Toddler with seven months of vomiting and diarrhea - help!

[ShooterMcGavin]

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend.

Her son is 3.5ish and has had vomiting and diarrhea on and off since January - it's been so bad his teeth have started to rot away from the vomiting. He is on the list to see a gastrointestinal specialist but she's just found out that the wait will likely be at least six more months.

Bloodwork and stool samples have ruled out coeliac and rotavirus. Gravol (an antiemetic) hasn't worked and neither have antacids.

Symptoms: stomachache, followed by vomiting within an hour. This is followed by diarrhea for 1-2 days.

Timeline:

End of Jan: everyone in the house gets a violent stomach bug. DS was hardest hit but recovered ok.

Mid Feb - June: stomach flu symptoms (eg, more vomiting and diarrhea) 1-4 times a week.

June: all symptoms stopped.

July: symptoms reappeared, and he has been ill four times over the past 10 days.

Any suggestions??

I should've mentioned - she's not in the UK, but a country that I thought was pretty progressive when it came to public healthcare. It is shocking though.

Good idea about the dentist though, I'm not sure if she's tried that avenue.

It could be a dairy intolerance - it can start after a stomach bug. I would be pushing for a more urgent referral but as a temporary measure they could try eliminating dairy. They need to eliminate anything with milk in - if it improves then wait a few months before reintroduction. I'm not a medic but dh developed dairy intolerance after a bug and all three dc were intolerant from birth. They would see significant improvement within 1-2 weeks but don't follow dairy free diet for long without medical advice.

Is he losing weight? If he is, then they should really speed up that referral!

I agree that it could be some other intolerance, or it could possibly be abdominal migraine. Although diarrhoea isn't listed in that link, it is in this one.

Thanks all, I have sent her the link to this thread.

Any other suggestions?

If I were her, and I had the means, I would pay to see someone privately. 6 months' wait is unacceptable. I would want more malign causes ruled out.

Re. the coeliac test, was he consuming gluten when the blood test was done? If not, then the results may be inaccurate.

It could be a secondary lactose intolerance following on from a bug, but you would expect it to have resolved by now.

I think it's impossible for us to say what it might be: poor lad.