DD(13) getting sick at night ...any ideas?

[LittleDino]

Another thing to try would be to take her to see a Gastroenterologist. Your DD's symptoms remind me of my husbands... he has gastroparesis (slow emptying of the stomach). If he ate anything right before bed, he would wake up feeling very nauseated and sometimes throw up. He no longer eats 2 hours before bed, and hasn't thrown up during the night for over 4 years now.

The Dr may recommend a stomach emptying study to diagnose Gastroparesis. There really isn't a cure for Gastroparesis... things that help are not to eat anything 2 hours before going to bed, stay upright after meals (allowing gravity to help empty the stomach), taking digestive enzymes after eating, and walking regularly to keep everything moving.

 

[nmmom95]

I had the same problem. It was reflux from a medication I was taking. It doesn't sound like an eating disorder, or as pp said, she would be hiding it. Good luck!

 

[JessicaR]

I would have her checked for GERD

http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site940/mainpageS940P0.html



What are the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux?

Heartburn, also called acid indigestion, is the most common symptom of reflux. Heartburn is described as a burning chest pain that begins behind the breastbone and moves upward to the neck and throat. It can last as long as two hours and is often worse after eating. Lying down or bending over can also result in heartburn. The following are other common symptoms of reflux. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

belching
refusal to eat
stomachache
fussiness around mealtimes
frequent vomiting
hiccups
gagging
choking
frequent cough
coughing fits at night
wheezing
frequent upper respiratory infections (colds)
rattling in the chest
frequent sore throats in morning
sour taste in the mouth
failure to grow and gain weight

 

[LaraK]

Reflux sounds like a real possibility. Another possibility is an eosinophilic disorder, but that can only be diagnosed with a biopsy done during an endoscopy. My son's vomiting was worse at night, but he also vomited after meals. Other symptoms of an eosinophilic disorder are chest pain, sleeplessness, failure to thrive (although we NEVER had that) and gagging.

I hope it's reflux and I mean that in the nicest of ways. If it is, Prilosec works wonders.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am wondering about an enzyme deficiency.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Maybe it's because I went to an all girls school but I have to say I'm with the Dr on likely eating disorder from what you've said. Believe it or not 13 is about the age where I began to notice girls around me obsessing about weight. I was naturally thin but still had girlfriends dragging me on all sorts of diets, getting me to do Jane Fonda, join gyms and, more dangerously, taking diet pills (Dexatrim landed me with palpitations and a heart monitor, Dr never asked if I ever took diet pills so I never said anything it never occurred to me OTC could be bad). None of us needed any of this, I KNEW I didn't need any of this but I just went long with it because my friends would tell me, "Its what my big sister does". When the eating disorders started up I had zero understanding of any of it. For girls it is often a byproduct of Depression, which is normal because many kids this age are depressed given the weird hormonal stuff going on. Personally, I stopped eating almost altogether to try and be a size zero like my friend, but my hips wouldn't shrink so I was stuck at a bloated size 2 (or so I felt at the time). I would go days and days eating no more than a fruit salad per day and no-one around me noticed my food habits. Similarly, bulimia starts out pretty benign but as it progresses the person reaches a point when he/she can't keep food down any more. I suppose the easiest way to figure it out is to keep a close look at your DD's eating behaviors. Don't say anything, not a word or she'll be onto you and change herself, just watch for a week or so. Is she eating normally with nibbles here and there? Is she drinking huge glasses of water before meals? Does she obsess about food, what she's eating, how she looks, the size of her clothes? A person with an eating disorder will almost brag about being thin and clothes size. Does she seem to have an un-nautural vision of herself, is she overly critical of herself? If you ask her to eat does she run to the bathroom and keep the water on or flush repeatedly to muffle the sounds? Also, Bulimics tend to have bad breath from all the acid coming up into their mouths and their teeth eventually rot from it. Not exactly glamorous.... she may be too early on for these side effects but you never know.

