3 year old throws up and diarrhea's for the past 12 nights in a row

My 3 year old little girl has been throwing up every night at the same time for the last 12 nights. She also has really bad watery diarrhea continuously.
The odd thing is that this is happening every night or early morning at around 2:00 am. She is in so much pain when this happens, but it only lasts for about 30 minutes each night then she goes back to sleep. Every day following her throwing up she acts like nothing is wrong and she is still feeling like her normal old hyper self during the day.

I took her to the physician and he said that she didn't have a fever and she sounded good. He said that he thinks it could be a case of a very long stomach virus, but I am not convinced. Something has to be causing this to happen every night. I told him that I would like my child to be referred to the GI Ped Physician to get this taken care of all at once, but he is adamant on doing a few more tests to see what it could be. He sent us to have an abdominal ultrasound this morning, which came up negative.  I spoke with the physician that did the ultrasound and she recommended that I see a GI Specialist ASAP.  She said that she saw an awful lot of diarrhea in her pictures.  She even told me about 2 really good GI's in the area that I can tell the physician to refer her to.  
We had a follow up today to this ultra sound that took place this morning. Took her back into the doctor this afternoon to hear we don't know what this is and we are going to give her medicine to see if this helps.  I have asked 3 times to be referred to a GI Specialist and he keeps on saying that he wants to try something else.  
This is my 3 year old daughter that is throwing up every night and has diarrhea nonstop.  I cannot keep waiting another night to try something else and see if it works.  
This morning it scared me because her vomit was a very dark looking color and she is begging to go to the doctor.

I need some suggestions on what to do here.  Should I call the GI doc without a referral? Does anyone have any suggestions on what in the world maybe going on?  I am so lost on this one because she is fine during the day, but it never fails that during the night she throws up along with diarrhea.

Thank you for listening.

[margypops]

It sounds like it food connected ...possibly an allergic reaction , does she drink milk in the evenings , what is the last food she eats and at what time ?

[AnnieBrooke]

Here is a description of intussuseption:

Early symptoms can include nausea, vomiting (sometimes bile stained (green color)), pulling legs to the chest area, and intermittent moderate to severe cramping abdominal pain. Pain is intermittent not because the intussusception temporarily resolves, but because the intussuscepted bowel segment transiently stops contracting. Later signs include rectal bleeding, often with "red currant jelly" stool (stool mixed with blood and mucus), and lethargy. Physical examination may reveal a "sausage-shaped" mass felt upon palpation of the abdomen.

[AnnieBrooke]

Sorry, I accidentally clicked before finishing.  At the VERY LEAST I would ask the doctor if he is concerned about intussusception.  I knew a little girl who had it and it took the darn doctors forever to identify it correctly, they kept telling her parents that she was probably allergic to milk, all the while the bowel loop was getting necrotic.  If your regular pediatrician won't refer you, by all means get in to see a GI doc without a referral, and explain it's an emergency and you suspect intussusception.  (Even if you're wrong, at least you will get seen.)  If they say you can't come without a recommendation from your regular pedi, get a new pedi rather than wait and wait.

[specialmom]

Well, this may have been ruled out but my son at 2 had symptoms very similar to this and actually had a parasite.  They do a test on a stool sample.  Have they done this yet?  

[tes645]

I think most ppl tend to assume it would be a reaction to milk or something, They can do blood test to rule this out, and have they done a stool sample to check for bugs??
Its so tough when you need a diagnoses but are being used as trail an error at the expense of your child,
I always think a mothers instinct is best, if you feel she needs further tests and other opinions, you push for them, our little ones only have us in their corner. best of luck x

[lovemyboys3]

I know how you feel about trying to get the doctor to listen to you, I went through it for months. But your daughter's symptoms sound very similar to what my son had experienced before new symptoms started. My son had gotten a fever with diarrhea and bad stomach pains for 4 night in a row, This was last summer. We thought it was a stomach bug and when the symptoms ended, we thought he was ok. A few months after that he started getting hives and mouth sores. Everyone told us it was allergies/intolerance to something he was eating. It took us 8 months to find a pediatric gi specialist who took the time to hear our concerns and have his stool tested for parasites and infections. We recently found out he has a c.difficile infection. The research I have found on this type of bacteria states it mostly affects the elderly or ppl in hospital/nursing home facilities so how my child got it is beyond me. BUT I strongly suggest taking her to a gi specialist and stop wasting time with her regular physician. If I had followed my gut and stopped listening to my son's pediatrician, we would have had this problem solved months ago.

