concerned about 3 year old son

[jusshell]

My 3 year old is usually very enegetic and maybe takes a nap and might sleep for an hr hr and 1/2 tops. He used to go to bed around 8pm and get up at 7am. For about the last 3 weeks, he has been unusually tired, among other things. He will get up abput 7 am, grab his blanket and fall asleep anywhere between 10am and 1pm without me telling him to go to bed. Then he will climb back up on the couch and fall back asleep between 5 and 6pm and sleep until morning!!! With that, he has had 2 episodes of unexplained vomiting. One morning he got up and threw up and was fine the rest of the day. About 1 1/2 weeks later, he got up throwing up and laid on the couch, other than running to the bathroom, until about 11am at which time he got extremely hyper and acted the rest of the day like he was never sick!!! He complains of being cold a lot and that things are loud. He will turn the tv down to where we can barely hear it. There have been occasion where he has been really sweaty at night, soaking himself and he has been itching his leg and right side of his back a lot. I took him to the dr's yesterday and she ordered blood (CBC w/differential) and urine (to check for UTI). I am assuming everything was ok because it has been about 15 hrs and I haven't heard anything. I am really worried about him and am not sure if I am over reacting or not. Some days he acts absolutely normal and others he spends most of the day ion front of the tv and laying on the bed or couch. This is totally not like him at all. He has had hardly any involvement with his sisters and wants to be carried everywhere. I have gotten to where I have to take a stroller because he is too heavy and he refuses to walk any distance! He will be running one minute and acting fine and, literally, 5 mins later passed out on the couch. Any comments/help would be so appreciated as I don't know what to do. Thank you so much.

[jusshell]

I was thinking about what you wrote and the one time I took my son to the doctors, the doctor asked if his stomach is usually so "bloated" looking! I never knew why it could be that. Maybe with everything else, that is what's wrong. The only thing is, he is 3 1/2 and weighs about 35 lbs, so he isn't small or anything. Would he have to be? From what I read, too, celiac disease is inherited. So does that mean other people in your family have it too? My e-mail address is ***@****. I would love to be able to talk about this more and thank you so much.

[mamaschwab]

Hi there again, I really feel like you and I should be in contact with eachother about this.  I feel so bad that you and your son have been going through this for so long!
Please post again if you think the same and we can try and figure out how to contact eachother!

Boy I hope it is Celiac just so that you will finally have an answer to everything and that you might finally start to fix some of your sons health issues!

Take care.

[mamaschwab]

Hi, so glad you saw my posting, from everything my childs pediatrician has told me and has given me to read, sores in the mouth are a symptom of this too!

Our daughter is only 14 months old so, the poop we didn't notice, it was her big 'budda' belly and skinny arms and legs that led our doctor to consider Celiac Disease.

It does come and go because the symptoms are based on what the person eats.

I have started a journal and writing down what I feed her for every meal and everyday and how her body responds to it.
I would suggest that for you too.  
Then, you will get a better idea if it food related or not.
My daughters pedictrician told us to start with the journal, see if we are noticing anything in her behavior and other symptoms.  Then, if we notice things related to gluten we should bring her in for a simple blood test and they can go from there.

Good luck and let me know if I can help with anything else.
Please let me know how this works for you and what your doctor thinks!

[jusshell]

I don't know that I've ever heard of Celiac disease before, but when I read your post I looked it up on the internet. So the main cause for you taking your child to the doctor was floating, greasy stools? I am very interested in your experience because from what I have read, it sounds possible for my son. It just seems like it comes and goes sometimes. Sometimes I have things to worry about and other times it just seems like I am watching him waiting for something. The other day he had sores in his mouth. They are gone now. But he has been very cranky and irritable. Other than that, he has seemed fine the past week. Did your child have diarrhea or acid reflux (I read in one of the sights that can be a symptom in children) or what other reasons were you concerned about with? I appreciate any help. Maybe I can take him to the doctor and ask specifically about it and see if they will test him. Thank you.

[mamaschwab]

I just read this and most of the symptoms you are describing with your son sound like Celiac Disease....a gluten problem

The only reason I know is because we were just at the doctor with my 14 month old yesterday for the same thing and from everything I have been told and read, it comes out between 6 months and 3years in children.

Although there is no cure, it is very easy to fix.  No glutens in anything your son eats.  No breads, rice, wheat, barley, etc...good news is, it is getting easier to find gluten-free bakeries and food items.

