[desperatemom]

I am here because I have a 10 yr old son with sever abdominal pain and the Dr. can't seem to find what is wrong. I am at my wits end. It will be months until I can get him to a specialist and I don't want to to just sit back and let him suffer until then. If there is anyone with some kind of answer I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for listening..

[watsonsh]

Hi desperatemom,

Welcome to NT. to both you and your son.

I am sorry for the pain your son is going through. Sometimes a gluten free diet can help with abdominal pain, especially if its related to crohn's or celiac issues.

Here is the link to our gluten forum.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum13.html

Please let us know how he is doing and if we can help in any other way.

[Kitty]

Hi desperatemom. I'm sorry that your child is having these medical problems. Please take a look around the site and see if any of the forums might be of some help to you. I see Shelley already gave you the link to the gluten forum. Please let us know if you have any questions. I hope things improve for you and your son.

[minymo]

My daughter has had severe blockage because she was not drinking enough when she was around 7 years old. After that she developed lactose-intolerance which was diagnosed as psycho-somatic pain for years. She knows most there is to know about abdominal pain. I asked her. She said that what would not hurt, regardless the cause: to drink a lot, preferably water or herbal tea, anything not containing stimulants for the intestines. Also very important as she recalls was keeping the stomach warm. Going out of a warm house and stepping into the shade could already bring cramps at one point. Fish-oil is wholesome for the intestines no matter what.

In order to say anything more she would have to know whether he has diarrhea, whether he has trouble eating, etc. Then maybe she might have another non-medical tip for you to help him see it through as comfortably as possible until you see the specialist.

[Koala77]

Hello desperatemom. As a mother myself I can well understand your worries. I think we'd all suffer ten times over than see our children suffer once.

The link Shelley suggested is a good place to start, and there's also our Children's Health Forum : http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum9.html

I also want to suggest that you try the specialists rooms frequently, just incase they get a cancellation before your scheduled appointment. I do hope you your son's pain eases soon.

[AfterMyNap]

Hi, Desperatemom! Welcome to NeuroTalk!

You've been given some good tips, I'm curious, have you tried to get referrals to a gastroenterologist?

[DM]

Hello DesperateMom and Welcome to NeuroTalk. I'm glad you found us. Please take a look around and make yourself at home. Hope you can get your son in to see someone soon.

[lefthanded]

As a mom I understand your total frustration and fear. Maybe you won't find all the answers you seek here, but you will find some very helpful shoulders to lean on, and some wisdom to help in your journey to the truth about the pain your son is in.

I have been through the pain and agony of colitis and Crohn's, and believe me, I know abdominal pain. Can you give us any more information about the nature of his pain, or the frequency, location, and what makes it worse or better? Can he eat or drink? If he can not drink very easily, I would call your doctor back and ask what you might want to do to be sure he does not get dehydrated. Actually, same goes for it he is having difficulty eating as well, because we certainly don't want you to stand by and watch him become malnourished either. At any rate, you want him to take fluids to the very best of his ability, as that will help keep his system hydrated and moving a little.

Have they done any testing or taken any x-rays? Any other tests? There are so many things that can cause abdominal pain. How long has he been experiencing this pain?

It sounds like you live somewhere that either has a shortage of specialists or some other reason it will be so long before he can be seen. If he is unable to eat much or drink enough to stay hydrated, I would call them back and tell them you would prefer not to have this become an emergency. See if they can get you in sooner. At least that is what I would do, but then I don't have all the information that you do.

There are some medications that can help with cramping, if that he is experiencing that. I have taken dicyclomine (Bentyl) and hyoscyamine. You might see if your PCP would prescribe him something if he is having severe abdominal cramping. I might also ask about pain medication, so he can be more comfortable until seen by a specialist. Short of that, I do deep breathing if I am caught off-guard by a particularly difficult bout of pain: I breathe in slowly and steadily to the count of eight and then exhale as smoothly and completely as possible, again to the count of eight, before inhaling again. I have visualized this to correspond to the gentle swells on the ocean, as if I am on a raft and riding up and down gently on the swells in a friendly, safe, and warm aqua lagoon. I find it helps to have music to which I can do the count along with the beat . . . because after a while the music will help keep the time for the deep breathing.

Sending you warm wishes that your son's pain is eased soon.