I hope its not this but if it is try to refocus her attention on attributes not related to her looks. Even if it's not the trouble focusing on attributes not related to looks is the best way to prevent eating disorders in any kid.

I don't think any parent should ever underestimate the prevalence of eating disorders. They're like drinking in a way, almost everyone does it but some people can stop and others can't.

 

[handinpocket]

I don't want to upset you, but there MUST be a reason the Doctor suspects eating disorder. Have you checked her fingers, to be sure there are no callouses are marks on the tops? Take her to the dentist, and see if the lingual of her anterior teeth are eroded.

With your story, I can't imagine the doctor would just write it off to an eating disorder unless he/she observed something that tipped them off.

Best of wishes, I hope I'm just being paranoid.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Maybe it's because I went to an all girls school but I have to say I'm with the Dr on likely eating disorder from what you've said. Believe it or not 13 is about the age where I began to notice girls around me obsessing about weight. I was naturally thin but still had girlfriends dragging me on all sorts of diets, getting me to do Jane Fonda, join gyms and, more dangerously, taking diet pills (Dexatrim landed me with palpitations and a heart monitor, Dr never asked if I ever took diet pills so I never said anything it never occurred to me OTC could be bad). None of us needed any of this, I KNEW I didn't need any of this but I just went long with it because my friends would tell me, "Its what my big sister does". When the eating disorders started up I had zero understanding of any of it. For girls it is often a byproduct of Depression, which is normal because many kids this age are depressed given the weird hormonal stuff going on. Personally, I stopped eating almost altogether to try and be a size zero like my friend, but my hips wouldn't shrink so I was stuck at a bloated size 2 (or so I felt at the time). I would go days and days eating no more than a fruit salad per day and no-one around me noticed my food habits. Similarly, bulimia starts out pretty benign but as it progresses the person reaches a point when he/she can't keep food down any more. I suppose the easiest way to figure it out is to keep a close look at your DD's eating behaviors. Don't say anything, not a word or she'll be onto you and change herself, just watch for a week or so. Is she eating normally with nibbles here and there? Is she drinking huge glasses of water before meals? Does she obsess about food, what she's eating, how she looks, the size of her clothes? A person with an eating disorder will almost brag about being thin and clothes size. Does she seem to have an un-nautural vision of herself, is she overly critical of herself? If you ask her to eat does she run to the bathroom and keep the water on or flush repeatedly to muffle the sounds? Also, Bulimics tend to have bad breath from all the acid coming up into their mouths and their teeth eventually rot from it. Not exactly glamorous.... she may be too early on for these side effects but you never know.

I hope its not this but if it is try to refocus her attention on attributes not related to her looks. Even if it's not the trouble focusing on attributes not related to looks is the best way to prevent eating disorders in any kid.

I don't think any parent should ever underestimate the prevalence of eating disorders. They're like drinking in a way, almost everyone does it but some people can stop and others can't.

I understand what your saying however I am almost positive that it is not an eating disorder. I am frustrated at the doctor because she does not seem to be listening to the symptoms and what I myself have witnessed, I have seen her wake up from being sound asleep and getting sick. I have watched DD and she does not do any of the things you listed ( While growing up I had a friend who had an eating disorder - my DD has none of those signs) - she eats normally and is not obsessed with food. I have quietly watched and noted what and when she was eating. There have been no trips to the bathroom after eating, no barely nibbling at her food and no drinking lots of water to avoid eating.

She is eating normally and is absolutely fine until she goes to bed - after sleeping for 2 hours she awakes and vomits - she is not making herself vomit. It does not happen every night, maybe once or twice a month but lately it has happened about once a week. And whenever she gets sick she comes and tells me immediately - someone with an eating disorder is going to hide the fact that they are getting sick. My concern for my daughter is that something is wrong and all the dr wants to look at is an eating disorder - I would atleast like the Dr to rule out the other possibilities before automatically claiming "Oh she is a tiny little thing and she is throwing up she must have an eating disorder" When I mentioned reflux she pretty much dismissed it so that is why I went ahead and made an appt with a specialist without her referrel - thank goodness I have a PPO so I can do that.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

I don't want to upset you, but there MUST be a reason the Doctor suspects eating disorder. Have you checked her fingers, to be sure there are no callouses are marks on the tops? Take her to the dentist, and see if the lingual of her anterior teeth are eroded.

