Chronic Abdomal Pain

Has he been fully tested for food allergies? My son's girlfriend (bless her heart) has several food allergies that cause her severe distress and pain. It sucks but at least as long she knows what she can/cannot eat she feels good.

A few questions to think about, from a mom of another young adult with chronic pain of all kinds:

1. Have you kept a food journal? That means, using a page of a notebook (I mean, a paper one), per day. Each day, write what he eats. Be very specific. Don't write "snack". Write "2 pieces of string cheese, 1 green apple". Don't write "drink", write "1 large glass of 2% milk", for example. That's on half the page. On the other page, write how he's feeling. "Cramps", "nausea", "bloated abdomen" etc. Roughly note the times of the pain.

2. Is he constipated? Does he experience diarrhea?

3. Have you tried eliminating certain foods, like dairy, or gluten? This has to be done really carefully, knowing all the words that dairy can be called on an ingredient list, and only one food group at a time should be eliminated, and the elimination trial needs to last about 6 weeks.

4. How did you know that last year it was not IBS or reflux or lactose intolerance but something else instead (his gall bladder)?

5. Does he eat or drink ANYTHING with artificial sweetners (Sucralose, Aspartame, sorbitol, mannitol, erythritol, Equal, Nutrasweet, etc)? Does he chew diet or sugar free gum, or drink diet sodas or fruit drinks? My daughter is extremely intolerant of artificial sweeteners and gets abdominal pains and constipation and intestinal spasms if she eats any of them. Do you cook with them or does he eat packaged processed foods that contain them? If the answer to any of them is yes, stop immediately. Only use raw local honey or pure maple syrup for sweeteners and only drink pure water and juices like 100% white grape juice or orange juice if necessary.

6. When you say pain, do you mean cramps, tenderness in one area, a general feeling like when you've had too big of a meal? Ask him to be specific.

7. When you say "the stomach flu", do you mean actual Influenza (verified by blood test) or do you mean he had nausea, a fever, etc?

8. Does he take any supplements, protein powders, energy drinks, vitamins?

9. Is this preventing him from doing activities, sports, etc? Has he lost or gained weight? Is his abdomen distended? Is it better at certain times and worse at others?

10. Was someone consulted about the gall bladder? Was there any reason why it was so damaged? Did you follow up with that surgeon?

In addition to MRIs, CT scans, endoscopies, biopsies, xrays, my daughter has had a Gastric Mucosa test (like a moving MRI where she drinks something and they do the MRI while she's swallowing), a rectal manometry (where a balloon is inserted and filled with measured liquid), a camera endoscopy (she swallowed a tiny camera in a pill) and a 24 hour reflux test. She's had a gastric emptying test too. Her problems are nausea and vomiting, abdominal distention and pain, constipation.

I hope he can get some help.

Welcome to mamapedia.

I'm having a hard time following your one long sentence...

So the doctor said it was appendicitis and sent you home?
His gall bladder is full of polyps? And HOW did they want to treat it?
Why are you against him having Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and/or being Lactose intolerant??

Have you been tested for Munchausen By Proxy?

Is your child on any medication? If so - which ones? Do ALL The doctors who have treated him KNOW medication he is on?

What is your son's diet like? Does he eat healthy or a lot of greasy junk food??

So many unanswered questions.

I have GI issues. They run on my Dad's side. I had abdominal pain that was so severe I had gone to the hospital. Spasms and cramps. At first they said I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Although that's a real condition, sometimes I think they often say that if they have no clue.

No one worked with me, so I kept a food journal, and figured out what made it worse. I had to do this for months. The doctors won't do this. They basically run tests and scans and just tell you what you don't have. I find a lot of times, it's up to the food logs and keeping track yourself to figure out if you have allergies, etc.

I'm guessing they tested for celiac disease, etc? I had those tests.

I was getting spasms and constipation. Constipation can cause pain and pressure, but it was the spams that were terrible. So I eliminated caffeine, soda, chocolate and I am lactose intolerant.

So that's what I would do if you haven't already. Log it. See a registered dietitian. I have one in my family. They can do the log with you and are far better at figuring out what foods could be culprits - or even combinations of foods.

