Child with Ongoing Stomach Ache/pain. What Could It Be?

My daughter had the same problem. She would have sever stomach pain that ended in ER trips. I took her to an allergist when she was 4 years old. Negative on ALL testing and blood test for celiac came back negative. She is now 8 years old. She was STILL having problems. When she was 7 (almost 8) I took her to another allergist. She had a long list of positive skin test allergies. Dr put her on an elimination diet. It took 2-3 months to get through the whole list. Everything that we tested back into her diet was fine, EXCEPT for wheat! She does not have celiac, but an actual allergy to wheat! She was also having an actual allergic reaction though with severe hives all over her body with it. Last week we were at an amusement park and they said their fries were gluten free. The next day she was in SO Much pain. No, they were not gluten free :(
I think the best way to find an allergy is doing an elimination diet. I hope she feels better and you find out what is causing her pain. It took us almost 4 years, but ever since we found out, things have been much better

My dd hAd something. She pooped every other day but not enough volume and needed Miralax.

Updated

My dd hAd something. She pooped every other day but not enough volume and needed Miralax.

Have they done an X-ray? My son was complaining for a long time about pain in his tummy, and although he still pooed most days he had a large impaction. They think it may have been caused by an allergy to milk proteins. We gave him some mild meds once a day for a while and cut back on his dairy and he has had no further issues.

First, how do you know she doesn't have an intolerance? Have you had her tested? I would see a gastrointestinal specialist and go from there. I do think it's wise to keep a food diary. In the diary write down everything she eats and drinks, and document when the symptoms start, and what the symptoms are. Do you think she might have an impaction?

I will say, I (and my sibling) had the same symptoms, and have issues with gluten. My sibling has celiac, whereas I just can't have too much. Her stomach pain and bloating was especially bad. I would encourage you to have her tested for food allergies. Celiac blood tests are not always accurate. The best way to diagnose, is to get a biopsy. That might be something you explore further down the road, if you keep coming up empty.

For the record, I think the heel pain is totally unrelated. She probably needs better support for arches and feet.

Check for impaction just to be sure. It is just an easy xray and the dr. can tell right away.

I would most certainly follow the idea of impaction because it is so common!

But, one other idea I had was if she is allergic to raw onion or garlic. I am and her symptoms sound a lot like mine. If I eat them and they are not cooked to mush, then I will get severe stomach cramps that hurt so bad I double over. I am pretty sure it comes from my sulfa allergy, but I can drink red wine and be pretty ok with it, and most people who have the allergy can't. Good luck! you will find an answer.

I would just make an appt with a GI specialist.

Two years! Poor thing! Doctors are only making comments? She might be going to the bathroom, but sometimes those BMs are not entirely productive and there are still some feces retained in the colon. Her issues could be higher up as well, in the stomach or small intestine.

You could go through a huge battery of tests or you could boost her immune system and see if that helps. It almost always does. I'm in the food science field and I can't tell you the number of kids who turn around quickly (even more quickly than adults). There has been great work done over the last 25 years, and there are some phenomenal new findings on anti-inflammatory actions of a simple and natural ingredient that is extracted from plants via a mechanical process (nothing chemical). It's available in a couple of formulas - and is safe for babies, pregnant women, and everyone else. It might be a lot easier to start there than to do a whole lot of elimination diets or a huge battery of tests including GI tests which are invasive and stressful. I work with a tremendous number of people who have digestive issues and there's no way it should be lasting 2 years.

My 6 year old daughter has chronic gas and constipation. Just her digestive system. We have gone to a more natural diet. She has stool softeners and gas dissolvers on a semi regular basis.

Notices that probiotics help with the cramps and pain usually. Its going on 2 year or more. All sorts of test, and no allergies. Just her gut. She does NOT do well on fast foods and processed things. Seems to get worse.

I would start with dietary first. Reduce processed foods, dairy, and greasy stuff. See if that at all helps.

My neighbors granddaughter spent 4 years before she found out what her issue was. SHe had test after test that told her Gluten/cieliac was not her issues. However.. it was .

My son complained of his stomach hurting 3 years old. This past november we went to a Gluten free diet on a whim to help some of the bad behaviors we were seeing. We noticed a great improvment, then Thanksgiving happened.. I was unprepared ... he had gluten for the first time in 4 days.. later that night he told me his tummy was hurting.. I knew then that I figured out what his problem was.

Yes, test are helpful, but sometimes they are inaccurate. My neighbors doctors said 3 times that gluten was not her problem.. but the 4 th doc.. and 2k in blood tests later- it was. I have not had my son tested but I did elliminate it from his diet. He is happier and seems to feel much better.

