diagnosis needed - what could this be?

[lil_acorn]

Sorry if this is long:
My DS5 is allergic to peanuts & eggs (outgrew dairy allergy ~2). For the longest time he complained of stomach aches. After a while, we figured out it was lactose interolance so now he's on Lactaid milk. Seems to tolerate cheese and yogurt without ill effects.

After switch to lactaid, we noticed frequency of stomach aches definitely decrease. But he would still have stomach aches. Then I thought maybe it is a wheat allergy so for 3 weeks i tracked his diet. Results were mixed and I could not find a link to wheat and his stomach aches.

In the past 2-3 weeks, we've noticed his complaints of stomach ahces increasing. This occurs whether he has eaten something recently or not. Sometimes he complains about it at wake up time.

We've had him evaluated previously for constipation and he seemed okay. He just went at home 2 days ago and it seemed fine.

Any ideas? I'm going to make an appt tomorrow.

[sariana]

Could it be anxiety? If he's hurting when he wakes, may e it's related to a dream. You say he's 5? Is he starting kindergarten in the fall? Has there been any talk around the house about that?

How involved has he been in tracking his reactions to various foods? Could he have developed a general anxiety about food because he has to be so careful to avoid triggers?

Have you checked for any ingredient changes in your "staple" foods?

I'm just trying to throw out some ideas. I'm sorry for your guy. My DD also is five, and she has tummy troubles too, but in her case I'm pretty sure it's constipation.

[gatorsmom]

Do you notice when he has his stomach aches? Is there a particular time of day he has them?

Cha cha would get stomaches right before he had to go poop.

It could also be gas causing the pain. Gator would get it sometimes reLly bad before he would fart. Then he'd feel better.

[Simon]

Is the pain up high (stomach) or lower (intestines)? When you say checked for constipation what do you mean? They felt his stomach? Going every 2-3 days may not be enough, for him. It would be my first guess or that he has reached his tolerance for milk. Maybe some heartburn from reflux? Its easy enough to see if Tums cures the pain.

It certainly could be wheat. I don't think tracking in his diet would be enough to rule it out. AFAIK, the only real way to evaluate for gluten sensitivity is to remove completely from the diet for 3+ weeks and then bring it back for 2 weeks. This is based on what we've learned from our allergist, GI and their nutritionists; we're testing for Celiac's (again) so gluten intolerance has come up since we might need to try and elimination diet. Also, wheat and other non-IgE allergens can have a delayed effect--up to 3 days I believe. A blood test can serve as a prelim check for Celiac's.

[chlobo]

I wouldn't rule out a dairy allergy. Do you think he tolerates it just b/c there is no immediate stomach ache? Maybe the other symptoms are a delayed reaction to the dairy. I have a friend who thought her son outgrew his dairy allergy but it turned out that it just manifested in a different manner. Also, dairy can cause constipation in some people so if he is constipated, the dairy probably isn't helping.

[lil_acorn]

i don't know how to multiquote so will just add my additional inputs here:

Dairy allergy - he has had skin testing and blood testing and it showed no allergy to dairy

he also had some blood test to check for celiac but that did not show anything there

constipation - thsi could be it, but they checked previously by pushing on his stomach and also xray. they said at the time that "could be it" but wasn't definitive. This may be a likely culprit as he is in K now so I have no idea how often /if he goes at school. I will need to track and ask him this.

As for time of day, there is no rhyme or reason to it. Could be morning at wake up (not anxiety), getting off bus, after meal, b4 meal. It doesn't seem to with needing to do #2 but maybe it's gas pains? It seems to be upper stomach area, not intestines.

TIA for all your inputs!

[wendibird22]

Is the pain up high (stomach) or lower (intestines)? When you say checked for constipation what do you mean? They felt his stomach? Going every 2-3 days may not be enough, for him. It would be my first guess or that he has reached his tolerance for milk. Maybe some heartburn from reflux? Its easy enough to see if Tums cures the pain.

It certainly could be wheat. I don't think tracking in his diet would be enough to rule it out. AFAIK, the only real way to evaluate for gluten sensitivity is to remove completely from the diet for 3+ weeks and then bring it back for 2 weeks. This is based on what we've learned from our allergist, GI and their nutritionists; we're testing for Celiac's (again) so gluten intolerance has come up since we might need to try and elimination diet. Also, wheat and other non-IgE allergens can have a delayed effect--up to 3 days I believe. A blood test can serve as a prelim check for Celiac's.

I agree with all the above.
For me personally, I couldn't trace my reactions to food intake initially. Somedays I felt like junk, others not even though my diet was pretty consistent. Once I was GF for 3-4mo it then became a more immediate reaction. Now I know within 30mins if I've been glutened. It's like my body needed a reset in order to have that kind of reaction. When I was eating gluten I was also starving, STARVING, like all the time and I'd wake up in the morning with the worst hungry stomach ache and nausea until I ate something. I no longer get that feeling. My pain after ingesting gluten is always right below my rib cage.

One more thing, you said you were tracking his wheat intake. Did you also include barley, rye, and all hidden forms of wheat in your tracking? For example, a person may have a stomach ache after eating Rice Krispies and you think, it's rice cereal, so no wheat. But that contains barley malt and therefore gluten.

Any other symptoms? Fatigue, headaches, mouth sores, rashes, GERD, burping, etc?

[Tondi G]

You might want to try giving him probiotics and see if that helps any.

It sounds like it could be constipation ... maybe some gas pains. I would ask him to let you know if he goes poop at school and see what his normal frequency is. Maybe some Miralax or added fiber could get him going more regularly and help stop the tummy aches.