10 y.o. w/ new IBS diagnosis
#170239 - 04/15/05 02:08 PM
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zebras
Reged: 04/15/05
Posts: 31
Loc: Vermont
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Hi-
I just discovered this site today. What a wealth of info!
My 10-year-old son has been diagnosed with possible IBS/functional abdominal pain. He doesn't fit the Rome criteria, because he has no diarrhea or constipation, just constant abdominal pain for six weeks. It started suddenly one day and has not gone away. He's had a million tests including an upper GI series w/ barium and a gastroscopy/colonoscopy; everything turned up negative. He has been on Zantac, Prevacid, and just started on Bentyl.
My question: would Heather's diet work for him to ease his pain, or since he has normal BM's, would this be a useless approach?
Any thoughts would be welcomed. We are all exhausted and stressed; he has missed about a month of school and hasn't slept through the night in weeks due to the pain.
Thanks, zebras
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If it's IBS he has, Heather's diet should help immensely. There's no harm in trying - it's a healthy, well balanced diet that can do a lot of good. I'm so sorry for the trouble your son has been going through. Take heart, we are here to support you every step of the way. Be sure to post any questions you have. I would read through the dietary guidelines posted on thie website. It should make sense to you, and will hopefully help your son.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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I don't know if it will help but it won't hurt. I started off when I was a kid as being pain predominant. I sometimes got a bit constipated but it was mostly pain. It developed into "proper" IBS over the years. I also don't fit the Rome II criteria so have had a barrage of tests to confirm it for sure. I'd try the diet and see if it helps. Good luck, let us know how you go and like Alicia said if you have any questions ask away and we'll do our best to help.
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Amy
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Welcome. I'm so sorry your son is having such a hard time.
You're in the best place to get information on IBS, so as Alicia said, take a look at the diet and if it makes sense to you, give it a try. You can get all the information about Heather's diet on this Website, but I really like Heather's book, "The First Year-IBS". It has a clear step by step day by day format that I appreciate, since I'm very linear. I found it at my local library.
Do let us know how your son is doing and check back with any questions or just to vent.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Fyi...
#170529 - 04/17/05 04:42 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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...Heather VV herself has pain predominant IBS! Try peppermint caps...she swears by them.
I agree with the others about the book. It's so fantastic...and it has LOADS of advice for parents of young IBSers. Would probably be worth it to you just for that...even if it doesn't turn out to be IBS! 
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Thanks everyone for your words of support.
When I first read through all the stuff on this site, I was ready to jump in with both feet, buy both books, and do the whole program. But I am having trouble deciding how appropriate it is for my son. He has pain only, no diarrhea or constipation. Someone mentioned that Heather is "pain predominant"; do people with pain predominant IBS have normal BM's?
Doing the dietary changes seems difficult, and I'm reluctant to go through that if they are designed to treat the diarrhea/constipation issues. I'm very willing to do it if it seems appropriate for someone whose only symptom is pain. I would do just about anything to get my happy boy back.
Another question: if we do the "break the cycle" diet for a few days, is it necessary for my son to have the fiber supplements even though his BM's are normal? And is it advisable for a kid to do this extreme a diet, or should we skip the "break the cycle" part and let him eat all the green-light soluble fiber foods on Heather's cheat sheet?
We have taken him off dairy, and are planning to do peppermint caps (I found this site doing a search for peppermint caps, actually). Any advice or suggestions would be most welcome.
thanks, Annika
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The break the cycle diet is not intended to be long-term. I know adults can handle restricted diets for considerable periods of time, but I don't know about kids. You could check with your pediatrician to see if she has any concerns about this. Be cautious, though. There's a difference between a doctor thinking the diet is useless and a doctor thinking the diet is harmful.
I don't know what to say about the fiber supplement. I think it's been crucial to my feeling better, but I'm IBS-D. Someone else will have to weigh in on this.
My feeling is that, unless your pedicatrician absolutely forbids it, there's no harm in trying Heather's plan, starting with the break the cycle diet, then gradually introducing more safe foods.
If you're still unsure, see if you can find either or both of Heather's books t your library. Reading them might help you decide.
HTH. Whatever you decide, good luck.
--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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A SFS can help with ALL IBS symptoms, including pain, so IMHO I'd get one...and they're safe for kids. And the diet also helps with all symptoms.
I'd just get "IBS:The First Year"...the other one is more of a cookbook and 1st year has loads of useful info about IBS even outside of the diet info etc, so it is well worth it.
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Hi,
My 11y/o son was also recently diagnosed. We have been using Heather's diet for about 6 weeks now and there has been a TREMENDOUS difference. While he still has constant pain, he is functional enough to return to school. He takes Prevacid and Pamine or Levsin. Hang in there as a lot of this food stuff is trial and error. Things I thought would be good for him (like yogurt-doc's recommendation) turned out to be a major trigger. This site has been a God-send as it has provided the most information so far...not to mention the support.
Good luck with your son.
CK
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I'm quite confused over my son's diagnosis. The GI said he had IBS even though he has no C or D. When I questioned him about not meeting the Rome criteria, he said there was a subset of IBS that was pain-only; according to what I have read here written by Heather, this is not true, and that it is not IBS if you don't have C or D. Our GI also said this could be called functional dyspepsia. Am I just splitting hairs here? Are these essentially the same disorder but on a different level? And if he has functional dyspepsia but not IBS, would Heather's diet still work?
I'm sorry if I seem to be asking the same question over and over, but I'm still confused about how far to go with the IBS recommendations if he doesn't have true IBS.
We started him on Citracel today and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the peppermint caps.
Thanks again for all the support.
-Annika
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