Also, everything I have read says that it is often a misdiagnosed disease as Irritable bowel, anemia, etc.

There is a simple blood test they can take but, they have to know what they are looking for to find it.
The symptom that got me the most is the oily, floating poops, that is one of the biggest symptoms!!!
Along with fitigue, vomiting, and such.

Good luck with this and keep in touch!  Try going on the maternal/child page of this site, they talk about babies and toddler issues all the time and I am sure there are other moms out there that have gone through this too!

[jusshell]

I have kind of thought about it. But he seems kind of better for now. I have been reading up on the acaid reflux since he had it so bad when he was an infant. He got spiration pneumonia and had lots of breathing problems. But it seems that it may be what's wrong. The one dr told me we may have to consider it, but the otgher dr told me it couldn't be because babies outgrow that. I haven't been able to get him in with the first dr, but I am thinking if I call and make a follow up appt that would be something they wouldn't have to get him in right away and I could request a dr. So we'll see.

[yoshi]

Stomach problem is common in Japan,in fact i picked up a bottle of their Mylanta when i was in Asia.
I followed their instructions on frequency and the next day,i found the veins in my throat seem to have compressed in(for lack of better words).
I came back to the states and showed the bottle to my gastro doc and he just said this is just like Mylanta.
Well,Mylanta does not give me this kind of problem.
Anyway,may be you should consider seeing a japanese doctor who treats japanese children and ask what these symptoms mean.

[jusshell]

Hello there,
Our computer had to be sent back to the states to be fixed and we haven't had it for over a month now. I Had taken him into the dr after my last post and the dr told me he thought he had mono but wasn't going to test him because he had been sick a while. After that, he seemed to get better for a while. Stopped taking naps again and was eating a little better. Then he threw up a gtime or 2 more and started running a temp of 103 and I took him back and they did a stomach x-ray that found no obstruction or anything obvious. He hasn't thrown up again, but his eating is VERY picky and he's back to clombing on the couch and falling asleep. In fact, he fell asleep last night in the chair at 5pm and is still sleeping and it is 7am!!! He is 3 years old! I am leaning more to the acid reflux that the first dr had said that it may be coming back, but every time I call to make an appt, I can't get him in with her. I can't take him anywhere else because we are military, and not just that, we are stationed in Japan right now. The dr's office was closed for Christmas and New Years and maybe now that things should be calming down I can get him in with the dr who seemed to know what she was doing!! I thank you all for your concern. I will let you know if I find anything out.

[yoshi]

me too.
may be she has been busy taking care of her son and now he is well,she has forgotten about this post.

[NightAngel]

I just read this thread and am very concerned about your son. No one has posted since November 10th. If you read this, please let us know how he is doing.

[ozark]

just wondering how your 3 yr old made out..........

[planetmars]

I don't know if anyone else mentioned this or not yet, but instead of taking him to his normal pediatrition...maybe you should take him to a gastro doc,  especially if you keep being told nothing is wrong.  It's apparent something is, and you are not bieng paranoid...take whatever lenghts you have to to find out what this could be.  Good Luck

[jusshell]

I am going to make him an appt as soon as they open. We haven't really been eating out at all. His sisters are very good at asking before taking/ giving anything, asa he is good at asking first too. Really all he's been eating is cereal and pop tarts. He hasn't has much of an appetite and last night told me he was too tired to eat dinner (like he has been) and laid up on the couch and fell asleep like he has been! If cf means cystic fibrosis, he was tested for that when he was 5 mths old. He had gotten to breathing so bad and the dr's didn't know what was wrong, so as part of the specialist who saw him, he had him tested just in case. It came back negative. I don't know how they test for the sepia, but the dr had done blood work a week and a half ago. She ordered a cbc anyway and urine, which both came back fine. But I am going to make an appt and see. I do appreciate all your help very much!!! Thank you.

[yoshi]

It could be a bacterial/viral infection-does this little guy get to eat and drink without your supervision?/have you two been eating out in resturant?/ does his sister get to give him something to eat or drink??did he wash his hands before he eat??
backtrack and see what has happened?/
doc mentioned possible  sepia (bacteria spilled into blood stream),if so,this is serious illness,take him to the doctor soon.

