HEALTH Need some advice for Katie

Last February she had a severe urinary tract infection which she was actually in the ER for a day on an IV and given antibiotics and then sent home. Since then we all, even the nurse at school are constantly checking to make sure she is drinking plenty of water. We stopped the bubble baths.

Well forward to June of last year. Her stomach was hurting severe pains and nothing would help. We took her to ER (I am totally afraid of her appendix since I have a relative who died from thsirs bursting). The Dr. said well it sounds like her appendix so he hooked her up to an IV and sent her for a cat scan. Turns out appendix was fine. The Dr. said it seems like maybe she is constipated and went on a rant about how "Americans" (he was Asian not sure but thinking to myself aren't you American???) don't feed their kids properly etc. etc. It's all about meat and potatoes blah blah blah. Well maybe that is true but not in our case.

Anyway since then she has always had what we figure is a nervous stomach. She's missed SOOO much school this year. I try changing her diet, making sure she is pooping, making sure she is drinking lots of water, I mean we don't know what else to do. We've had her to the doctor and had her blood worked up- nothing.

But this is really affecting every aspect of our lives. Do you have any advice on what we can do naturally to help her? I know that gingerale seems to calm it a bit but last night she was so worked up she was screaming and crying and then said her heart even hurt. I thought heartburn so I gave her a Tums. I've heard peppermint can help ease your stomach. Do they sell this is a pill form or something I can put in her juice?

Any ideas we would be grateful for.

Thanks

You need to find a doctor who will listen and don't give up until you have some answers. She may need an upper and lower GI to determine what is causing problems. Children do not get constipated or anything else to the point of constant interuption in their lives without there being a cause for it. Even though it's a pain in the butt to keep going to the doctor, just keep going. Eventually you will run across one that has some common sense.

Annie... try making her a bit of warm peppermint tea. It may well help her stomach relax (it works by relaxing the smooth muscles).Ginger tea (you can make it by dropping a small piece of candied gingerroot, or simply a chunk of raw ginger root, and adding a bit of honey for sweetener) may help, too... it's more for nausea, but it also helps the stomach relax.

But her *stomach* isn't really the issue here. It sounds like she's under a lot of stress... everyone reacts physically to stress and worry, but everyone reacts differently- some people develop headaches, some develop GI issues, some get back pain or neck aches.

I know you guys have had rough times, and I suspect she knows it too- all too well. Don't blame yourself- it's impossible to shield kids from "bad stuff"- and it's not even wise to try, once they're no longer tiny children.

I don't like medicating kids, even with herbal stuff... they *need* to learn how to cope with the stress and problems life throws at everyone. But, a small dose of something like virginia skullcap, or one of the combination products out there with passionflower, valerian, skullcap or any of those, maybe morning and night, MIGHT be well worth trying. Her stomach is "tying itself in knots" because SHE is feeling all "knotted up" emotionally.

Also, make sure she's getting enough B vitamins... stress really uses the body's supply up quickly.

Here- something like this (I like the liquid product because you can adjust the dose easily... start with only a drop or two, and increase until it helps. On "good" days, you can drop it back down, or skip it)
http://www.vitacost.com/Natures-Answer-Alcohol-Free-Skullcap-Herb-Extract

Above all- and I KNOW it's very hard- try to not pay TOO much attention to her stomach symptoms, bowel regularity, etc... you can actually *create* a permanent problem which will plague her for years to come.

Hugs..

Summerthyme

I may be way off base here, but I don't think people have 'nervous stomach' for no reason. I'm wondering if she's possibly just highly sensitive to external stimulus. The stress of too many people, too much noise, just *too much* of anything can manifest itself in digestive upsets, depression, anxiety, and lots of other things. You might check the book "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Elaine Aron to see if any of what she says connects with what you see with Katy.

Has she been tested for celiac disease. Have you noticed reactions to certain types of foods? You might want to try an elimination diet and introduce foods slowly to see if she reacts.

Burntfish said:

Has she been tested for celiac disease. Have you noticed reactions to certain types of foods? You might want to try an elimination diet and introduce foods slowly to see if she reacts.

Click to expand...

