Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | 11 year old daughter been in pain every night for a year!

PaulineNZ

"She basically goes to bed at the same time each night around 8.30 which is basically 2 hours after dinner."

Try changing the time she goes to bed for a bit, it does not have to be by that much, maybe an hour or so, but this might actually make a difference.

Yes lack of sleep can make it much worse. Sleep is very important.

But the gut has its own time in can run on and changing it sometimes helps.

Its good not to eat before bed, but it can also be hunger signals at night too that can trigger a cascade of signals, so not to go to bed hungry if possible, perhaps a very small snack to stop any hunger signals.

Problems already found in IBS have to do with stress and anxiety, even though they are not the cause of IBS and pain is very much tied into how you are feeling, even the IBS itself is enough, regardless of outside stressors, but thinking about school work the night before can add to the problems. For her worrying about attacks every night is enough for this system to be in disharmony.

I really suggest you try Mike's tapes for this, because they help with pain and can make you sleep better, as well as working on global symptoms for IBS. I wish I did them when I was ten, it would have saved me a whole lot of pain and symptoms.

This really does sound like IBS or perhaps CFAP and that is really the way to treat it at the moment and see if she improves.

Laying on her left side might help also when she goes to bed.

"Not a worrier, nor a stressor."

This doesn't matter all that much, because what were talking about here is a responce to all stressors mental and physical.

Pain and stress in IBS are VERY inter-related. The brain and the gut are both operational to cause the symptoms.

This is something important in IBS and pain and symptoms. It is not really well understood by a lot of IBSers.

"Posted on Thu, Jan. 19, 2006
Stress can wreak gastrointestinal havocStress doesn't cause irritable bowel syndrome or other gastrointestinal problems -- but it can make the symptoms worse.
The gastrointestinal tract is governed by the autonomic nervous system, the nerve network that serves internal organs and works mostly without our thinking about it. The autonomic system has two parts: the sympathetic nervous system, which activates in stressful situations; and the parasympathetic nervous system, the counterpart that promotes quiet activities (such as digestion).
When stress occurs -- work problems, disagreements, money woes or true danger -- the sympathetic nervous system goes into high gear. Your body responds in fight-or-flight mode, prepared to face or run away from danger, even if the "danger" is a traffic ticket or a teenager driving you crazy.
When the sympathetic system is in charge, in essence, your gastrointestinal system turns off. The body is not worried about digestion when it's geared up to respond to an emergency.
That is the motor side of things; yet the gastrointestinal system also has a sensory side. The autonomic nervous system sends sensory signals to the brain. During times of stress, our brains are looking for clues from all over; our bodies are more vigilant about sensing what is going on. Under stress, the gut feels more and does less. For anyone, stomachaches and diarrhea are common symptoms of stress.
So it's no surprise that stress can intensify symptoms of gastrointestinal conditions.
With irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic condition with symptoms that include abdominal pain, cramping, gas, diarrhea and constipation, the severity of symptoms varies widely.
For many people, managing stress is the first line of treatment, along with changes in lifestyle and diet. Medication can be helpful for people with more severe symptoms.

SOURCE: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/dfw/news/news_to_use/13661149.htm?source=rss&channel=dfw_news_to_use

The fight or flight triggers whats called the HPA axis which releases a chemical (histinmine) from mast cells in the gut that contributes to pain. Its complex.

You might want to read this also.

These are pediactri pain specialists.

Mind-Body-Pain Connection: How Does It Work?

By Michael Henry Joseph
WebMD Live Events Transcript

Event Date: 05/11/2000.

Moderator: Welcome to WebMD Live's World Watch and Health News Auditorium. Today we are discussing "The Mind-Body-Pain Connection: How Does It Work?" with Brenda Bursch, Ph.D., Michael Joseph, M.D., and Lonnie Zeltzer, M.D.

Brenda Bursch, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of the Pediatric Pain Program, Co-Director of Pediatric Chronic Pain Clinical Service and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine. She has written about asthma, developmental & behavioral pediatrics, emergency medicine, AIDS education and prevention, chronic digestive diseases and pediatric bowel disorders. She has membership in the American Pain Society, American Psychological Association, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Network, and the UCLA Center for the Study of Organizational and Group Dynamics.

Michael Henry Joseph, MD, is an assistant professor of pediatrics and co-director of Chronic Pain Services at the University of California at Los Angeles Children's Hospital. He is a recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Lonnie Zeltzer, M.D., is an expert in the field of pediatric pain. She is a former president of the Society for Adolescent Medicine and member of the National Institute of Health?s Human Development Study Section. She is currently a Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology at the UCLA School of Medicine. She is Director of the UCLA Pediatric Pain Program and Associate Director of the Patients & Survivors Section, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Branch of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has well over one hundred scientific publications, reviews and chapters in medical journals, and has lectured internationally.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/1/1700_50465

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My website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com

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