Child with IBS
#341841 - 02/09/09 06:08 AM
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kewaldo
Reged: 03/11/05
Posts: 7
Loc: Horn Lake, MS
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Hello, I have a son that is 7 years old. He is on the autism spectrum and has not any problems with his bowels until this year. 1st grade has been very stressful. Although he does not feel the normal anxt of peer pressure, he is in a constant state of frustration. I have noticed, as of late, that he is having trouble with his bms. Although we have had a tummy bug, that was a month ago. He is home from school, and having to wear a pull up. He cannot control his bowel. I am calling the doctor for an appointment, but was wondering if anyone else out there has had a issue with a child. (I have tried gfcf and other diets, but non seemed to affect mood.)
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I'm hoping I can be helpful here. I'm very sorry about your son. I can't imagine dealing with IBS as a child or a parent!
#1- It is very common for children with autism to have bowel problems. This is part of the reason why diet has been so influential in helping children with autism. Of course, there is a controversial topic, but I think it's pretty well documented that some children with autism do have some difficulties with certain foods, particularly gluten.
#2- I'm sure others on this board will say the say- go to the doctor! You said you already called the doctor, but I just want to emphasize the importance of this. The symptoms of IBS can often be symptoms of other serious diseases and your son needs to be checked for these as well before they can determine that IBS is the definite problem.
#3- It is certainly possible that your son's IBS was triggered by stress at school in first grade. First grade is quite a difficult transition for many children and there are many more challenges for your son. If this is the case, you will need to find ways to minimize the stress on your son. Even with proper diet, it is difficult to manage IBS without managing stress. Does your son have an aide at school? Have you talked to the teacher? They should really be designing instruction so that it is not so so stressful for your son. As a teacher, I know this can be difficult, but it needs to be done for the sake of your son's health and attitude towards school.
#4- Finally, you may want to read about soluble and insoluble fiber on this website and see if you can change your son's diet and see if that will help at all. Obviously it can be difficult to restrict the diet of a child, but particularly if your son has an aide at school you can get him or her on board and pack his lunch each day. Try to stick to soluble fiber foods and limit junk food as much as possible. Lots of kids cereals are safe- I love Cheerios. For lunch you can pack turkey sandwiches or even small amounts of peanut butter on white bread. Baked chips can make a good side. There are tons and tons of ideas on this website. It's certainly worth trying Heather's diet to see if that helps!
Good luck!
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Hi! I was looking through the messages for help with my child too. Just found out in December that he has IBS after 3 years and lots of tests. at the moment he has a cold with fever and cough syrup and fever make him vomit if I don't keep fever down with ibuprofen or tylenol. ????
But I had to respond to your message. I can feel your frustration and worry and I hope that maybe what I say about the last 3 years for us will help you in the long run.
1)I have IBS C since I was a child and have learned the hard way conventional doctors are not much help with digestive issues...so
2) All this really started when my son at age 6 got a major stomach bug and the first thing that happened was lactose intolerance. the doctor thought that would last a week. We had to take him off milk completely, to this day. He can stomach grill cheese and mac and cheese.
3) this has caused him major anxiety...unreasonable fears. Who would think first grade could be so scary? But he had fears of swallowing and dropped from an underweight 40 lbs at age 6 to an unhealthy 35 lbs. fears of bad guys breaking into our home and screaming and crying uncontrollably when someone knocks on the door. We have worked hard to listen to his fears and do what it takes to make our home feel safe and stress free without letting the child run the show, if you know what I mean.
4)In the meantime we went to so many doctors, pediatric gastroenterologists, allergists, therapists...I felt like I was going crazy...every time we had a test it came up nothing! (except for a grass allergy) And even with a 'ibs' diagnosis...it seemed flimsy flamsy...I live in Oregon and I think Oregon doctors have trouble writing that diagnosis. You kind of hear it from the doctor but is it written down? I don't know. Very frustrating.
doctors recommend antacids...I have trouble with this as an acid stomach is not our issue...it's in the bowel.
Also an antispasm drug...not sure on this as the pharmacist says it dries out the internal organs and I have researched that mint tea works just as good or better.
If cough syrup makes my child vomit...isn't some other weird drug going to do the same?
My child and I both take fennel/mint tea...and acacia, his diarrhea is gone, really amazing, but the nausea...it's better but not 100%. we just have to keep trying day after day. The morning is alway worst...and it usually clears up in a couple of hours. In the meantime it throws off the work schedule...school schedule...and causes stress in that regard. We try really hard to keep the stress low, sometimes it's hard.
One thing that's huge...if you haven't already... take red#40 out of your child's diet. My IBS child...this was making him horribly grouchy. I couldnt' figure it out and it was awful...I did a small amount of research on the internet and was horrified at what food coloring is doing to our children.
My thought is that with your child there is a trigger food... dairy...meat...greasy food (fries/chicken nuggets/pop) ...something that is triggering the diarrhea. My child went from eating a trigger food and it took a few hours to 'show itself' to showing itself immediately.... there was no more guessing what the food culprits were. it's hard...my child was underweight and having horrible diarrhea...if your child can stomach a chewy calcium vitamin that could help...Heather recommends the bakery french bread...that has been a big help for also.
We are still learning too, we have lots of trial and error, lately more success. It has been a long 3 years for us. I am sorry you're going through this and Yes! My child has these issues too. I have a question for you...what is gfcf diet?
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