Good luck and keep us posted

As for pain meds - some anti-spasms medications worked for me when my pain was bad.

Has he had a full panel of allergy tests? Gluten, lactose, corn, soy, citrus, etc?

Just making an observation. Most pediatricians will tell you that once your child is a teen they can really see an adult doc. They don't need a pediatrician anymore. Take him to an adult doc.

In this instance he needs to see a specialist but in the area of the body he's having trouble, not like a pediatrician.

I have IBS-D so I know what pain is. I can take a bite of food and half an hour later I can be on my knees in pain that feels like someone has stuck their hand up there and is tearing me apart inside. It's painful! Then I'll have to run to the bathroom because I am going to explode out my rear. If I take a drink of anything, even water, before I have at least one full meal in my then I can guarantee I will spend at least 30-45 minutes on the toilet with explosive diarrhea.

My husband had no compassion for me until he had a bout of Diverticulitis. That taught him what pain was and how awful it could be. He completely understands now. He also never says a word when we travel and I say "I have to go to the bathroom right now". He simply finds an exit but looks to make sure there's a bathroom there first. If I can't wait? We carry rolls of toilet paper in the trunk.

One other thing. Could your child have something else related to that area? Like Crohn's Disease? Diverticulitis? IBS-C? Ulcerative Colitis?

My BFF has ulcerative colitis. They did the test where they look inside via the anus with a scope. The doc told her that not one test showed anything but when he looked inside he found she looked like raw hamburger meat inside. She was so raw and irritated.

There are so many things that only the symptoms determine, tests don't show any results. Like me, my symptoms of IBS-D can't be seen on an X-ray or determined by any real tests. I tell the doc what the symptoms are, how long they've been going on, what seems to cause them, how my body reacts to anything then they doc says "it's IBS-D".

For a long time they didn't use swallow tests on every little baby/kid to determine it was reflux. They would just treat it and not put the kiddo through that test. Now they do it more often because they've found that it's the parent overfeeding the baby that's causing the issue. They don't want to over medicate kids so they do a small version of the swallow test to see what happens then the kiddo drinks. If their swallow shows reflux then they can diagnose that. Treat the issue with a medication and teach the parent to give the kiddo multiple small meals instead of a few bigger meals.

I think going to an adult doc that works specifically on that area is important. He needs to have a scope, I know....it's humiliating and hurts and it's about the worse thing we can go through, but he needs complete evals that take into account every single thing he's gone through.

When I was in college I didn't have IBS-D yet but I would have extreme stomach pain where I would curl up on the floor with my arms around my middle and I'd cry and nearly scream in pain. I had tiny ulcers. They gave me Tagamet and Levsion. Miracle drugs!!!

Levsin stopped the pain due to it relaxing the stomach.

When I had stomach pain, in the stomach not intestine area, they give me Reglan. It relaxes the stomach so it can empty. This is also what they gave my grandson. He would projectile puke nearly every time he had a bottle. I fed him small amounts frequently so I know that overfeeding him wasn't the issue. We gave him a syringe of the orange flavored medication about 10 minutes before eating. He could drink formula normally and he wouldn't be in pain or puke, still giving him smaller amounts and more feedings though.

Sometimes there is just something going on that only symptoms lead a doc to a diagnosis. This is why they're all saying something different. His symptoms can be anything. They need more conclusive tests and then they are going to treat this or that. If it works then that's what it was. Sad but true. When dealing with soft tissue issues they can't always see a problem and fix the problem.

I hope they figure it out soon. This is certainly not a way for a 17 yo to live.😥

I agree with AV...go to a children's hospital. Best of luck!

Have you gone to a Children's Hospital? He's almost an adult, but we had a friend whose son was 16 or 17 and his fracture wasn't properly treated at the nearby hospital so they wen to Children's. I would ask for an appointment there. You can also consider starting with a new pediatrician for a second opinion and referrals.

ETA: have you asked about autoimmune diseases, and food allergies? Ulcers? Friend had several trips to the ER before they diagnosed her with an ulcer.

Has anyone mentioned abdominal migraines? The pain is in the gut, not the head. It often presents like stomach illness.

