Something is wrong with my daughter and no one understands :-( Update (2/17) & more info. in reply 76

[OAmy]

Update 2/17: I was so relieved when she made it to school yesterday! She seemed pretty good but still wouldn't eat much. She only ate a piece of French toast and some dry cereal yesterday, but at least she ate something, I guess. She's still very pale and losing weight I believe. Sadly, today, she woke up crying again with pain and not feeling well. Breaks my heart....
Haven't heard about the bloodwork yet and trying to get 3 stool samples.

Original post:
My daughter is 8. For the past two months, her stomach has hurt every single day. It has stopped her from doing things she enjoys at times. She has spent time in the nurse's office at school and has never gone there ever until this year. She wakes up in the middle of the night with stomach aches.

I've talked to her to see if anything is bothering her. She's gone to see her pediatrician. We've limited dairy to see if it was a lactose issue, but it doesn't seem to matter.

Almost 2 weeks ago, I took her to her ped. who thought it might be constipation. We followed her orders and charted her symptoms. This past sat., she was crying and begging for it to stop, so I took her to our Urgent Care to be safe. They x-rayed her belly and thankfully there was no obstruction.

But, I'm becoming VERY concerned. Now, for the past few days, she has had diarrhea, usually starting between 6:30-7 am.

She is refusing to eat because she is afraid of getting diarrhea.

Being that this has gone on for months now, I'm starting to worry. Even her attendance at school is becoming an issue.

Do you happen to have any experience or suggestions as to what *might* be the cause?

Update #1: Our pediatrician wanted to see her today. It wasn't our doctor, but one in the practice...the same one who saw her a week ago and thought she was constipated. The doctor took it much more seriously this time. They did bloodwork to check for celiac and other info.
We have to collect and turn in stool samples....which mortifies my daughter....they are looking for c-diff and some other bacterial causes with that. If these things come back normal, she will have to see her pediatric GI doctor from many years ago. I feel much better now that they are listening to us and really looking into it. Thank you for all the suggestions and shared experiences! I will keep updating.

[unknownstar]

Bump

[princessputter]

How long did she stay off dairy?? I`d give that another go.. also have her seen by an allergist.. it could be food allergies...

[MlkandCookies]

That really sounds like she is eating something she is allergic to or intolerant of.  Or kids can get Crohns, Celiac, etc.

[Luv.My.Kidz]

Have they checked her for an ulcer? 

[beadingmom17]

Have you tried staying away from wheat? My friend found out she had a gluten allergy when she was rushed to the hospital with crippling stomach pains.

[indymom72]

Keep pounding on doors until you get answers.  Doctors work for us..if they don't do enough I fire them and get a new one.  I'm sorry she's feeling yucky and I hope you get answers soon!!

[MakisMama]

Call her pediatrician. Hopefully they will take a stool sample. If they don't find anything there or if they brush you off again, see another pediatrician or go straight to a gastroenterologist. It sucks that doctors don't always find something, but you know something is wrong. Remember--you are your daughters #1 advocate!

[jmart18255]

sounds like an intolerance to gluten. i'd have the testing done for that and until you can get the testing done go gluten free see if that helps.

[weezer_cookie]

Is it too early for an ulcer? Are there any other symptoms? Does she have anxiety? Dr mom here needs more info. My DH has a lot of stomach issues. You should start giving her an Activia every day, that really seemed to help with my DH. I hope she feels better soon.

[OAmy]

Hmm...gluten might be a possibility. An allergist is a good suggestion! Thank you.