Chronic intestinal problems could be something very simple, or they could be very, very serious. Please, take your child to another doctor. Please, for her sake. I know that you are looking for something to sooth her for the moment, which is fine, but there you guys need answers. You don't need to be written off by some wack doctor.

Check into celiac disease, sounds like the symptoms. Make sure you understand that the blood test for celiac has a very high false negative rate- 50%. In other words, it's only to rule celiac in, NOT out. Most doctors, even gastros, have piss-poor knoweldge of celiac. Read, read, read and go in to advocate for her. Find your local celiac disease group and find out who their advisor is and see him or her so you know you have the best possible chance of accurate diagnosis.

I'm going to guess from your name that you're Irish heritige? Irish have the highest incidence of celiac in the world. Celiac is arguably the most common gastro disease in the world, and it's estimated that only 1-5% of people are diagnosed, and that doesn't even include those who are gluten intolerant but do not have celiac disease.

Finally, do consider other food intolerances as a possibility and the best way to test for that is an elimination diet or ALCAT testing, which a regular allergist does not offer.

I do have celiac and have dealt with multiple food intolerances and you're welcome to PM me anytime with questions.

My granddaughter is 3 and has the constipation problem. Her pediatrician put her on a half capful of Miralax a day mixed in with a glass of apple juice. Sometimes my DIL puts a big of prune juice in with it. Now she's regular. If you forget one day though she's back to where she was. Hopefully, in time the problem will resolve itself.

My second daughter used to get all the symptoms of UTIs without having an infection. This went on from age 2 to 11, they just stopped. After running her back and forth to the doctor, prying her off the potty, and giving her AZO, the doctor let us know that this is a very common stress reaction. DD is a perfectionist and puts a lot of pressure on herself. I started doing visualization (and I made it funny.) After a year or so of that she now can get through it herself-I'm sure getting older helped too.

If it is stress induced (hard to believe, I know, because their pain is so real) you might want to try visualization.

Good luck and I hope the little one feels better soon!
RD

not sure if this will help and it is meant in the kindess way possible but how about getting off her ass?

I was diabetic since 22mos. Did the coma thing at that age and had my times over the years. the mom decided after a bout of stomach flu, when I was 12 to make me carry a freaking Igloo lunchbox with a 'diabetic Diet' and all my blood testing crap and urine tsting crap and I got special permission at school to go out in the halways [with my big red Igloo-the ones shaped like a triangle with the handle on top? ]] during class to test my blood and eat a snack.

Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?

I was already small, short and deaf and NOW I get to REALLY stand out from everyone else to go OUT of class into the halls and eat..?

Oh yeah, bloody great idea mom.

I got little boiling baggies of mushy meat crap and boiler baggies of veggies-all measured out to proprtions.

Blood tests at lunch and in the morning and afternoon...

People wonder why I am a bit strange these days.

Maybe instead of hovering over her like a nervous hen you should give a little space?

I am NOT saying to not pay attention but maybe back down a bit?

First thing that came to mind was gluten sensitivity/celiac disease. Several people I know had similar problems with their daughters (can't think of any that had sons with it) and it did the trick.

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Connec...ging-Health/dp/1594863873/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

Had the problem with my daughter - constant (for years) severe Intestinal Bowel Syndrome, etc. (migraines also). Did all the medical tests.

Turns out it was due to unclean spirits, as Jesus called them, thank goodness, since that meant it was curable. Accordingly, in His Name we embarked on a process of ejecting them. Some were spirits of infirmity causing solely stomach problems. Others, like Depression, were also apparently able to cause the physical problems. Took several sessions but she now is free and off any medication.

If necessary, you can go here and get a referral to a Deliverance Minister in your area: http://www.ministeringdeliverance.com/

Cheval, my son has it. So now you can say you know someone whose son has it. lol Actually, I'm a double-gened celiac, so both parents and all of my children have it as well.

Thank you all

I can tell you've been praying for Katie and yes, Sat even you were thinking of her LOL and I did not take offense to your post. Trust me I've seen parents like that and I can't stand it.

Anyway, as luck would have it the pediatrician was actually in the IHS clinic today so we were able to see him. He was AWESOME!! All the other peds would say it is a virus or not really have an answer.

