DD8 with digestive issues...

[mykidsand_i]

OK, for the past 3 months now my husband and I have been 'mildly' concerned about my DD who just turned 8. She's getting Diarrhea about 3-5 times a week. She gets these bad tummy aches and all of a sudden, she's sitting in the bathroom for 10-15 minutes. When ever we go out of town for a day or more, she has 'travelers diarrhea' and she'll spend several minutes in the bathroom while we're gone.

We've been to the Dr. for this- she's had her stool tested, nothing showed up irregular. The Dr. said it's maybe brought on by what she eats. Her eating habits haven't changed in the past three months. We use all natural detergents, no dyes or smell...we have a pretty clean house, no animals. I don't know what else could be causing it. Other than the upset tummy and diarrhea, there's no other bad symptoms of anything.

Anyone else go through this? Did you ever find out what it was? Should I get a second opinion from a different Dr? Yesterday was really bad for her, she spent 1/2 of it running to the bathroom and we were at home (thank goodneess!!!!)

It doesn't seem to change depending on what she eats, we've cut out certain foods for small amounts of time and she's still had problems. I hate that she has to be nervous when she goes to school or to a friends house! She's a very happy and healthy kid other than this problem.

 

[just4today]

Sounds like lactose intolerance or some other type of food allergy. The best thing to do is start keeping a diary of foods and incidents so that you will be able to hopefully notice a pattern.

 

[piglet too]

Start a food diary and make an appointment with a pediatric GI doctor.

 

[Christine]

Lactose Intolerance
Fructose Malabsorption
Giardia (not often picked up in a simple stool sample--try a Giardia antigen test).
Celiac

 

[Kathi OD]

Likewise am thinking it is something like lactose intolerance or celiac disease. Both can just "pop up" out of nowhere, or so it seems.

I have celiac disease. I didn't have any symptoms until I was well into my 30's. Wasn't diagnosed for about another 5 years.

My neice has celiac and is also lactose intolerant. She's 13 now. Celiac symptoms started around age 10, with diagnosis shortly thereafter due to my sister's knowledge of the disease. Things seemed to clear up once she started following the gluten-free diet and then started up again when she was 12. Lo and behold...lactose intolerant.

My point being, that just because there has been no change in diet, that doesn't mean the problem isn't the diet.

Get her to a pediatric gastroenterologist as fast as you can; testing of the stools will not find any of these conditions.

 

[TinkerbelleAbbysMom]

sorry

 

[piglet too]

Google Celiac Sprue. It basically has to do with gluten intolerance related to wheat gluten, rye, barley, etc. If you do a google search it will tell you what all you have to cut out. It isn't cheap and can be tough but stores like whole foods have a large variety of gluten free foods.
I second the idea of PP to see a peds GI doctor. Btwn now and your appt keep the food diary too. It will help them see what triggers may be present. Also if you cut out a food group, you have to give 10 full days before it is completely out of your system... so if you cut all dairy see how she is doing on days 11 and 12 to get an idea if this is the culprit.
Hope this helps!!

The thing is (and I have been told this by my kids GI) that it is not really good to do a major change in your diet like that with out being under a doctor's orders.

OP ~ Please don't change anything with her diet on your own. Since she has been having problems for 3 months now, you should be able to get in to see a GI pretty quick. Bring them the food diary, and they will take it from there. We went through a major weight-loss with our DS10 and while he was being tested for everything, they told us to not change anything with his diet because that could throw off the results. Same thing now with DD7, just continue the food diary (marking when she complains of stomach pain) and we will see what the test results bring.

 

[BEloveDisney]

Ibs?

 

[KAMLEM]

My 15 DD has been having the exact symptoms for a few months. She has been seeing a pediatric gastroentologist and he has been doing some testing. So far she has had bloodwork to test for Celiac disease, pancreatitis and some other things. She had a breath test for lactose intolerance and an xray just to make sure there wasn't some kind of blockage. So far everything has been negative. In a couple of weeks she is going in for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. We're taking it one step at a time. She has been losing weight and she's tired all the time. I hope we can figure out what's wrong soon and that it's not something serious. I think you should take her to a pediatric gastroentologist rather than play around with diets and try to figure it out on your own. Good luck!

 

[mjkacmom]

They can do a blood test to test for celiac, so don't have her go gluten free until after the test, because she will test negative regardless. My dd's bff was finally diagnosed with crohnes disease in the first grade.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You need to go to a PED GI doctor, since the reg. doctor has not been able to pinpoint the problem.

There are so many things it could be.

 

[Mandychelle79]

I would second the IBS. I have IBS, not nearly as bad as my mom, grandpa or sister. MY dd is starting to show signs. We call it the Johnston Belly. I never know what going to cause a flare up, my sister and them can tell from the first bite.

 

[MizTink]

Start a food diary and make an appointment with a pediatric GI doctor.

DS had problems like this too and he has IBS.

DD started same problem, doctor said it was stress. she was a little older than your DD and also started having menstrual problems (too frequent/heavy/long, etc). hormones were out of wack and her stomach problems cleared up when her hormones were taken care of.
this could be soooo many things........
good luck!

 

[seven dwarfs]

I agree with others who have stated you need to see a GI Dr before you do anything with food limits. But please keep in mind the testing is not 100%. My son has been sick for several years and we have been through so much. All tests came back fine and they recommended surgery for GIRD. Long story short, in my heart of hearts I did not believe that was what was wrong with him and decided to take gluten away completely and he has been so wonderful since. Our GI Dr said kids can have a gluten allergy that will not show with the biopsy.

It is awful to deal with any kind of intestinal issue with your child and I hope you are able to get to the bottom of it quickly.

 

[pigletgirl]

Has she gone to her general pediatrician? I don't think you can go to a GI without a referral. Maybe he/she could help? What about Activia and/or GI enzymes?

 

[Kathi OD]

FYI.. sometimes a blood test is not enough to diagnose celiac as you can get false negatives. For many, the only way to diagnose is through a biopsy of the small intestine.

 

[dislaney]

Sounds a lot like IBS. I have lived with this most of my life. My dd is also starting to show signs of it. I would get to the Pediatric GI doctor and find out what is going on for sure.

 

[fireworks fan]

Another vote for seeing a pediatric GI doctor. I also have celiac disease, and was only diagnosed as an adult after a childhood without symptoms. But I've BTDT with the constant running to the bathroom and losing weight due to all the malasborption. I ended up with osteoporosis at 32 from it, so I wouldn't wait too long with a child to find out if there is something serious going on.

Good luck with the doctors!

 

[piglet too]

Has she gone to her general pediatrician? I don't think you can go to a GI without a referral. Maybe he/she could help? What about Activia and/or GI enzymes?

I believe the OP stated that they had gone to the doctor already. As for the referral, that is usually dependent on the type of health insurance you have. I don't have to get referrals now, but when we had an HMO insurance, we did.

 

[mykidsand_i]

I'm quite sure we have to get a referral. Two years ago, we brought my DD who's now 6 to a ped. gastro. Dr. and had to be referred. She had the opposite problem...constipation for several months instead of the other. She had a bug that wasn't picked up in her stool sample test. After all the stuff we went though with her for weeks and weeks, we were told it would just take time for the bug to leave her system and she was suppose to take exlax.

With DD8 though, it's much different. Yeah, I believe it's time to get her in to a specialist...I'm getting concerned, because it's been too long for her to be dealing with this!!! Thanks to all!