[ozark]

it does sound like he has some kind of fat/malabsorption problem....he's probably having cramps....i would take him to his pediatrician and tell him about this....its very important...he may need to be checked for cf or something else.....good luck

[jusshell]

I have been watching him this weekend. He still has his cold and has been very cranky and still very tired. The dr had checked his ears and said they looked fine, but he has always constantly said they hurt. With this cold, I am wondering if they may be infected again. The dr did check his abdonim too and it looks ok to me. His face doesn't swell, but he looks real pale and I may be paranoid, but sometimes he looks a little yellow near the bridge of his nose. He does fart, not unusually lot or little. His appetite has been ok but he isn't eating as much as usual. I have checked his bowels and do have a question about it. I have noticed his stools float on the water and the water will look greasy like after he goes.. is this bad? I have heard it can be, but know nothing about it. I figured I would just watch him and see a week or 2 to make sure it's not just me. The dr just said that maybe the reflux was coming back, he hasn't been tested again or put on medicine again at all. I know when he was a baby though, he wouldn't sleep at all and was so miserable!! I heard that the reflux usually bothers you more when you lay down and he has been extra tired lately! I did follow my instincts when he was little and they told me nothing was wrong with him. He ended up getting aspiration pneumonia from the reflux before the dr agreed something was wrong! SO I am concerned something is going on, I guess I should just take him to the dr's again! Thank you all for your comments though. I appreciate it. It will help me if the dr's don't want to do anything for him!

[yoshi]

yes,that greasy stool is telling you something.you may want to read the gastroenterology forum ,there are plenty of adults discussing their stool there.
The reason why lying down is bad for people with acid reflux problem is that it is easier for the gas in the stomach to push thru the LES and rise up the esophagus.
thats why acid reflux problem is worse at nite when a person sleeps.
Your kid has given you plenty of signs he is not well.

[Christie2004]

Observe him for a while longer if you are comfortable, and consider keeping a journal of his symptoms, what he eats that day, sleep and elimination patterns, etc.

Bottom line, though-as a parent, let your intuition guide you.  If you feel there is something wrong, take him back again.  Seek a different opinion if need be.

Many years ago, my son was about 5 years old and had recurring fevers.  He would run 102 one day, and I would make an appt. for the next day and it would be gone by the time he went to the doctor.  No other symptoms, just fevers.  This went on for about a month, and I think the doctor thought I was nuts as he never showed any fever, any problems with his blood or urine, etc.  Then I went to the ER with him after an entire weekend with him spiking temps of 103.  They did a simple chest xray and he had an unusual, right upper lobe pneumonia.

So follow your gut instincts.  Keep records of what he is doing and eating and acting like. Persist if he doesn't improve. Good luck to you.

[yoshi]

did you check out his ears??
i am wondering with acid reflux,the stomach produces a lot of gas and if that stays in the body,how would it affect a person 's well being,esp if this is a child versus an adult??
Is his stomach/abdomin bloated/extended?
does his face swell?
does he fart ?
how is his appetite??
does he have a problem digesting food and did you check his bowel movement??

[jusshell]

No, just had the blood and urine so far. The dr just told me to monitor him and see what he does I guess. Now he's sick againt his morning with a cough and cold I guess. I don't know wheather to take him back or just see how he does. He gets so cranky before he goes to bed and then just climbs on the couch and falls asleep. Maybe I am just worrying too much and this is just a phase he's going through! But now he's been sick with colds 3 times since his 3rd birthday Sept 17th! And has thrown up on 2 other seperate occasions!

[ozark]

has he had any xrays of his abdomen to rule out any intestinal problems?

[jusshell]

Blood and urine came back "within normal range". He did have an acid reflux as an infant and the dr said maybe it's coming back. But I can't see how he would be sleeping so much if that was the case. When he was a baby he didn't sleep at all until they put him on prilosec. And I have talked with people who have acid reflux and they say they don't sleep at all when it's acting up, laying down makes it hurt worse.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I certainly would wait for the CBC and urine test that was obtained.  Any type of infection, including viral infection, can certainly cause the symptoms.  You may also want to consider blood cultures to ensure the child isn't septic (i.e. bacteria in the blood) - which can certainly cause the symptoms.  

If infection has been ruled out, you may want to consider looking for other causes of fatigue - including tests for the thyroid, liver and kidney.  Diseases in each of these organs can lead to fatigue.

You may want to discuss these options with the pediatrician.  

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
Medical Weblog:
kevinmd_b