Well he walked in and asked her Dad and I many questions. When I told him the other peds said it was a virus, he said how old were they? When I said probably 30's he said well that is the new thing- "it's a virus". He is older and definitely what I would call an "old school doctor".

We went over everything including does she miss a lot of school, do we really think she is in pain or faking, what does she eat, etc. etc. He said actually we are doing everything right but he thinks with a few minor changes to her diet we can fix this. No more cereal with milk. You know even cereals like Cheerios are not healthy. We don't ever feed her crap cereal like Captain Crunch or such. I thought Cheerios and Kix were healthy. He said even though Cheerios are made with oats how they process them can cause a lot of gas. From now on oatmeal with fruit or an egg and toast (which she already had sometimes too).

Her lunch was good except take out the bananas or applesauce and replace with oranges. He also said my homemade oatmeal raisin cookies were a perfect treat and healthy! He asked about dinner and I said 6/7 nights I cook and usually from scratch. He said perfect. No problem with our Friday night pizza/ movie night. He really went into detail on everything we eat.

Switch to soy milk. Real fruit juice good for her too. Water based drinks like those ones called "Waterfalls" we pack those in her lunch and he said those were fine since they don't contain a lot of sugar. And she already drinks a lot of water.

So simple changes and he thinks this will help the problem. He said when he listened to her stomach she seemed to have a lot of gas built up and even asked us about her gas (i.e. farting) problem. Mike and I both said she does have a lot of gas- what we think is more than normal.

Anyway we are implementing some changes and going to see him again in 2 weeks. It's nice to know for the most part he thinks we are feeding her very healthy and just need to tweak a few things. Some of her other peds took one look at me (overweight) and automatically assumed I fed her crap and no matter what I said basically it was my fault.

I really liked him because he took time and was very thorough and detailed and LISTENED.

Sorry this was so long but thanks everyone. I appreciate your concerns and suggestions. I am just so relieved that finally a doctor listened to us. I'll let you know if these changes work or not.

Sounds like a good doc! So glad that he thinks that minor changes will help. May she sail through with flying colors!

Annie, the first two things that came to mind are celiac and stress. I don't have too much personal experience with the celiac but DD is an A type of personality. She always put so much stress on herself to perform to perfection that she would literally make herself sick. Every year I could count on a call from the school to come and pick her up because sher was vomiting...all because the school was taking standarized tests! In high school, she had soo many bouts of stomach pain and severe headaches that GI's and MRI's were done with nothing found. When she learned to handle the stress, she got better.

If your Katie is an A type of personallity or sensitive, you might want to look into types of stress reduction, too. A school counselor might be able to help there.

Annie... it sounds good.

I do have to say one thing... I'd *never* give soy milk to a growing girl (or anyone else, to be honest). It's sky high in plant estrogens, and I just plain don't believe it's healthy for people. IF she does react to dairy, it's better to find something else for her to drink (and make sure she gets a calcium/vitamin D supplement) rather than drinking "fake milk".

You may want to start keeping a food diary, and noting symptoms and days when she has more trouble- that's about the only way to find out if it's psychosomatic (NOT "all in her head"- more like "stress causing physical symptoms") or actually a physical thing- an intolerance for some food groups.

My grown kids have essentially no food intolerances, but two of my sons can NOT handle food colors. One is extremely sensitive to Blue #2 (to the point where Marshmallows cause problems.. how much dye can be in those, anyway???!) and the other can't handle red dye. They cause bowel symptoms, but also cause them to be irritable and "antsy"... almost an ADHD type reaction. As long as they avoid their "triggers"... they are fine. It's bad enough that both their wives are careful about making sure they don't get their trigger foods! But I wonder how many people have similar issues and never figure out what's causing it?

You'll continue to be in my prayers..

Summerthyme

150 mg Magnesium a day. It also relaxes muscles and has a calming effect on the nervous system. The Chamomile tea is great. It contains calcium and is also calming. So you take care of constipation and nervous stomach at the same time.

Yep, I'm thinking it's the classic yet many times undiagnosed symptoms several of my friends have of Celiac Disease! Check out these symptoms... http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-symptoms

And the uppity Dr. ChimChim should realize that rice will stop you up too! Sheeesh, drs. like him make me crazy!

