Stomach Pain?! - Chesterfield,MO

My son went through this and thankful I persisted enough that my doctor listened to me. My son had anxiety about school,which he has somewhat out grown. We were sent to Children's Mercy and he they ran tests. He had small ulcers in his belly from the extra acid his anxiety caused and he was extreamly constipated. His intestines were so full they were up to his ribs. So we did diet changes and he was put on an antacid. While we treated these sypmtoms we took him to a child phsycoligist to help him cope with his anxiety. Now he is nine still has a sentive tummy. He cannot handle oranges but the constinat pain is gone. By the way my doctor originally tried to tell me it was just because he did not want to go to school. While that was part his anxiety he was having real health issues. You are her mom and you know her best.

Good Luck,
E.

My first thought was constipation and my second thought was anxiety. Does she show any other signs of anxiety...bites her nails, etc. I remember a child psychiatrist telling me that kids often show anxiety through headaches, stomach aches, etc. Good luck and let us know.

K.

It could be that she is gluten intolerant. My friend's sons suffered from similar symptoms for years before it was discovered. Now, they are so much healthier and the stomach pain is gone. Request that your doctor or chiropracter test for it.

Hi F P

I may be wrong, but it sounds to me that she doesn't feel comfortable at school, and she gets anxious just thinking of attending...Just guessing H..
I would observe her during the family vacation, and if you notice that she is doing fine, then she does not like going to school for any reason that you will have to find out. It's probably nothing serious, and she just doesn't like anything, a classmate, a teacher, she feels uneasy with a subject, a situation....you never know. In a very casual way, ask her but do not get to inquisitive, just be normal like asking normal things from school. How was your day today?, Who did you play with today?, What was your favorite part of your school day?, what was the sad or upsetting part of your day? Did you learn anything new today?....and so on, but not all at once!
If you see improvement during winter break, I would say is something at school she is not comfortable with; if she keeps saying to you that she doesn't feel well, ask the pediatrician specific suggestions or lab test for may be a hidden virus?, a cold? (it's possible, believe me)etc..

Well, I hope your daughter feels better, good luck and I hope my humble suggestions help you H.. I am sure other moms will come up with great advice and new suggestions!

Alejandra

This sounds exactly like my son. It started when he was 5 or 6 (he's 8 now) but, didn't seem like anything major...he still played fine, ate fine, etc. I thought maybe it was for attention, too but, after weeks of constant complaining, I took him to the doc & he said that he may be slightly lactose intolerant and had us take him off all dairy for 1 week & see if his stomach felt better. It did! It went on like that for about a year. He'd eat/drink regularly (dairy products & all) for about 3-4 weeks, then his tummy would start hurting so we'd take him off dairy for a week & he'd be fine again. Over time though, it's gradually gotten worse. He now drinks Lactaid Milk only, except for the little carton of milk of milk at school once a day, and we have to monitor how much & how often he has dairy products. Now, he usually gets a stomach ache almost instantly if he eats a large amount of any dairy product(ice cream, cheese, etc.) My son complains (still) a lot before he has to go to school & the doctor also said that this is probably an anxiety thing that upsets his already sensitive tummy and to just give him 1 or 2 tums/rolaids 3-4 times a day to help. Hope this helps and good luck!

it could be acid reflux! I would call your doctor to see if you can try anything to see if that's it.

Good Morning FP, I would take her to a specialist in Ped's.
Is it internal medicine? There has to be something causing her so much distress every day. I would keep checking until someone pinpoints the problem.

God Bless you FP. Praying something will be found and corrected ASAP.
Merry Christmas
K. Nana of 5

My first thought was also constipation. My daughter frequently complained about stomach pain, but her activity level wasn't affected and she had regular BMs. I mentioned it to the doctor at a routine visit and upon palpating her stomach region, could feel the poop backed up in her intestines. The doctor told us to give her some Miralax in her juice/water etc for a month and sure enough it loosened things up enough to get it all moved out. No more complaints of stomach pain!

My son was complaining of stomach pain as well for a few weeks. When I took him to the doctor I was told he was constipated. I did not think that could possibly be right because he usually went everyday. The doctor explained that even if he is going everyday, he might not be getting everything he needs out. He used Miralax for about 2 months and is fine now. I would check with your doctor to see if this could be a possibility with your daughter.

I had the same thing growing up. When I was in elementary school I hated math so much that I would go home almost everyday after lunch complaining that my stomach hurt and it did. Your head can make you feel lots of things. The nurse finally stopped sending me home and I through up in class cause I was nervous being there. By the time I got to high school I just through up every morning before leaving the house. As soon as I graduated it stopped. I didn't have problems with it again until I was in a job that I hated and didn't want to go to work. Some people are just more sensitive to certain situations and they don't know how to deal with it. I would dig to see if there is something bugging her fix it and the problem should go away.

My son had the same problem about that age. First, they found he was "compacted" (very constipated). So he had to take meds for that for a while until he was regular again. BUT he continued to hurt. They finally made him drink dye and did an x-ray. Come to find out he has an ulcer in his stomach. He had to take some meds for acid reflux to coat his stomach until it went away. It didn't have anything to do with stress, just something that happen in young children sometimes.
Anyway, that was our situation, not saying it is yours, but something to think about, I guess. Good Luck and I hope she feels better soon.

We had the EXACT thing happen with our 6 year old daughter this school year as well. She is in the first grade and come to find out we think she was just having trouble adjusting to being at school all day everyday. It stoped when we finally went to Childrens Mercy and had her blood drawn to test for allergies. She was of course negative for them all and has not complained since "The Needle". She is doing great now and is starting to actually look forward to school. Good Luck I hope this is all it is with your little one.

I know you already got alot of possible problems to check into but just thought I would throw my experience in. My daughter has a sensitivity to dairy and when she has too much of it she will get a stomach ache until I cut off all dairy products for a few days then she is fine. I had to find out about her dairy problem from my chiropractor. Good luck and God Bless

We have had similiar issues with our 6 year old daughter. The pediatrician in Germany suggested that she may not be getting enough fiber. She told us to feed her frosted mini wheats for breakfast regularly and increase her fiber intake. It seems to help... We still occasionally have upset tummy, but not on a regular basis like it was before.

You've already gotten some good suggestions. Just something from my experience...

When kids are young, we teach them that everything in their abdomen is their tummy/stomach. According to that, my tummy was always in pain, too. It turned out that I have a kidney disease that also affects my liver. All my "stomach pain" had absolutely nothing to do with my stomach, but everything from my ribs to my pelvis was constantly in pain.

Good luck with figuring this out. I pray that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

Is she having regular bowl movements? I have a daughter that has trouble with constipation and that was how she would act. Say that her tummy hurt but it didn't slow her down. We have to give our daughter fiber each day to keep her regular and to keep her tummy from hurting. Good luck and God Bless!

This is going to sound strange, but try moving her bedtime back by about a half an hour. She may need more sleep and it could be manifesting itself through general aches and pains. I feel nauseous when I don't sleep enough. She won't wake any earlier in the morning, but hopefully the pain will go away. Or, if it's just in her head she may say it doesn't hurt anymore to avoid going to bed a little earlier. Good luck. I am glad there isn't anything seriously wrong.

It may be anxiety - we misdiagnosed my son for several years ashaving acid reflux, but it turns out it was anxiety. he would say his stomach hurt, oftentimes along with his head. Sometimes it made him physically ill! He is now on Prozac and has not had a stomach ache since

I may be way off here, but are you sure she isn't constipated? I would keep track of her BM's and adjust her diet if need be.