DD's severe stomach pains - doctors baffled...

[maryjanet]

my 5yo DD constantly complains of stomach ache and cries with the pain. The GP has hinted she is just making a fuss.... please help!

If you think she's telling the truth and not making a fuss then YOU know her better.... IMO I would get a second opinion. Local walk in centre perhaps or hospital.

If she IS in that much pain I would be off tomorrow to get it checked.

How long has she been complaining of this?
Which part of her stomach?
Sharp, stabby pain, or dull achy pain?

Any particular times? When hungry, just eaten, needing the loo?

Just interested as my DD sometimes has stomach pains. We have family history of *bad stomachs" which she seems to have inherited.

Thank you for your replies It's usually when she's tired or after she's eaten. She says the pain is just somewhere in the middle. She can't differentiate between sharp or stabby - it just hurts. It's been going on for 6 months

I'd go to your local paedeatric unit, tbh. It may be nothing, but if it was mine I would want it checked out. IME GPs can be quite dismissive, and if your gut (sorry, no pu n intended!) instinct is that she is not right, get it checked out properly, if possible. If you don't have a local paeds unit, I would ask your GP for a referral.

Having seen a few horrors among my friends re children being "not right" and being fobbed off by GP, I would pursue it

Thank you Jooly

Could it be abdominal migraines?

Does it happen more often after certain types of foods? Could she be sensitive to wheat or dairy? There are lots of people who are intolerant of casein or glutein but don't qualify as celiac or as having a true allergy. And yet, it causes problems for them regardless.

I thought of migraine as my son had this. He grew out of it after a while but it was nasty.
Do demand a referral or go to hospital; pain is pain and she needs some help with this.
Could you keep a diary for a few days, without her knowing?
Food, sleep, stressors, bowels etc?
Poor little mite!
I, too, 'suffer with my stomach'; I'm upset at the moment and have a viral infection but Im awake because I can 'feel' my stomach.

yy I was going to say abdo migraine too

calpol and reassurance

if you are worried then of course get another opinion

If you think she is suffering then you must pursue it. It could be any type of IBS - a cover-all term for all kinds of stomach problems. It could be diet or intolerance related, but you wont know till you've definitely ruled out other conditions and either seen a nutritionist or done some kind of elimination diet to check for various intolerances. It's possible to be intolerant of certain foods or food groups without actually being allergic to them. My Father had IBS for years and still suffers but refuses to do any kind of food group elimination diet so we'll never know what the cause or aggravating factor is. I suffered diarrhoea, painful stomach, nausea and bloating as well as severe fatigue and poor immunity to viruses for 2 years before I found out I had a Candida infection through doing an easy saliva test. I think my candida was caused primarily by stress and not just down to poor diet, so other factors can be involved as well.