Go do a google search in your area for doctors who take care of celiac patients. It may well be most enlightening. V

There are a lot of foods that can be digested with enzymes, which are normally hard on the stomach/bowel.

The speed at which one eats also makes a difference.....gobbling food makes a person swallow without chewing and no enzymes are provided from saliva (which comes from chewing) to digest the food. Chew each mouthful 20 times is a good rule, but doesn't work with desserts Also eating fast makes you swallow air too.

Try adding a full spectrum enzyme and give the bowel a chance to do its work easily, rather than being overcome with undigested "fecal matter", especially meat and dairy (and corn is hard to work on too).

And of course lots of water - room temperature (no ice). Remember one meal in, one meal out.

Maybe nothing to do with Katie...

When I was in the 3rd grade I had a teacher that I despised. She didn't like me either. Personality conflict I guess. Anyway, the result was that I was sick for the entire school year.

Is it possible that Katie could have a similar issue?

Loon said:

My granddaughter is 3 and has the constipation problem. Her pediatrician put her on a half capful of Miralax a day mixed in with a glass of apple juice. Sometimes my DIL puts a big of prune juice in with it. Now she's regular. If you forget one day though she's back to where she was. Hopefully, in time the problem will resolve itself.

Click to expand...

Yep, we went through this also. Doc said do it for a month - we did. No problems since. It's clear and easy to get them to drink. Mine discovered she liked it in soda, but I would do a TRUE fruit juice - Knudson or something like that with NO sugar and added junk. I dunno about prunes. Bleh! Poor prunes, it's just the idea...

KerryAnn said:

Check into celiac disease, sounds like the symptoms. Make sure you understand that the blood test for celiac has a very high false negative rate- 50%. In other words, it's only to rule celiac in, NOT out. Most doctors, even gastros, have piss-poor knoweldge of celiac. Read, read, read and go in to advocate for her. Find your local celiac disease group and find out who their advisor is and see him or her so you know you have the best possible chance of accurate diagnosis.

I'm going to guess from your name that you're Irish heritige? Irish have the highest incidence of celiac in the world. Celiac is arguably the most common gastro disease in the world, and it's estimated that only 1-5% of people are diagnosed, and that doesn't even include those who are gluten intolerant but do not have celiac disease.

Finally, do consider other food intolerances as a possibility and the best way to test for that is an elimination diet or ALCAT testing, which a regular allergist does not offer.

I do have celiac and have dealt with multiple food intolerances and you're welcome to PM me anytime with questions.

Click to expand...

annie, I suffered from the time I was 13 with being "sick" all the time, especially after I ate. I was constantly sick. I was diagnosed after a colonoscopy at that age with IBS. Well, at age 47, in a severe flare, unlike any I'd ever had, I went to a new gastroenterologist and had upper and lower GI's done and INSISTED on being tested for celiac disease when lo and behold, I had it. All those years of suffering, not to mention the damage to my small intestine! They also found out I am allergic to casein, a protein found in milk (not lactose intolerance). Since being on a gluten free-casein-free diet, I feel better than I have since I was a kid. I still have occasional flares, usually from cross contamination or hidden gluten, but very rarely. Please get her tested, and DO NOT eliminate gluten from her diet before testing. And sometimes you have to demand this testing from the doctor. KerryAnn, I'm glad you got onto this thread. I've learned so much since diagnosis, I've become an advocate for testing and awareness.

1 in 132 people has celiac disease. It can cause so many other serious health problems in your lifetime, the earlier you catch it, the better. Please get her tested.

annieosage said:

Last February she had a severe urinary tract infection which she was actually in the ER for a day on an IV and given antibiotics and then sent home. Since then we all, even the nurse at school are constantly checking to make sure she is drinking plenty of water. We stopped the bubble baths.

Well forward to June of last year. Her stomach was hurting severe pains and nothing would help. We took her to ER (I am totally afraid of her appendix since I have a relative who died from thsirs bursting). The Dr. said well it sounds like her appendix so he hooked her up to an IV and sent her for a cat scan. Turns out appendix was fine. The Dr. said it seems like maybe she is constipated and went on a rant about how "Americans" (he was Asian not sure but thinking to myself aren't you American???) don't feed their kids properly etc. etc. It's all about meat and potatoes blah blah blah. Well maybe that is true but not in our case.