This a two page article:
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/abdominal-migrai...

4 months of this is insane. As a child, we spent ALOT of time in hospitals trying to figure out my Mom's illnesses. I have little patience waiting on doctors to figure things out. If he were mine, I would take him to the Mayo clinic. I'd come armed with a binder of all the test results and doctors notes. There is an answer and they can find it.

I suggest that all the attention you are giving this may be making the pain worse. When we focus so intensely on symptoms our mind enlarges them. Your son has been examined by many doctors and specialists. They have told you he is not in danger. What you describe indicates that the source of the pain is unknown and is not life threatening. So try pain management.

I strongly suggest that you stop focusing on finding a cause and help your son learn to manage it. I have had chronic abdominal pain over many years. I have IBS, gastrointestinal reflux, digestive issues, lactose intolerance and food allergies. There are no definitive tests for any of these. Changing my diet has helped. Treatment for depression and anxiety has helped. A hysterectomy help. My doctor and I dealt with pain as each cause became more apparent with the passage of time. The pain started 40 years ago, was gone in 20, and I'm alive at 73.

I question how you know that your son does not have the conditions suggested by doctors do not exist. Have you followed recommendations for dealing with these issues and they haven't helped? Have you done so over months, tweaking them as you went along? My experience tells me that learning how to deal with pain can be a life long process. You're wanting an answer now. Not realistic.

Often, by focusing on worst case scenerios, we create stress that increases pain. I suggest that you explore the mental health component of pain.

I suggest that one bad experience does not mean that there will be another bad experience.

any chance he has a prescription medicine that he took around that time, like acne medicine.... I once read a story of similar thing happening to the same age boy and it turned out he hadn't kept upright after taking his acne meds and it caused the issue, so then they knew what was really wrong and how to fix it, he only took the meds like a week then he forgot he had even taken them

i would do an elimination diet till you find the cause. when i was newly wed to my hubby he had stomach pains all the time so we only ate basic foods. (plain chicken with potatoes and plain green beans. or plain burgers on a bun with fries and carrots. no seasonings, nothing processed.) once his stomach no longer hurt we added one new thing every 3 days. if his stomach hurt after a food we wrote it down. after several months we discovered that he could be pain free if he avoided anything with onion, peppers, 'cream of' and several other things. we also discovered that he can have organic tomatoes without issue but if its not organic he will have a problem. same thing with grapes (and jelly, i now make my own from organically grown grapes from his dads yard) it may take a while to figure out what specific foods are the culprits but once you do and he stope eating them then he can be pain free.
there are hidden problems too, some can't handle soy or glutin, so make sure you eliminate that too and reintroduce it back slowly so you know what he can eat without pain.

my dh is also not allowed to have many otc (and script) drugs, as that will cause pain.so be sure to eliminate those too

I'm not against him having ibs or the other stuff he doesn't have all the symptoms of that stuff he has no irregular bowel movements his diet isn't perfect he's a meat and potatoes kid he drinks lots of water with a occasional glass of tea or Pepsi he doesnt eat alit of sweets as far as the gall bladder as a mom you know when you look at you kid see them curled up crying in pain that there is something wrong take for instance your kids pulling at they're ears you go to doc they say oh it's water on the ear but you know that's not right they just haven't started runnin the fever yet so what do you do wait or push well that's what happened with the gall bladder the answer they were giving me just didn't fit his gall bladder was takin out a year ago and for the 10 months after his surgery he was doing great until that one morning as far as meds he takes vitam d and a Zyrtec daily that is it as far as test the only thing that hasn't been done is a Mri

Updated

I have had him fallow everything the docs have said 5 different prescription and all over the counter stuff for lactose intolerance and even fiber mix I don't fixate on the problem in front of him and we work on breathing techniques and mind distraction when the pain does elevate I try keepin him involved with friends and family to keep his spirts up I no not everything can be fixed I'm slowly loosening my eye sight and am in extrem pain daily they have not been able to find the reason I can deal with pain but as my youngest kid it breaks my heart to see him go through this I don't believe he should have to settle with just learning how to manage pain he is to young