I Don't Know Whatelse to Do! HELP! My Son Is Constantly in Pain!!!

My first thoughts when reading this: kidney infection; food allergy; appendix flare up; dehydration.

I'm glad you've taken him to a GI and had an ultrasound done. You don't say when that was. I would call them tomorrow and see if the results are in. Mine made me wait two weeks for results.

My son always has stomach cramps when he eats certain pasta and sauce. we had him allergy tested, he was allergic to some of the ingredients. we've changed pastas and only use cream sauces now and he has no issues.

Hoping that answer is simple and manageable. Hugs.

I agree with the others about allergy and celiac testing. If those are negative, request an upper and lower GI series so they can get a good look at his digestive tract.

I agree that this does not sound anything like the lactose intolerance I know of from a friend that is very dedicated about her daughter not having any. I have seen what it does to her and it's not like this. It's the pain in the stomach and gassy but not pain like you are describing. I would take the little guy to a Pediatric Internalist that knows kids from neck to groin inside and out...(Pun intended). He needs someone who does nothing but diagnose kids illnesses too. He doesn't need to be the kind of doc they go to every month or so. Getting diagnosed is the issue right now.

I would really like to hear what they said the lining of the stomach and stuff looked like when they went in and looked with the scope.

N.:

oh my!! I know I would become mama bear if my son was in constant pain.

I would do the following:
Have my son tested for food allergies to include lactose and other dairy.
have my son tested for Celiac disease
Have my son's kidney's tested via ultra sound to see if there are any obstructions or tumors (sorry - worst case scenario)
I would also ensure that my son is having a bowel movement every day. When the body holds it in for too long - it can hurt.

GOOD LUCK!!

You're having him evaluated by a specialist. Try to stop extreme worrying until you get the results of the tests. When you start to ruminate, stop yourself and think about something else. Or, I find getting busy doing something helps.

Of course you're worried and empathetic with your son. But it doesn't help to think about the worse case scenerio. Remind yourself over and over that the doctor will get to the bottom of this and will be able to help your son. Focus, as much as you can on the positive. Do not assume the worst.

Kidney problems do not necessarily present with urination problems. Try to stop second guessing the doctor. Let him do his job. You be the empathetic mother who takes him to the doctor. Then let the doctor do his job. You've been doing this, already. You took step one and are now on step 2 or 3.

Feeling helpless is OK. It will help if you allow yourself to feel helpless without trying to get rid of the feeling. You are doing what is helpful. Remind yourself of that.

Has he been tested for celiac disease or gluten intolerance?

If it were me I would read about an elimination diet, and consider cutting out the common offenders (gluten, dairy, soy, sometimes corn) for a period of time, and see what happens to his symptoms (check with doctor about this too). I would keep a careful record of what he eats to see if I could spot any patterns.

I'm not a health care professional of any type - this is just my "mom" opinion.

I really hope you can get some good answers for you child - good luck.

I agree that you might want to look into the celiac connection...

However, if you do put him on a gluten elimination diet, it is often hard for the medical community to diagnose it after you've done the diet..... the evidence may not be easy to see if he isn't actively consuming gluten.

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/celiac-d...

A ways down on the page it does say that "Autoantibody levels should initially be ordered when a person still has gluten in their diet. Positive or indeterminate results will then be confirmed with a biopsy."

Gluten is found in many food items.... you have to end up being a careful label reader..... it can hide in things such as "modified food starch" ..(What kind of starch? Wheat starch, corn starch, potato starch, what???)

It is definately worth checking in to, though..

Good luck! It isn't fun seeing our kids in pain.

Your post broke my heart. I hate to hear that kids are hurting. The next major episode, i would take him to emergency room and have them do a complete work up to determine whats going on. That's going to be the quickest way to get him help and treated.

So sorry for all the pain your son is going thru. My best advice is to not try and get a diagnosis by reading and researching on the internet. Everything you read can point to so many different things and I have found it can make you scared when you think you have come up with an answer. Leave it to the professionals, but keep on top of them and don't let any long delays take place. I only wish you the best of luck.

I can't believe that his doctor hasn't suggested he be tested for Celiac disease or a severe gluten intolerance. Not saying that this is the answer, but it was for MY child who was in constant pain.