Anyway since then she has always had what we figure is a nervous stomach. She's missed SOOO much school this year. I try changing her diet, making sure she is pooping, making sure she is drinking lots of water, I mean we don't know what else to do. We've had her to the doctor and had her blood worked up- nothing.

But this is really affecting every aspect of our lives. Do you have any advice on what we can do naturally to help her? I know that gingerale seems to calm it a bit but last night she was so worked up she was screaming and crying and then said her heart even hurt. I thought heartburn so I gave her a Tums. I've heard peppermint can help ease your stomach. Do they sell this is a pill form or something I can put in her juice?

Any ideas we would be grateful for.

Thanks

Click to expand...

"ER for a day on an IV and given antibiotics and then sent home"


So she basically started having these problems after the UTI and antibiotics?

My first thought is you need to replace her good gut bacteria especially if it was a strong antibiotic..a probiotic supplement (not just yogurt) will do that. I know numerous people with IBS that use probiotics and it really helps. You may have a situation where the antibiotic stripped the intestine of all good bacteria and is perhaps inflamed...or maybe even candida going on..it's not picked up in blood test IIRC. When the good bacteria is destroyed in the intestine candida tends to proliferate, that's why women have a problem with yeast when on antibiotics..but it can grow in any moist area of the body (ears, joints, mouth etc.)

Probiotics also help with constipation ...or the other....great for nausea!..one of the BEST things I ever did for my family was to supplement with probiotics.

Read up on it...sure wouldn't hurt to try. They say you need a coated capsule that will survive the stomach acid..This is the one called "Pearl" (gluten free)...anybody who's had this terrible tummy bug should supplement for a couple of weeks too~

http://nutrition.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=nutrition&cdn=health&tm=9&gps=323_1138_1003_615&f=20&tt=12&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.trupearls.com/

Beneficial probiotics can help you get relief from occasional gas, loose stools, constipation, sensitive stomach and lactose intolerance.†

This may sound a little gross, but

have you checked for pinworms? Your timeline (June), depending on where you live, says it started last summer. If the pain is abdominal, including stomach, it could be something as simple as that. My bet is there isn't one in 500 Drs who might think of that. Had a bad case of pinworms when I was about 10. Went to Dr., pains every afternoon, bad enough I was crying. No medical answers. My wise old Grandmother told my Mom how to check for pinworms. Viola! She then sent Mom to the pharmacy and had them mix up some kind of sulfur and molasses for me to take. Pinworms were gone nearly overnight and so was the pain. Never ate from that unsprayed cherry tree again!.. All it takes is for a kid to eat one fruit that has the eggs in it, which you would never notice, and you can develop a case of pinworms.

Not saying the other suggestions here are not good -- they are. But try the simple stuff first... PM me if you want to know how to check for pinworms. Sorry if this was a little gross.

I agree with the following....

"ER for a day on an IV and given antibiotics and then sent home"


So she basically started having these problems after the UTI and antibiotics?

My first thought is you need to replace her good gut bacteria especially if it was a strong antibiotic..a probiotic supplement (not just yogurt) will do that. I know numerous people with IBS that use probiotics and it really helps. You may have a situation where the antibiotic stripped the intestine of all good bacteria and is perhaps inflamed...or maybe even candida going on..it's not picked up in blood test IIRC. When the good bacteria is destroyed in the intestine candida tends to proliferate, that's why women have a problem with yeast when on antibiotics..but it can grow in any moist area of the body (ears, joints, mouth etc.)

Probiotics also help with constipation ...or the other....great for nausea!..one of the BEST things I ever did for my family was to supplement with probiotics.

Read up on it...sure wouldn't hurt to try. They say you need a coated capsule that will survive the stomach acid..This is the one called "Pearl"...anybody who's had this terrible tummy bug should supplement for a couple of weeks too~

http://nutrition.about.com/gi/o.htm?...trupearls.com/

Click to expand...