With your story, I can't imagine the doctor would just write it off to an eating disorder unless he/she observed something that tipped them off.

Best of wishes, I hope I'm just being paranoid.

There are no callouses or marks on her fingers and so far her teeth are fine.

 

[handinpocket]

There are no callouses or marks on her fingers and so far her teeth are fine.

I'm so glad. Please don't think I was being rude. I would pin the doctor down and make him tell my why he had these thoughts.

 

[JessicaR]

When I mentioned reflux she pretty much dismissed it so that is why I went ahead and made an appt with a specialist without her referrel - thank goodness I have a PPO so I can do that.

Your daughter needs a gastro evaluation. I am thrilled you have that appointment. You are her mother, you live with her, trust your gut. She has tell tale GERD symptoms. My niece was diagnosed with GERD after losing weight and she is little and slim, and vomiting when waking from her sleep. Do a search its not uncommon. She was 13 also. I posted you a link to the children's hospital in a prior post. If GERD is ruled out you can go from there.

When is that appointment? Please keep us posted. I will keep your daughter in my thoughts.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Thanks everyone for posting your thoughts - We are concerned however we will get this figured out even if I have to take her to numerous Drs for different tests -I have also thought about allergeries and getting her tested for that too. I want to stress that I really do not think this is an eating disorder at all but I will continue to monitor her and make sure that nothing is going on like that. She is a good kid who is quiet, shy and smart. She has always been thin and not too overly concerned about her looks, though we have always told her she is beautiful and smart. I want to thank everyone who posted so I can take all things into consideration when trying to figure out what is going on.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Your daughter needs a gastro evaluation. I am thrilled you have that appointment. You are her mother, you live with her, trust your gut. She has tell tale GERD symptoms. My niece was diagnosed with GERD after losing weight and she is little and slim, and vomiting when waking from her sleep. Do a search its not uncommon. She was 13 also. I posted you a link to the children's hospital in a prior post. If GERD is ruled out you can go from there.

When is that appointment? Please keep us posted. I will keep your daughter in my thoughts.

Thank You - my gut is telling me it is Gerd too - I have looked at the link you posted ( thanks) and have been doing some searching online. I had a really hard time getting her an appt for a Gastro - seems most of the Dr's in this area do not take kids but I do have an appt in early March - in the mean time I am going to try to give her Prilosec OTC to see if that helps and keep her from eating a couple hours before bed. I am also taking notes on what she is eating to see if it might be one thing that makes it worse.

 

[MizTink]

She hasn't been coughing. She says when she wakes up she just suddenly feels sick and has to vomit. The Dr did check her blood sugar and it was fine she is however a super shy and nervous child - before reflux I thought maybe this could be something to do with nerves too. I have been trying to watch the foods that she is eating to see if it is worse after certain foods - I think I will try to give her some OTC meds to see if it helps until her appt.

And yes I have witnessed her waking up and getting sick , she did it one night while we were at a hotel room during Xmas break - I was sharing a bed with her - and she woke up at about midnight and didn't quite make it to the bathroomNot fun for her or me. That is part of the reason that I know she is not making herself sick - she is truely waking up and suddenly getting sick.

i was wondering about an anxiety disorder. my son went to a pediatric gatro when he was very young for all his "stomach problems". turns out there was no stomach problem. it was anxiety.
at first i was offended when his pediatrician suggested counseling. i was concerned because of frequent belly aches, etc. she explained that anxiety made those symptoms (headaches, upset stomach, vomiting, etc) real. it's not that he was lying, but we just didn't understand what the root cause was.
if this is the cause for you daughter getting sick, she may not even realize it herself. night time is especially difficult for people with anxiety issues, causing things that you might not even imagine could be caused by anxiety.

