My IBS started early, but came to a head when I was 11, so I REALLY feel for your daughter. A few small suggestions: smaller more frequent meals. I can barely digest dinner - but lunch usually isn't such a challenge. So, I eat a lot during the day and then basically a snack for dinner - and even that is in two seperate times in the evening. Do what you can to have your daughter get the colonoscopy and endoscopy. They both suck, and they're both necessary to rule out other things. When she has the endoscopy they can do a biopsy which is the 'gold standard' test for celiac sprue. But she would have to eat some gluten for a certain amount of time before the test was done. I don't know how long. Another small suggestion, "living without" magazine, primarily geared toward celiacs and lots of ads for celiac kid foods, and teeshirts and all sorts of things. The worst part of having IBS as a kid aside from the pain is the feeling that you're alone in having this. There was a lot of shame connected to my symptoms as a kid - as if I wasn't strong enough to feel better or somehow caused my pain. There's a certain indignity to having so much attention on your bowels anytime after one has graduated from diapers! Have her look at these boards and see the spectrum of people who deal with this. There's a teenager, honeymix, on the living room board maybe she could get in touch.
Good luck, Dan
-------------------- Ladies & gentlemen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
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Re: 11 year old daughter been in pain every night for a year!