I had Irritable Bowel Symtoms from my earliest memories and continued into my adult life until I was able to get rid of it....probiotics and avoiding foods that I had food sensitivities and allergies to but wasn't aware of it until I was tested for them. I think I traced the start of when my bowel problems may have begun, I had been in a bad car accident when I was about three that caused a serious kidney infection to develop from the trauma. I had to go on antibiotics to treat it. When your good bacteria is removed, other things like yeast have a chance for overgrowth and that cycle, untreated, can really mess up your whole digestive tract. For me, it was a cycle that wasn't broken for about 20 years. It's amazing what building up your gut flora and eliminating trouble foods can do for you. Since her stomach problems flared after taking antibiotics, it's worth looking into. It is good that you have a doctor who is willing to listen to you.

Assuming there is nothing medically wrong....get a good (I mean GOOD) probiotic and some good oregamax pills.

summerthyme said:

I do have to say one thing... I'd *never* give soy milk to a growing girl (or anyone else, to be honest). ..

Click to expand...

Wow! I was going to say the same thing. I have a nurse-midwife acquaintance who only allowed her children to have soy based things and they were the sickest kids I've ever met. Soy is FAKE food. I've always said this and it takes too much genetic modification to make it edible.

There has to be a better way than soy. I'd research this some more.

MM

Please read the book 'The Whole Soy Story' before you consider giving soy milk. It has very strong effects on the hormonal systems of children because the phytoestrogens act as estrogens in the body and is thought to be one of the main causes of estorgen dominance/PCOS in females- a condition characterized by infertility, severe mensutral problems, diabeties and blood sugar issues, heart disease and other health problems.

Think about it- there's a reason why most all of the supplements aimed at menopausal women to relieve their hormonal symptoms is soy.

For the probiotics- home brewed kefir has more probiotics in 1/8 tsp than one whole probiotic pill. It's much easier to get down, tastes really good made into a smoothie it's like a milkshake, and is loads cheaper than the pills, too. You just have to buy the milk to make it.

If you're avoiding dairy, you can get water kefir. It's carbonated (naturally) by the probiotic bacteria releasing CO2 and has as much probiotic as the dairy kefir. I make a carbonated lemon soda that the kids absolutely adore made out of just water, lemon juice and a little healthy sugar (that the probiotics consume to reproduce, so the final product is low-sugar) and it's loaded with probiotics. I also do gingerale, cream soda, lime-aid and all sorts of fizzy fruit-flavored drinks. Kefir that carbonates itself is what gave inventors the idea for the original carbonated beverages, but kefir has no phosphoric acid, HFCS or other nasties.

Homemade kefirs have the added benefit of having beneficial transient yeasts. These are the good yeasts like Sacromayeces boulardii that out-compete the types of yeast that cause candida, but they don't stay in the gut, they do their work and then leave. You can pay $30 for a 30 day supply of the boulardii capsules at the health food store, or you can make water kefir at home for pennies a day.

For each type of kefir, I spend about 5 minutes every other day to make them. My kids love it so much I can't keep enough made.

KerryAnn, please, please

could you share your recipes! I would love to start making them!

Try this experiment:

Take her off all wheat products for a week.

It will not hurt her and it may very well be the problem.

My brother woke the family up one night thinking he was dying- horrible pains- bleeding from almost every orifice. Doctors said he was "fine." My mother took him off wheat and he was fine in 3 days.

ditto...sounds like what a friends child went through.

Sligo said:

annie, I suffered from the time I was 13 with being "sick" all the time, especially after I ate. I was constantly sick. I was diagnosed after a colonoscopy at that age with IBS. Well, at age 47, in a severe flare, unlike any I'd ever had, I went to a new gastroenterologist and had upper and lower GI's done and INSISTED on being tested for celiac disease when lo and behold, I had it. All those years of suffering, not to mention the damage to my small intestine! They also found out I am allergic to casein, a protein found in milk (not lactose intolerance). Since being on a gluten free-casein-free diet, I feel better than I have since I was a kid. I still have occasional flares, usually from cross contamination or hidden gluten, but very rarely. Please get her tested, and DO NOT eliminate gluten from her diet before testing. And sometimes you have to demand this testing from the doctor. KerryAnn, I'm glad you got onto this thread. I've learned so much since diagnosis, I've become an advocate for testing and awareness.