I don't understand why doctors think they are the only ones who know what is going on with our kids. My son's regular pediatrician actually told me I was being paranoid a few months back when I asked him to do a stool test on my son! That guy isnt getting another dime from us, I am currently looking around for another pediatrician.

[AWaah]

What was the final diagnosis? My 3 year old is going through the exact same thing; down to only throwing up in the middle of the night. Today was Day 13 and I just don't know what to do!

[portrey0524]

My 3 year old daughter is doing the same thing. Every morning she wakes up and says, "I'm thirsty" and about 5-10 seconds later, she throws up. We thought it was watermelon because all other times she did this she ate watermelon the night before. She didn't have watermelon yesterday, but she threw up this morning. I think it can be caused by the heat. My husband puts off A LOT of body heat when he sleeps. This happened last summer too but stopped whenever it was cooler at night. Could that be the cause with you also?

[margypops]

This is either food related and possibly a virus or an allergic reaction , I would take her back to see the doctor  until you get answers.or get more opinions ..good luck

[lavs651]

Try Gaviscon, it helps. My 3 year old also used to throw up in teh night follwoing his diarrheo . doctor suggested gaviscon. i truied and it worked by LORD's grace.

[victoriasmommy316]

My 3 year old has the same thing... we've done all the stool test and every other test possible, yet nothing has been found. Did you ever figure out what was wrong?

[margypops]

Does she drink milk especially in the evening,it could be milk intolerance related ..?

[Jaz93]

This sounds all too familiar. I'm 19 years old and for the past two weeks I have had on and off vomiting at 3am almost every night. I have diarrhea at the same time so I need to sit on the toilet and vomit into a bucket. I then shower, straining to keep myself awake because of the effort and energy vomiting takes out of me. I stopped for two nights until last night I woke at the same time drenched in sweat, ran to the bathroom, only vomited a small amount but it was very acidic which was unusual, the last tiny bit had the smallest bit of blood in it but was instantly followed by a blood nose. I'm thinking the blood in my throat would have been from my nose so I didn't stress. I just hate going to the doctors because I always pick up another bug while I'm there. At first I thought it was due to a lactose intolerance but after cutting out dairy for a few days it has still continued. I'm not looking for advise telling me to go to the doctors cuz I know thats an option, I'm hoping someone can relate and give advice. Thankyou x

[margypops]

It is indeed an option and if you are continuing to vomit and have diarrhea iI think you should go , it may be food poisoning ..Dont eat food at the moment  but drink water as dehydration will be an affect..2 weeks is a long time,.get it checked out .....

[ae25]

My 1 year old daughter is going through this same thing. We are on day 8. Just took her back to doctor this morning and they wasnt sure what this mess is, they did go ahead and do a stool test but I havent received the results yet. She throws up every night at 2 am and dirreaha throughtout the day. During the daytime you would never suspect she was sick at all. very playful, eating and drinking, her normal routine. Soon as 2am hits she wakes and vomits. Im hoping to hear something soon. This is the second time shes been sick like this for such a long period of time. Breaks my heart.

[margypops]

Wonder if she is allergic to something she eats/drinks ..what about milk does she drink much, does she drink it in the evening before bed ?

[agarrett1016]

Did you ever get a resolution to this? My almost 3 year old is doing the same thing. We are on day 16...

[margypops]

ae25 didnt come back so we dont know, you could send  her a note or message ..

[alice345]

My 3 year old son has had a cold for about a month now. about a week ago he started vomiting and having diarrhea. i took him to the hospital and they gave him an anti nausea pill. but as soon as that pill wore off he was back to vomiting. he has really watery diarrhea. for the past 3 days now i will get him to drink or eat some thing and about 2 hours later its coming right back out both ends. i dont know what to do i feel sorry for my boy is there any thing i can do to get him through this? about 3 weeks ago my 5 year old got sent home from school from this same thing. it only lasted for about 3 days with him and the same with my 7 year old daughter. it only lasted for about 3 days. my 4 year old daughter got its the other night but she hasnt had anything since. i dont know what to do or what is going on. can some one please help?