Hello all! I want to pick your brains here. Bean has had tummy aches a lot since Kindergarten started for her, but even moreso lately. She also gets fevers quite often. Now, I really do not think she is getting any gluten, and furthermore, she isn't getting dairy. Also, she doesn't eat much sugar (I don't use sugar in my baking, but I do buy fruit snacks for school - made with modified corn starch instead of wheat starch), so she gets some sugar from those, but otherwise we use local honey for sweets.
She doesn't want to drink much anymore because everything she drinks hurts her stomach. I am at a loss. Any ideas for us?
Because her stomach aches started when school started last fall, I suspected it was emotionally related (she has difficulty with some aspects of being in school).
Also, worth mentioning, is that she doesn't seem to be able to explain the difference in how her stomach feels when it's hungry versus when it's full, versus when she is sick and going to throw up. To her all of those mean the same thing, and that is that her tummy hurts. I attribute this to her 2+ years of chronic diarrhea as a toddler and how that made it difficult for her to learn those cues.

Open to ideas!

Sleepingbean, our experience was this: first we eliminated dairy (or rather I did since baby was exclusively breastfed). Next came eggs (as part of our conversion to a veg diet). Then we eliminated all corn syrup, dyes, preservatives and went organic (as part of my new-found health consciousness). Around age 5, we eliminated gluten. Since then, we have found ds to be sensitive to corn, soy and tomatoes! My theory is that each time we eliminated a food, we "overdosed" on another food, thereby causing a new sensitivity? I'm hoping that in time, I'll be able to reintroduce at least some of these foods in a rotation diet.

Interestingly enough, for ds the first knowledge of a problem with gluten, soy, and corn was tummy aches. When I pulled gluten out for a few months then reintroduced it, the symptoms presented differently (anger, tears, meltdowns). I tried to reintroduce soy after a few months, letting him have either tofu or tempeh every fourth day. After a few short weeks, he started having soakers at night that he would sleep through. So we pulled soy again. We pulled tomatoes as a result of wet nights also (not sleep-through soakers) with great success. I am continually amazed at how what we eat affects our bodies!

Good luck figuring out what is causing your daughter to have tummy aches.

have you considered chemical sesitivity to something at school ?

koz

This seems pretty common...little kids don't have enough vocabulary and experience to put together the right words to describe their feelings. We've had a miserable time trying to differentiate between dd's migraines (with aura); sinus headaches (epiphany comes when the fever hits), and tension type headache. All respond to different treatments. And throw in that we just now realize the tummy aches and vomiting aren't necessarilly related...well, it's frustrating.

I'm wondering if something IS happening at school. Are you sure she isn't sharing, or eating something that seems safe to her? With my dd K was when headaches hit their most spectacular. The third time I picked her up spewing brilliant blue I began to suspect blue dye was a problem. (and soon verified it) I rarely bought dyed items at home...but at school, she was getting them for math projects and sharing lunches. (No, they aren't supposed to share)

There may be art projects that include gluten, and they don't wash the kids hands very well. (many schools are switching to hand sanitizers, which obviously don't remove anything. I wouldn't want to eat them either!)

And what about the snacks you buy "for school"? Did she eat them before? Corn can cause all sorts of abdominal issues, especially corn syrup. Fructose can be bothering her too. Is water okay? If juice is bothering her it could be a fructose issue.

Good luck!!!

great points and ideas guys. Thank you!

I will digest that

We did tests today, first to check food sensitives and then the blood draw to rule out bacterial infection, inflammation, and to check on the liver. If all comes back good then we'll focus on SCDiet again, I believe. I want to make sure those other things are okay first.

It was such a long day. We saw three different doctor's offices. I'm just so worn out. Bean is watching Ice Age and loving every minute of it. The blood draw is always terrible with children. We all hated that part.

Oh, and then there is the after headache that will hit me when I see the bills for this day of doctor visits!

Ahh...these new insurances plans with huge deductibles...
Well, at least we will have some coverage if anyone gets REALLY sick. I think out deductible is about $4000. That seems ridiculous to me, but I am still glad to have the coverage in the event that anyone was really in need of ongoing or elaborate care. I shouldn't complain!

I'm glad you got in for some testing and they seem to at least be taking you seriously. It can be hard to get in to specialists...its good that it all got done and overwith, though quite a pain.

Give her an extra hug, I know how miserable the blood draws can be! They lost dd's vein once; she's been a quivering mess at the mention of needles since

Bean had that experience both times. ugh...

Well we got one test result back so far and it tested positive for bacteria. The other tests will come back on Monday, but this is good to know!

I have been wondering how she is doing and meaning to post but don't get in as often as I like.

My kids are homeschooled but go to a social event every Friday night at a school. It made it really easy to see that every Saturday they were having issues.

We started washing, rinsing and drying their desks and chairs. I had read that other parents found this necessary and so thought we would try it. Well, it worked. Two years later they are still going to the same social event but no 'bad mood' and tummy ache Saturdays.

She is doing better right now with the fevers, but still has frequent tummy aches. She told me that I didn't need to worry about it because she is used to having sore tummies.

I am going to let her body heal up from the use of antibiotics (and use of probitoics and minimizing sugars in diet) and we'll consider retesting after that point if the fevers continue to pop back up with the tummy aches on the same cycle. I really don't want to make her go through testing again, so I am hopeful that this will be the end of it. Time will give us that answer!