1 in 132 people has celiac disease. It can cause so many other serious health problems in your lifetime, the earlier you catch it, the better. Please get her tested.

Click to expand...

ditto sounds very similar to what a friends child had...

Hi

Annie:
I have had tummy troubles all my life. I just thought everyone had them. As I got older and the pain increased I finally found a doctor who has some ideas. He is an older guy and he makes a lot of sense.
He told me, I think you have a problem with the muscles of the large intestine. When you get stressed or eat wrong, they clamp down and you get blocked, but not really from constipation...from a structural malfunction.
I asked why they don't show up on tests. He just laughed and said...the medicine they give you for your tests CAUSE those muscles to relax. So, this will not ever show up on your tests. He gave me a type of pain medicine for my stomach. I took it for two days and I FEEL GREAT. I am still going through and adjusting my diet and stress levels, but this has made a HUGE difference.
Is she an anxious person? Her anxiety may be hitting her in the stomach.
JMO.
Susie

Test for IBS.

fruit loop said:

Test for IBS.

Click to expand...

I have come to believe that doctors use the term IBS too liberally. They used it on me for over 30 years. I believe out of laziness. They sent me to psychiatrists because they said I was stressed out, they gave me medication for nausea and "flux", they did everything EXCEPT further testing. I consider the diagnosis of IBS to mean I BEEN STUMPED. When I finally put my foot down and said NO, this is NOT IBS, look further, and they did, they did indeed find Celiac Disease, which, if left untreated can lead to lymphoma of the small intestine, diabetes, bipolar disorder, malnutrition and malabsortion, infertility, and many, many SERIOUS health conditions in your later life. Celiac Disease affects 1 in 132 people. That is extremely common, and here in America it is the most widely UNDER DIAGNOSED conditions. It is easily treated with a change of diet, and, if caught early, the damage to the small intestine can be healed. Don't settle or be patronized by a lazy doctor. No one hurts constantly for no reason. I should not have been sick for 30 YEARS, without a doctor wondering why. I had to fight tooth and nail to get help. I finally got the diagnosis when I thought I had colon cancer or something that was literally killing me. No one should have to deal with that. A 12 year old girl should get a diagnosis now, not at middle age.

Yes, IBS does exist, but I don't think it is nearly as common as food intolerance or allergy. And, like me, it can co-exist with Celiac, making life all that much more difficult. Better to find out then live years in misery.

willdo said:

could you share your recipes! I would love to start making them!

Click to expand...

Willdo, here's the instructions for making milk kefir- http://www.culturesforhealth.com/docs/Milk_Kefir _dried_ Instructions.pdf and for water kefir- http://www.culturesforhealth.com/docs/Water_Kefir_Instructions.pdf

I follow her information, but do know that you can use white sugar instead of the other sugars, the grains just won't reproduce as fast because it's the minerals that make them reproduce.

I've had similar problems....I started taking mastic gum capsules a few months ago and the problems I've had for years with my stomach have become almost normal. It has been used for centuries for all kinds of stomach problems and is a really wonderful natural remedy. It will actually heal ulcers and many other stomach maladies. Also will kill H-Pilori (sp) which has become a very common deadly ailment. Works great for candida. Do some research on it and you will be amazed. Go to curezone and see the testimonies on this wonderful natural remedy which is from the bark of a tree.

Thank you all so much. This has been a very interesting thread and I have learned a lot. Katie woke up with a stomach ache again today but we made her go to school. If the changes the doctor suggested do not work we will keep looking until we find out. I will ask him about celiac disease. He even said that to us so I feel like he is at least listening. I did get some Soy Milk but am second guessing that since I read a little more about soy. I know I cannot take anything soy because of my thyroid condition.

It's funny because he asked us if she is smart and yes she is- almost scary smart for her age. So we have to be careful because she could try to pull one over on us. I've casually asked her if everything is OK at school and she always says yes but has told me on occasion when something bad happened. But as someone else said here she is definitely a Type A personality so she does put a lot of pressure on everything being "right".

One day at a time but I'm not going to just let her suffer and do nothing. Prayers are always appreciated. All us parents need prayers these days. There are so many things to contend with. I just remember life being so much simpler when I was growing up....