Heads up...do not change his diet. Have him tested. Simple blood test, if the results come back suspicious, they'll do a biopsy for confirmation. If you take him off a gluten diet before testing, it can skew the results. It's a simple blood draw, and results can be had within days...very important to keep feeding him everything you do now to diagnose this condition.

I'll just say that removing gluten from my daughter's diet was like a miracle. All of a sudden, the hourS long fits were over. The thrashing and screaming was over. She began growing, teething, walking, eating, talking, smiling, laughing. Her CRAZY skin conditions cleared up.

Symptomatically, is he often constipated or have diarrhea? Does he have any skin conditions? Does he have a hard time gaining weight? All these also might point to CD.

And yes, the pain with CD IS severe. At least it can be...I have a living, breathing child in my home with CD and her pain was obviously excruciating.

(Also, I have kidney stones. I've had two pass in my life and that pain is excruciating beyond belief...think childbirth...but this isn't a chronic condition. Within two days it's over...and hurts that bad until it is.)

When I had gastric ulcers about five years ago, it felt so close to my lumbar spine it was crazy. When is your follow up with the GI doc? Blood tests and ultrasounds are something that provide almost immediate results. Get the appointment, go in with your family and don't leave until you have answers or a plan of action (endoscopy, other tests). This is way too long for your little guy.

**added: Yes, celiac's disease does have a pediatric blood test available.

This is all good advice on here, you definitely need to check out all the medical possibilities before assuming anything else, but...I used to get severe stomach pains as a child. I got lots of tests, nobody ever found anything. Finally in college I realized that the pain was from gas. So I would avoid gas-causing foods and take medicine for it. Didn't help. Years later, after doing a lot of research, I read about how anxiety causes people to swallow air, thus causing gas, which in some people with hypersensitive systems causes extreme pain. Lately, anxiety has been giving me migraines which come mostly with nausea. Is it possible your son has anxiety and that is what is causing the pain? As a child it is very difficult to put things together and make sense of them. Like I said, it took until I was like 20 to figure out that the pain was gone after I passed gas! (Sorry!) So, you should do all the tests and eliminate everything medical, but also just keep an eye out for emotional stuff, like is he a perfectionist? Does he get upset when he gets a B? Is he having trouble with friends? If it is gas - have him lay in the fetal position until all the gas passes, it just takes like 10 or 15 minutes and if the pain is gone, you will know what it is. Good luck!

Updated

This is all good advice on here, you definitely need to check out all the medical possibilities before assuming anything else, but...I used to get severe stomach pains as a child. I got lots of tests, nobody ever found anything. Finally in college I realized that the pain was from gas. So I would avoid gas-causing foods and take medicine for it. Didn't help. Years later, after doing a lot of research, I read about how anxiety causes people to swallow air, thus causing gas, which in some people with hypersensitive systems causes extreme pain. Lately, anxiety has been giving me migraines which come mostly with nausea. Is it possible your son has anxiety and that is what is causing the pain? As a child it is very difficult to put things together and make sense of them. Like I said, it took until I was like 20 to figure out that the pain was gone after I passed gas! (Sorry!) So, you should do all the tests and eliminate everything medical, but also just keep an eye out for emotional stuff, like is he a perfectionist? Does he get upset when he gets a B? Is he having trouble with friends? If it is gas - have him lay in the fetal position until all the gas passes, it just takes like 10 or 15 minutes and if the pain is gone, you will know what it is. Good luck!

Oh N., I am so sorry you and your family are going through this. My heart goes out to you and your husband because seeing a child in pain is agonizing.

My answer won't be popular, but that's okay. Sometimes we need to seek assistance in many different ways instead of just one way.
If I were you, I would take him to the chiropractor (not INSTEAD of a medical doctor, but in addition to). They will be able to help with the constipation issue, pinpoint any gastro problems, and mabey be able to help with diet issues pertaining to celiac or any other food sensitivity.
Chiros are not just back crackers! :) They can help with virtually any system of the body.

Hugs, hugs, hugs!!!! Please keep us updated on your lil' guy! I pray you find answers soon!

He wouldn't necessarily have problems urinating if he had kidney problems, my father still doesn't and he's in end-stage kidney failure.

