son's relapse after 1 1/2 years
#285420 - 10/06/06 09:16 AM
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zebras
Reged: 04/15/05
Posts: 31
Loc: Vermont
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Oh boy, I was hoping I would never need this site again, wonderful as it is. A year and a half ago, my 11-year-old had a 2-month bout with constant abdominal pain. After extensive testing, our "best guess" diagnosis was functional abdominal pain or functional dyspepsia, which, as I understand it, is basically the same as IBS but in the upper GI tract, so there are no issues with C or D. It went away completely after 2 1/2 months or so; since then he has been prone to short-term tummy aches. It was unclear what treatments made him better, because we tried so many things. A week ago he got abdominal pain that has not gone away yet, so unfortunately we are acting on the assumption that the same thing is back. We're resuming Heather's diet and using peppermint/fennel/catnip tincture (in hot water to evaporate the alcohol). We used Heather's peppermint caps last time and I think I'll be ordering some again. He's been out of school this whole week but says he'll go back on Monday even if he's not better. Last time, he saw a therapist a few times who tried some relaxation-type treatments (he tried hypnosis, but my son wasn't very cooperative), so we'll call him if this persists. Any suggestions are welcome!
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Did they do all the tests like lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance, celiac etc. last time? I'd sure make sure you had all those tests done before accepting an IBS diagnosis.
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If he got into bad eating habits, that might have brought on the relapse.
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I am so sorry to hear that your son has relapsed. My friend's son had severe gi problems that even a pediatric gastroenterologist was unable to successfully diagnose and treat. He too had periods where he couldn't go to school because of the pain. Finally she took him to a doctor in Mexico who diagnosed him with some parasite, which he successfully treated and her son is fine and has not had a relapse in 2 years. We live in Southern California and my friend has family in Mexico and they would occasionally visit there, so I don't know if he had picked up something there. The problem in the US is that doctors don't seem to suspect or adequately test for parasites as I guess it is not such a common occurrence here. I hope your son recovers soon. It is bad enough when adults have to cope with abdominal distress. It is so heartbreaking when it affects kids.
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Well, today, after exactly a week of constant pain, my son now feels completely fine. What a relief! He has been on a break-the-cycle diet for three days. We are going to slowly introduce more foods.
In answer to your questions:
He had a LOT of testing: colonoscopy w/ biopsies, esophogastroduodenoscopy, barium swallow, stool tests (for giardia and I'm not sure what else) and blood work. Celiac was definitely ruled out. I think he had some kind of lactose test, but I can't remember. He has been eating an unrestricted diet for over a year, with only occasional tummyaches (like every 2 months). I think if he had a real intolerance, we would be seeing more consistent problems. Interestingly, the day he got sick he ate a ton of some "fruit snack" junk food which was mostly high fructose corn syrup and food coloring. We don't normally eat stuff like that and I know HFCS is a trigger for some, so I wonder if that set him off.
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Very possibly! Glad he is feeling better.
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Does your son worry about being at school with the pain. Beacuse it will probley be very helpful if his teachers know what hes going through if hes having trouble at school.
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Angelina V.Kunkel
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There are a lot of reasons for this. I would take him back to the Doc. Best be sure. In the meantime, you're doing the right things. Is your son naturally sensitive or tense? These also might be signs of an anxiety disorder, or if something is bothering him. I don't know the situation, so I'm only throwing guesses out there. Be sure to post again if you have more questions, of if you can give us more specific information we might be able to help you with.
A.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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I would definitely try to narrow down what helped him or what is helping him this time. Is it diet, supplements, tea, etc. Maybe try starting a journal for both diet and emotional stuff. You will be able to see clearly if there is a link to any of these. Make sure to record if he was feeling well or poor that day and I would suggested putting it on some sort of 1 to 10 scale. Hope this helps.
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Courtney (IBS-D)
"Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible." Romans 12:18
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