Good luck.

Have you had her tested for food "sensitivities" (NOT allergies). Allergens cause a histamine reaction, which is usually pretty hard not to miss. But if your child has a food sensitivity (which doctors do not usually test for), it causes inflammation. And if she's regularly eating something she's sensitive to, she could have chronic, constant inflammation, which in turn could cause all sorts of issues.

The test for allergies is the IgE test. The test for food sensitivities is the IgG test. Google them both, read up on what they are and see if your doctor would consider running an IgG test for your daughter. There are labs out there that will do the test (they sometimes test for 100 different foods).

My son is *allergic* to peanuts, milk, cats and dogs (among other things). He is *sensitive* to bananas, eggs, dairy, mustard, olives, corn, pistachios, cashews, and lamb. Poor kid used to eat all these thing (he particularly LOVES dairy, mustard and olives). He also used to have a bowel movement every 5 days (at his worst, he went 11 days between BMs). We've removed these things from his diet and he now goes everyday. He also says things seem clearer to him and his brain doesn't feel so foggy. He's also in a better mood overall.

So, yeah, food sensitivities can mess you up. Look into it.

How old is she?

It could be anything.
Her pains may be connected or not.
But yes, seek more medical help/testing.

My daughter, when she was younger, had some pain in her groin.
She had a Hernia.
Which only presented itself, later, when she was 7 years old.

Who knows what your daughter's case is.
All the best.

There's just so much that can be going on with her digestive system you really need to take her to see a pediatric gastroenterologist.
Where does her stomach hurt? Upper, lower, over to one side or the other?
I don't know how old she is - does she have her period yet? Do any of her symptoms coincide with her cycle?
There's such a thing as chronic appendicitis (as oppose to acute appendicitis which sometimes requires emergency surgery).
Gall bladder trouble, ulcer, reflux, hernia, kidney stones (unusual in young people but not impossible)?
Has she ever had access to any small magnets that she might have swallowed (even years ago)?
Track what she eats and drinks, her bowel movements, how often she urinates and her symptoms in a diary and take that with you to the doctors visit.

Our son every so often has an attack of intense gas, diarrhea and abdominal spasms.
There's no rhyme or reason to it.
It doesn't matter what he does or doesn't eat.
He can go for months and be just fine.
He can go through stress (tests, final exams, deadlines, taekwondo belt tests, etc) and have no problems.
And then suddenly out of the blue the poor kid is doubled over in pain and he's out of commission for a day or two.
The doctor says it's a real mild case of irritable bowel syndrome.
Fortunately, as he gets older he seems to be growing out of it - attacks are maybe twice a year now - when he was in elementary school he might have 6 or 8 attacks a year.
Best we can do is to treat symptoms when an attack occurs.
Imodium helps the diarrhea, Gas-x for gas, a warm bath and a heating pad helps relieve the cramps.

Something that's gone on for 2 years needs to be identified so you know what you can do about it.
I hope they figure it out soon.

I am not "allergic" to dairy based on blood tests but if I eat too much of it I'll have stomach pains and can become constipated. My son tested neg. for dairy also but says his tummy hurts him sometimes after we eat pizza/ice cream etc. Some times an elimination diet gets better results than blood tests.

Sounds like my kid for a while. He would have stomach aches so bad he couldn't walk around the zoo, after we just had everything checked at the doc. He had an ultrasound, nothing. He would have a 99 temp sometimes.

He had strep throat one day. We went on the usual course of antibiotics.
Went back for a well check. He still showed up strep. 2nd course of antibiotics. From then on, he was cured! The strep had colonized in he stomach!

When you say her white count is up, it makes me very suspicious. Consult with your doc but I say 2 rounds of strep specific antibiotics could be your saving grace!

All good suggestions below. You need to rule out physiological causes..

As an 8 year old, I suffered with many stomach aches. We realized I had a lot of stress that I was afraid to share with anyone. They were worried I might have an ulcer.

My parents had a terrible marriage. My sister was/is very emotional and needy, I was not understanding some concepts in math and I just wanted to be a child that did not cause any problems or complained.

I was tested for ulcers, but once the doctor and my teacher spoke with me and encouraged me to be totally honest with them, I was able to give them some insight.

My parents were shocked. I was the "easy child". I did not complain, argue.. etc.. But inside I was a nervous wreck.

Thank goodness my parents finally separated for good and got the divorce. I actually began to feel a lot better. But then the guilt.. Another story..

Not saying there is stress in your child's life, but maybe she is an "anxious child" that will need to learn some techniques to not be so worried all of the time.