I'm wondering if you've taken him to the ER when he has these pains? Sometimes a specialist on duty will find something others have missed, it also alerts his regular doctor that the pain is out of control and unmanageable for your son.

Also, has anything been prescribed for your son's pain when it's at it's worst? Pain is a big stressor, I can't imagine him being allowed to continue this way while a diagnosis is being made.

God bless you all, I'm pray for a quick diagnosis {{HUGS}}

I have been going through similar issues with my daughter for 2 almost 3 years now. Does he have problems having a bowel movement? Any blood? I have had to fight doctors tooth and nail to get anywhere. In April she got sent to a new GI specialist who did a colonoscopy and endoscopy and found she has ulcers. The doctor suspects celiac disease but he doesn't have the results to back him up. My daughter was always in alot of pain and would just scream and cry and BEG me to make it go away. It was a horrible experience. She still hurts but is on meds to help control the pain. Just let the doctor do the blood work and if nothing shows up he will probably recommend doing the colonoscopy and endoscopy to get a better look at whats going on or maybe even a dye contrast mri or cat scan. Try to be calm and give you son lots of TLC and have faith in your doctor to do whatever needs to be done to help. Have no shame in letting you doctor know how bad this is and where you are. My daughters GI doctor really responded to me spilling my emotions out to him. GOOD LUCK!!!

I went through five years of testing before the doctors found that I have a genetic kidney disorder. The two worst things for me were the look on my mother's face (knowing that she wanted to help but couldn't) and the look on my doctor's face (pretending to believe me that I was in pain). It was a relief to know that I had *something*, but it was really hard at the time.

I know that many have recommended not changing the diet so the doctors can test, but my friend was diagnosed with celiac disease and it was only because she was REALLY sick that the test even showed anything. Her son, who has rather severe symptoms after even looking at gluten-containing foods, always tests negative. He even did when she gluten-loaded him for the testing! The tests are not very accurate unless there is a severe problem. Also, if you think it might help your child, why wait?

Have any other tests been done, such as MRI or ultrasound? My friends daughter was 5 when she complained about pains in her side. At first it only happened at night when she was sleeping, but eventually she complained about it during the day too. They went to a specialist who did some tests and discovered that she had a growth on her spine and lower rib. She had to have surgery to have the growth and part of her vertebrae removed.

Usually with celiac, the stomach pain isn't severe, but certainly worth looking into. The gas/bloating is consistent w/ Celiac. I wonder if he would feel better on a gluten-free diet?

Here's a little celiac disease info:
http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/c...

You mentioned telling the teacher to let him go to the bathroom when he gets the pain. Is he having diarrhea or problems with constipation?

One last thought- is the pain in the middle of his stomach or a little to the left or right? I had my 1st kidney stone when I was 11, and the pain would come and go, but was horrendous. I didn't have any trouble urinating, and I don't think kidney problems always mean a person will have trouble urinating. Have they done a urinalisis? If he had a stone they may detect traces of blood in his urine- even if it's not visible.
The pain used to be so bad that I would vomit, but didn't have the gassyness or dizziness.

I would think that if the bloodwork and ultrasound don't show anything, they may want to do an upper endoscopy, which in my non-professional opinion would be great because they would be able to get a true look at what's going on in his stomach. I had to have one- they sedated me, and it was easy- I didn't have any pain afterwards or anything.

I think the problem with abdominal pain is that there are soooo many things that could be causing it, so it's kind of a process of elimination until they find out what's going on- but they will find it. Hang in there- I know it must be incredibly painful to see your son going through this and not know what's wrong. I'll send up some prayers for him.
<<Hugs>>
-L.

Added

Someone mentioned that kidney stone pain is over with in a couple of days- not the case for me. I was diagnosed May when I was in 5th grade, and did not pass it until March when I was in 6th grade. I was literally days away from having it surgically removed because the docs said there was no way I could pass the thing. Thankfully they were wrong on that one!

sorry, but i doubt that it is lactose intolerance,milk is supposedly now a BAD THING to give to kids. "too much milk is bad for kids, it can lead to all sorts of bad things"..yeah, like NORMAL GROWTH. or even worse, they might even be healthy, and not have to go to the doctor as often, and that would mean that the doctor wouldnt make anyways near as much money, and we cant have that, now can we ?? stomach pain can have many causes, stress, an allergy, a reaction to medication that a doctor gave them, that their system cant tolerate etc.when did the stomach pain start ? and what was done about it then ? on a side note, no hate mail from doctors spouting their non american based "opinions" about milk will be given the courtesy of a response.so dont bother.
K. h.

