest to him that when he feels an episode coming on is to either take some layers off, run his wrists under the cold tap, or even just step outside if the weather is cool.

Another big help with sickness episodes is lying down on his left side. It has to be the left so the stomach is upright.

Either related to what he’s going through with gut or a specific food triggers it

keep a diary what he eats in the days that trigger this

Have you considered food intolerances/allergies?