Hello all!

I'm a bad poster - it's been about a year since my last post (when my son had his endo/flex sig). BUT nothing has really changed (except he's firmly securing our spot on the older kids board w/ his 4th b-day just around the corner!).

All tests look good - no celiacs - GI just said (re: multiple intolerances & reflux) "Now you know; it's just him" - which is oddly reassuring - slowly stopped worrying about an underlying cause & just went forward w/ diet & maintained meds. She said maybe retest when he's older, but for now status quo & holding MPSI & gluten free & Prilosec.

While I am a firm believer in the 'Ain't broke; don't fix it' approach, I am getting to a point where I'm going to trial in some milk products or maybe reduce his meds (next GI appt in Sept) in the hopes he's quietly outgrown some of this stuff over the past year.

BUT (there always seem to be one of those here, huh?)

He firmly maintains his stomach hurts. Always. Still. Other things don't hurt him (I try to 'test' him randomly - does your head hurt? No. Knee hurt? No. etc). Here's a typical query:

Me: How's your stomach?
Him: It Hurts.
Me: Does it really hurt (I ask trying to be nonchalant)?
Him: He will gleefully smile and say "A lot" and go bouncing around like always.

We know he's got a really high pain tolerance (bulging ear infection & no sign it even registered on the pain scale - ped was a bit freaked out). Nothing else consistantly hurts. He had a headache (feels like 'Boom boom boom' he reported) once or twice when he was sick but otherwise nothing. I don't make a big deal out of it, but I'll ask every few weeks/months and it's always "It hurts".

SO - is it possible that he really does have some kind of stomach pain ALL the time? He's a perky happy kid, his sleeping has vastly improved over the past 6 months (YEAH!), potty trained & bowel movements consistently well formed - so I am just perplexed. He's got excellent communication skills, he's fully aware of what he says & he's very expressive & he's a pretty honest kid - and when he does fib on occasion he usually starts smiling and fesses up quickly. I really just don't know what to make of it.

Does anyone else's kid say this? Anyone with an older kid that can confirm if this is - i don't know - possible?

It doesn't 'bother' him, but it still concerns me (for obvious reasons). I am curious about anyone else's experiences &/or insight -
Thanks guys!!!

Hi Anastasia, Parker is almost 4 and has for quite a while been saying the same thing. Especially lately and he sounds just like your little Nathan. I think it is strange since he is always pointing to his belly (either just right of or on his belly button) if it was reflux pain, wouldn't be he holding his throat or his chest?

We are currently in the process of being tested for inflammatory bowel disease, we too are on prilosec and one of the doctors said that there is the possibility that it is acting as an anti inflammatory and that is why we are not seeing full blown IBD, I don't know though, it is a long shot, but it makes sense when I look up the symptoms.

I like you at the beginning of the year started on a quest as to why my child still has reflux since we have been told he isn't likely to have outgrown it. So far though I don't have an answer. But hopefully we will have one, I just feel that there is more to this than'just reflux'

Let us know how you get on with the trials.

That is exactly where Nate points 99% of the time - right around his navel or just below (every now & then he motions up his chest but that's rare). It doesn't quite 'fit' does it? Hmmm, we have a mystery - I'll have to check out the IBD symptoms as well

We are dealing with the same issues with Owen and we finally have gotten him to tell us that his belly hurts. He will lay on the floor and push on his tummy. When asked where it hurts he also points at his belly button or right underneath. Owen is just over 3yrs old and we are just wating to finally move back to the states to get better medical care for him.

Catherine almost always points to her stomach area and only every now and then will she point to her upper chest or in her mouth. However, she does have celiac so when we received that diagnosis about a month ago, it made all the sense in the world why she points to her stomach instead of her esophagus. Naively, I just figured her body was so small that she couldn't really pinpoint the source of her discomfort ... but she certainly could! She complains of tummy pain much, much less now after being 100% GF for a month now.

Shoot - i guess good news is this is apparently 'common' here, bad news is it appears it is a legit complaint.

Nate's strictly GF for a year now so there must be something else going on, he doesn't meet the IBD symptoms. I noticed all our kids are on PPI's, i wonder if it could be a long term side effect? Research time!

(btw - Catherine makes an adorable ballerina!)

hey, my hannah has been complaining of a sore tummy for months and months now. we have had ultrasounds etc. our next step is the GI for her....i just dont want to go there with another child..im over it. is it possible your child could be constipated? that can cause pain where she is pointing....

Thanks everyone - guess what? Stomach pain is listed as a side effect for PPI's. Apparently in adult population it's not too common but does stop some from using PPI's. An article suggested maybe trying a different PPI, using lower dose (which i'm sure we are all doing already), and supplementing w/ probiotics (which we already do).

SO - next appt I'll ask his dr about trying a PPI other than Prilosec & see if he reports any difference.

4 yrs ago who here thought they'd be taking their kid out of school to go to a GI appt? Arrghhh - but that's a vent for another thread...

What you mean they don't outgrow it magically at age one? :rolling:

I have wondered if it is the losec, but he is a lot worse off it, thats for sure. We also use probiotics.

Are you on pepcid as well? Minnie has used that with Eric and has some bad side effects with it, I can't remember which, but maybe you would want to get rid of that and have a higher dose of PPI?

He hasn't used the pepcid regularly in quite awhile. We keep it handy for when he's got a cold and the reflux symptoms 'breakthrough'.

Under GI's advice we actually slightly reduce his PPI dosage at night when the refill is fresh (30 day compound) because he has sleep issues on it, so hoping not to increase it (unless maybe just his am dose). He used to be on the prevacid solutabs, maybe we'll try that again (but as GI pointed out, then every dose will be 'fresh' & might cause more trouble). Last time we tried to just reduce his dosage he was vomitting within 2 days (and the time before that it caused an apnea incident) so side effects or not, PPI's are definitely the lesser of two evils, but I feel like I have to try something.