Have you had him checked for celiac's disease? You didn't mention if he was having any bowl issues or just pain. If he is having diarrhea he could also have IBS which is VERY painful, and it can go both ways loose bowl movements and constipation, but the pain is very bad. I have had it so I know. I know in the past testing for celiacs was difficult, but now it may be a blood test. It won't hurt him to cut out gluten all together and see if he improves. Most food stores carry gluten free products. I would do that first to avoid putting him through further testing. It may take time to notice improvement, as I said it isn't going to hurt him and is the easiest least invasive way of ruling it out. Celiac's is becoming more and more common these days, I have quite a few family members with it. I am sorry you are all going through this!! I know how difficult it is to see your child suffer. Keep us posted!!

I would take him to Children's Memorial Hospital (if they are in your plan). I live in Bolingbrook too and usually go to Edwards, but for really serious things, I have taken my son to Children's. They just know how to treat kids.

Yes, I did.... years ago, My solution was NO DAIRY!! No butter, yogurt, kefir,sour cream, Ice cream etc, etc, etc. NO EXCEPTIONS There are many alternatives available. I had to change my buying, preparing and cooking had to be different.
What I learned is that the things people crave are usually things that they are allergic to..
I could write for hours, I did find solutions. I'd be happy to share if you'd be interested in learning more about my story.

Slim chance but my son had chronic stomach pain.....they tested him for several things .... Did an upper GI scope..... At one point they even said his stomach pain was from pneumonia in the lower lobe of one of his lungs....he was hospitalized several nights for that one.... The pneumonia was a shocker since he had no symptoms whatsoever of pneumonia - just severe abdominal pain. Anyway, even after being treated
for the pneumonia he had more issues. Long story short, he got very sick and the ER doctors finally figured out he had a urachal cyst. Two surgeries and he is as good as gold again. It's a long shot that this is your son's problem but I thought I would mention it just in case. It took 6 months for my son's real issue to be diagnosed..... The pneumonia was probably not even why his stomach was
really hurting the first time.... You can google urachal remnant for more info.

Best of luck.

request full body MRI to make sure it's not cancer......not to scare u or anything but that would be my first step.

My son had/has the same problem and I figured it out before the doctors did. Migraines are common in my family and after months of my son suffering I decided to help my son like I would if he had a headache. I gave him a cold compress for his head or neck. After about 30 minutes my son started to feel better usually, because little kids experience migraines differently than teens and adults. Kids when they have migraines usually feel it as a tummy ache, but treating it like one would a headache can actually help them.

I like to avoid giving medicine for things unless needed, but sometimes a low dose of meds really help. My son has learned to recognize the signs of a headache coming on so when he will let an adult know right away. He tries an ice pack first and lying down in a dark quiet room. After 20-30 minutes if he doesn't feel better I ask him if he wants a cold drink of water, to rest some more or if he has any pain, and usually he doesn't need anything else but rarely he'll ask for something for the pain and I'll give him a little mortin or tylenol. If it is really bad he has a prescription to take one Aleeve.

I'm really concerned that the pain has been regularly happening for the past 3.5 years with very little concern from the doctors. Pain is a sign that something is wrong and it's appalling that the kid's pain is being brushed off. Maybe I'm sensitive since my cousins have juvenille arthritis but that kind of pain so often for so long seems cruel for the doctors to be cooling their heels.

As others said, it can be allergies, celiacs, crohn's, or even anxiety- any number of causes and worst of all it doesn't seem like the doctors gave you anything to ease the kid's pain. Some kids have really high pain tolerance or are so used to being in pain that it is only when the pain is excruciating that they say anything. That being in pain is all they know so they don't know what it is like without pain. Kick some fire under the doctor's butts because this has been going on for your kid for way too long.

Oh and like the other poster said, don't change the diet until after the doctor does the needed tests! My daughter had severe anemia and it was from too much dairy too soon for her body, but we wouldn't have found that out if we had changed her diet before all the tests were done.