Child with Chronic Abdominal Pain

[Marinewifey041506]

My 6 year old daughter has been having moderate to severe abdominal pain for months now. It is very tender to the touch, hurts when she eats, hurts when she runs or jumps, wakes her up in the middle of the night. Sometimes it hurts so bad that she is curled up in a ball in tears, and others she complains about it for a few minutes and then goes and plays. It took us over 2 months to get her in to a specialist because her pediatrician and the ER staff at the hospital kept insinuating that maybe she was making it up or was manifesting stress into pain. We have finally gotten her into a gastrointestinal specialist, but it seems like they are just brushing it off and only trying to treat symptoms instead of trying to figure out why she is in pain. The specialist said the pain is coming from her large intestine and her lower stomach. Her stomach has recently become distended, and her intestines were so swollen that the specialist could feel them along the sides of her stomach when she saw her on Friday. Anyone have similar experiences or any input on what could be causing this or what we should do? My husband is in the military, and we can't afford to pay for tricare standard, so unfortunately we are at the mercy of the naval hospitals, and they are horrible. I just want my daughter to get better. She has had to miss so much school and miss out on so many activities, and as a whole the family has had to miss out on a lot too because of this.

[ThePhoenix75]

Good luck!!!  I wish you (and her!) the best and if you ever want to talk--just give a shout!

[Marinewifey041506]

They are doing to do the testing when the do the scope. That way she is asleep when they draw the blood and she won't feel it. I agree about the miralax. They said they wanted to put her on it because she has had problems with constipation in the past, and she didn't answer their questions about how often she was going and what it looked like. Most kids don't sit there and look at it and probably can't remember exactly how often they go. lol. They increased the dosage because they said that the hyoscyamine will slow everything down and they don't want her getting backed up. Hope you have a great Christmas!

[ThePhoenix75]

I understand and agree about the wait for the gluten free diet.  When are theydoing the test?  The hyoscyamine is probably not a bad idea and is generally well tolerated.  However, I do question the benefit of the miralax.  It can definitely cause gas, cramping, and bloating = pain!!  Could you call the dr.'s office and ask them if you could take her off for a few days to see if symptoms improve?
I hope you are enjoying Xmas!

[Marinewifey041506]

I definitely want to try the gluten free diet, but I was told to wait until they did the blood test because if I start the diet before the test it can throw off the results. The symptoms have gotten worse since the miralax. Since she has started taking it she is very bloated, which of course causes more pain. Instead of taking her off it, they increased the dosage and put her on hyoscyamine.

[ThePhoenix75]

Sounds like they are going to do both an upper and lower endoscopy, which is good.  The GI specialists love those low fat / low residue diets and I never had much relief from them either.  (I know it's not good for you but for some reason I find fats to be very soothing on the gut!  When they put me in low fat diets I did worse too.)  I would try a gluten free diet and see if it helps.  My youngest was allergic to wheat (and dairy, and soy, and peanuts and tree nuts) and I survived by finding hypoallergenic recipes online and shopping at whole foods Mart.
I think the zantac and probiotics are a good idea, or at the very least should cause no additional symptoms.  Have symptoms gotten worse or better since she started the miralax?  I only ask because miralax can sometimes cause irritation, gas, and cramping.
Please keep me posted, I hope she is enjoying her day today!
Phoenix

[Marinewifey041506]

I hope you have a great Christmas as well with no symptoms! Thanks so much for your help. I feel so helpless not knowing what to do for her and watching her in pain all the time.

[Marinewifey041506]

They did put her on a probiotic. They said they are going to scope her stomach and large intestine, since that's where they determined her pain is coming from. They put her on a low fat, low acid, lactose free diet the first time we saw them, and her symptoms have actually gotten worse since then. I'm not sure if it is because of the diets/meds they put her on, or just because whatever is ailing her is getting worse. They put her on prevacid, which they had to switch to zantac after she had a reaction to, miralax to keep her regular, the probiotic, and then recently gave her hyoscyamine that they said would help with the pain, but so far hasn't. I haven't noticed it being with specific foods, but the diet that they put her on does have her eating a lot more stuff with gluten in it due to the other restrictions.

[ThePhoenix75]

First off, I forgot my manners and forgot to say welcome to med help. I am glad you're here and I think you will find some comfort and talking with others. i am very sorry that you're going through this I know it must be very tough to watch your child in pain. I have three children that fortunately don't share my G.I. issues, but I have plenty of my own. When I was 18 years old I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease but it's something that went back to when i was a child.
I am glad to hear she's going for endoscopy, is it upper or lower? I think that will give you a lot of information. I wish they were doing it sooner. Having  inflammatory bowel disease, it is something that is always on the forefront of my mind. Endoscopy with microscopic samples will rule that out.
It does sound like celiac could be a cause.   Do you notice any flareup of symptoms when she eats certain foods? Have you tried any special restricted diets with her?  I would try doing a gluten-free diet and give her as many easy to the adjuster this possible--Such as bananas rice and applesauce.  Do you live near a whole foods mart?  They have a wide array of gluten-free products that you could try.  Also steer clear of hard to digest foods such as roughage from fruits and vegetables.  You may even want to steer clear of dairy as well.
Has she been on any antibiotics recently? What may be helpful is probiotics Such as Lactobacillus acidophilus.  You can buy this at any supplement store and the best kinds are refrigerated.  However I know that my doctor recommends Align and Culturelle as well.
Please keep posting and let me know how things are going.  I wish you the best and hope she has a pain-free Christmas.
Sincerely Phoenix

[ThePhoenix75]

First First off, I forgot my manners and forgot to say welcome to med help. I am glad you're here and I think you will find some comfort and talking with others. i am very sorry that you're going through this I know it must be very tough to watch a child in pain. I have three children that fortunately don't share my G.I. issues, but I have plenty of my own. When I was 18 years old I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease but it's something that went back to when i was a child.
I am glad to hear she's going for endoscopy, is it upper or lower? I think that will give you a lot of information. I wish they were doing it sooner. Having  inflammatory bowel disease, it is something that is always on the forefront of my mind. Endoscopy with microscopic samples will rule that out.
It does sound like celiacit could be a cause.

[Marinewifey041506]

She was supposed to go back on January 3rd to set up an endoscopy and do blood testing for food allergies, but they called today and her doctor had a family emergency and now they want her to wait until the 21st. Her bowel movements are fine, and I haven't noticed any blood in her stool, but she is at an age where she wants to do everything herself so I am not usually in the bathroom with her. They haven't given any indication of a diagnosis and have been kind of contradictory. The doctor said she wanted to test her for celiacs, and then turned around and told her when her stomach starts hurting to try eating a piece of bread and see if it helps.

[ThePhoenix75]

Did they do any endoscopy on her?  How are her bowel movements--regular, constipated, diarrhea, blood in the stool?  Did the specialist give any indication to a diagnosis?