 

[tinkntraining]

Does she have any pain in her stomach before, during or after the vomitting?

That was one of the first questions the gastro asked my DD14 when she went for a consult. She had been vomitting a few times a day, every day for about a month. But she had pain too. He was curious if it was bad enough to wake her at night (it wasn't).

Thank goodness he ran a HIDA scan to check her gallbladder. Results: We are meeting a surgeon to discuss surgery, because her gallbladder is not functioning. Still awaiting an endoscope next week to make sure the gallbladder is the only culprit.

And I think your instincts are right about the eating disorder. My DD10 (now almost 16) fought and beat adolescent anorexia and her habits were obvious and many (drinking a lot of water, pushing food around on her plate to make it look like she had eaten more, spitting into her napkin, refusing all fatty and high caloric foods and many, many more). I could be wrong, but the fact that she's telling you about the vomitting, is quite out of character for a bulimic child.

Please keep trying to get that gastro appt and treating her with OTC prilosec sounds like a good start!!

Thinking of you and sending prayers for speedy diagnosis and recovery

 

[acejka]

My best friend did that every night for about a 6 month span in 6th grade. No tests ever concluded anything, it went away as suddenly as it started. Her mom and I (now, 13 years later) and chalking it up to underlying anxiety that she could never explain at that age and bring to the surface... It's funny you mention your dd, as we were just talking about this happening to her a few days ago.

 

[Christine]

Besides the GERD issue (which I think is the likely culprit), you may want to think about endometriosis.

When you said it started with her periods, that sort of popped up in my mind. Hormonal fluctuations throughout the month cause endometrial tissue to become inflamed. In severe cases, you can have issues all the time. Since it seemed worse around her periods I wouldn't rule this out. But I think the GI tests are more important now. If GI disturbances are ruled out, you may want to talk to a GYN.

 

[LuvOrlando]

If you are absolutely sure there is no Depression involved then my next step would be to see a Gasteroenterologist. It sounds like she may have something wrong with either food digestion (enzymes like others said) or the sphincter muscles that lead from her stomach to her throat. But when there is an enzyme problem there are usually pretty severe troubles that go along with that because the person is not getting nutrients he/she needs. As a result enzyme deficiencies tend to lead to all sorts of muscle deterioration & nerve degeneration which lead to functional troubles. I think a Gastero needs to take a look, a regular GP just isn't good enough in my book. GP's have knowledge an inch deep and a mile wide, just enough to help you figure out where to take the next step. With this you need a mile deep and an inch wide, a Specilist KWIM.

If it's nothing like that could there be a behavior involved? Excessive throat clearing, coughing. Maybe even something new from a growth spurt is her uvula too big or are her tonsils too big and setting off the gag reflex? Maybe a visit to an ENT

PS, My DS was just diagnosed with Vocal Chord Dysfunction which closes off his airways similarily to his Asthma, but it's different . It took me 5 years and countless Specialists before one actually heard me. All along I was seeing Allergists but it took a Pulmonologist to recognize what was going on. Totally different Specialty. Good luck, I hope things get sorted out for you quickly.

 

[disneygals]

Please research cyclic vomiting syndrome. It's kind of like a stomach migraine, can brought on by stress, emotional situations, or just a pattern that the body has. The child usually feels fine before and after and a lot of times the episodes occur at 1 or 2 in the morning.

www.cvsaonline.org

I thought my dd was just prone to stomach viruses, went to 2 gastros before this was brought to my attention.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Please research cyclic vomiting syndrome. It's kind of like a stomach migraine, can brought on by stress, emotional situations, or just a pattern that the body has. The child usually feels fine before and after and a lot of times the episodes occur at 1 or 2 in the morning.

www.cvsaonline.org

I thought my dd was just prone to stomach viruses, went to 2 gastros before this was brought to my attention.

Thanks for posting this - I had found a little info on Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome and wanted to read more on it.