All 4 of my children complain of daily belly pain. They are all on reflux meds, and also complained prior to being put on reflux meds(PPI's). We have other things going on other than reflux though.
Trey has irritable bowel syndrome and reflux, Christian has intestinal dysmotility/slow transit/chronic constipation and reflux,Lauren has severe reflux, slow motility/chronic constipation,food allergy and Brent is unlucky enough to have a myriad of very severe GI issues, some of which are in my siggy..
My kids always point to the belly button area, and also the epigastric region and along the sternum when they say they are hurting.
Constipation would definately be something to look into..Sometimes even though they may poop regularly, they are not emptying correctly and the stool builds inside the colon..
I hope you can figure out what is bothering him(((hugs)))

Eric has belly pain too.
Lately it hasn't been too bad, he just gets this look about him and kinda crabs and complains a little before a bowel movement. (and boy is he weird right now as far as BMs go)

Sometimes he'll even say "My tummy hurts" which is huge for him, because he almost never talks about any discomfort.
He too [points to his belly button or just bellow. Just recently though he's been having a hard time with kidney stones and pointed to a new area much lower than usual and his flank area.
Like you, I think "He's 3 1/2. Take what he says with a grain of salt, especially when he bops around like nothing is wrong two seconds after complaining."
BUt... Know what? I think that way of thinking is wrong when it comes to our GI challenged kiddos. Eric has proven me wrong time and time again. So I listen now (the kidney stones slapped me right in the face, because never once did he seem really in pain, I just kinda thought he might be KWIM?).
Not that this changes anything, he's still going to be a mystery, LOL
but never again will I second guess when he complains or says he's in pain.
I still don't know what to think. PPI side effect?, constipation?, IBD?....I really don't know.
All I know is the pain is different than reflux pain for him. For one it comes and goes, and when reflux is kicking butt it's just always there nagging at him. He reacts differently to reflux pain too, and it's for sure up higher and more life altering (in a negative way) when he's off meds. Sure, I think his tummy pain could be a PPI side effect, but I'll take it over going back to GERD land any day.
and...well..... an IBD may also be a possibility too, along with a thousand other possibilities. I don't know if I'll ever stop looking for the why completely, but at least now I give myself longer breaks of acceptance that this is just the way it is GERD and that's that.

"4 yrs ago who here thought they'd be taking their kid out of school to go to a GI appt?"

UGH!!!!!!:hairpull: :hairpull: :hairpull: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

There aren't even words to describe the frustration are there?

BTW it's nice seeing you again.
I have always loved your "name" and can't help but remember you and Nate :hug:

(Hey Minnie! I remember you too - your kids are growing up gorgeous! "Longer breaks of acceptance" - OMG that is dead on!

LOL - see? This is why I keep coming back - where else can i find a community of moms (like me) who actually consider a day when the chief complaint is stomach pain to be a "good day"! Hopefully our kids all learn to not dwell on the petty things in life because they are overcoming challenges with such rudimentary things like eating & bm's at such an early age!

Nate's been very fortunate to maintain a nice status quo this past year, that's why I'm getting up the guts to try to tackle the stomach pain mystery - don't worry - I'm probably just going through a delusion phase (again) where I think MAYBE he's OUTGROWN some of this (again) - one wet burp or sleepless night awake after we reduce the dosage should crush my hopes quick enough (again).

Thanks for commiserating!

I think pain is a strange thing. I have often been referred to as a hyprocondriac b/c I b*tch all the time about not feeling well. Sometimes I cannot pin point what is bothering me...or I simply wonder why I feel so lousy all the time.

Often someone has said "oh I don't believe you are sick b/c you are smiling". WELL, I did feel horrible that day....but something struck me funny so I laughed out of control. Doesn't mean the pain was gone just distracted some. KWIM?

So b/c a kid says he hurts but then runs around...I completely understand.

I think the "minutes/moments" of feeling ok however short lived they may be...we take advantage of KWIM

best wishes...nice to see you around again.:hug:
Jean

You bring up a good point - my mom is 65, had back surgery and has mild pain daily - but she's an avid golfer, just became an LPN, does a variety of aerobics (including kickboxing-type thing), and has a very bright & sunny personality - she said the same thing - basically it's amazing what you can 'get used to'.

Now that I think of it, my husband teaches martial arts and it's not uncommon for a child (ok, some adults too - myself included) to giggle when they are put in a lock causing discomfort/mild pain - what is 'normal' anyway?

I guess our gerdlings are so young that some discomfort/pain is their 'norm' but I still feel for him that he classifies whatever he's feeling as 'hurt' -BUT in perspective it's not so bad that he can't sleep (finally), and he is a happy little guy (if a little intense) so it doesn't seem to be holding him back. When i think about it like that I feel much better - you guys all ROCK!

(and Jean - i see there is a new grandbaby added to your collection - Congrats! They are all so precious)

Mag's belly hurts in her words 'forever.' She complains 2-3 times a day usually after she eats. She's always been this way, laying on the cold floor or pressing her stomach up against something, leaning over chairs, etc. Her GI has been aware the entire time and has never questioned it further and honestly neither have I. I guess after 5 yrs of this it's the norm.

When i think about it like that I feel much better - you guys all ROCK!

(and Jean - i see there is a new grandbaby added to your collection - Congrats! They are all so precious)



Thanks....but the youngest grandbaby will be three in Nov :oops: .....guess I should be updating my pic! LOL

Gosh - i was feeling bad because my pics a year old - ha! you've got me beat hands down ;)