In the year since then, things have been much better. Although she still seems rather susceptible to the stomach bug - she was the first to get it this winter and, after it went through the rest of us, she got it again - she has had very few episodes of tummy troubles. Until this week. She has had an "episode" three times in the past four days. On Tuesday morning, she laid on our bed for an hour watching T.V. and complaining that she felt like she was about to throw up. Again Thursday night, she said her tummy was hurting and she felt like she might throw up. It lasted for about an hour, until I put all the kids to bed. Today, she finished her horseback riding lesson complaining that she was "so hot her tummy hurt again." (It was 9:15 in the morning.)
Is she faking it?? Is she really just constipated?? Is it an allergy?? (Although after keeping several food diaries, I cannot find any sort of pattern to indicate a possible allergy.) Do we go back for further testing?? (Only other option is endoscopy under anesthesia.) These are all questions I ask myself every time she complains. As the mommy, I am supposed to have all the answers. In this case, I don't and, even though I have tried to get answers elsewhere, I have come up short. I thought we were moving past it - that maybe she was outgrowing whatever it was. This week, however, it feels like here we go again. I don't know the answer and I don't know what else to do. I do know that I get more frustrated every time and that this pitiful face is NOT my crazy, silly, energetic Megan. :-(
8 comments:
The symptoms sound exactly like the onset of my wheat allergy. Pain, vomiting,later blood. All sorts of work and what helped was going to a gluten free diet for 6 weeks followed by an allergy test. 6 months after I stopped eating sandwiches at lunch every day, a shampoo I used for 11 years caused a break out. 23rd ingredient was wheat germ. I carry an epiPen these days, but I don't feel like dying every time I try to eat something. Gwendolynne Reid Collins was allergic to wheat for awhile, my Aunt Mickey became allergic later in life. I personally have a theory that Lenoir, Caldwell county and the surrounding environment are a cluster for the allergy, but this at least gives you something else to try. Gluten free diets can be hard, but there are foods in the stores that would let you try it for a few weeks.
Thanks Jason - My MIL has celiac so we are familiar with the gluten stuff. The blood work they did last summer included a celiac test and was normal. Is your wheat allergy considered the same as celiac disease?? I have considered taking her for full allergy testing. We haven't done that yet, but might have no choice if this continues.
Good Heavens, how worrisome! Have you tried cutting milk out of her diet? Could she possible be lactose intolerant? I am, and when I was her age, I had the same sort of stomach issues. Sometimes milk wouldn't bother me and sometimes it would... until I got full-blown lactose intolerance as a teenager.
Another, more scary, armchair diagnosis might be diabetes. My niece had two years of off-and-on stomach problems before she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was 10. My sister tried EVERYTHING - cutting out wheat, cutting out milk, cutting out food after a certain time in the day.... and then one day, the test came back positive for diabetes. We have a history of diabetes in our family, though, so it wasn't completely out of the blue.
I say trust your instinct and believe her. Maybe (hopefully) it's just something that she will outgrown, but I don't think children make these things up!
Thanks Martha! The GI dr. offered a lactose test, but we declined because Megan doesn't take in much dairy at all. She doesn't drink milk and rarely eats cheese, yogurt, etc. Haven't thought about diabetes, but I am thinking that would have shown up in her blood work. However, my hubby is adopted and we don't know his genetic history, so anything is possible. I am hoping, too, that this will pass and she will outgrow it! Thanks for your suggestions!
Oh my goodness, I am sorry to hear this. How hard and frustrating to be in the situation you are in. I can't imagine she is faking such a thing especially if she is not getting positive feedback from you (if my boys complain that they feel too sick or tired to clean up or something then a recommendation by me of a nap usually cures their "sickness".)
Did the GI x-ray show any signs of constipation to lead them to that conclusion or are they just grasping at straws? Cody has had toileting issues (BM accidents) for years and one of the tests he had was a lumbar MRI to rule out a tethered cord. In the image there was evidence of constipation. (Unfortunately we have still not been able to get a grasp on what is going on and continue to struggle with it.) If they thought constipation was the problem did they recommend a flush or anything to correct it? I only ask this because perhaps they don't know and a request for a second opinion to have a fresh pair of eyes (and ears to learn about her history) may not be a bad idea.
Good luck. I do hope this is something that can resolve itself quickly. Poor Megan and poor momma.
Thanks for the insight - the upper GI only showed the stomach and esophagus. They recommended occasional MiraLax for the constipation. Only other tests they mentioned were endoscopy and/or lactose tolerance test. I have considered allergy testing. Just weird because it was so much better over the past year, and this week it went crazy again. Thought we were getting past it and REALLY don't want to go down this road again!
Lisa, I'm so sorry. I feel your pain. I have a little one who has unexplained issues too. And all tests are normal. I'm a mommy with no answers. I know how frustrating it can be. But it sounds like you are doing everything you can do. Don't lose heart. You aren't alone!!
Thanks Dawn! Sorry your little one is having issues, too, but it helps to know that we are not alone!
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