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I don't know how to help my son

This discussion is related to Stomach Pain / Vomitting/Nausea/Constipation.


My son has been vomitting for 2 months now. There is not any particular foods that he can or cannot eat. He does hold some things down just no certain foods. He has IBS and has recently developed problems with constipation. He has pain in his neck and back that sometimes gets so severe that he doesn't move for hours. He is currently seeing a pediatric GI specialist. They have done blood tests, upper GI, x-rays, gallbladder ultrasound, urine samples, endoscopy, biopsies, and the BRAVO procedure. The only test that came back with something was the BRAVO. It did show that he has severe acid reflux. The doctor also thinks that he may have a stomach emptying problem. He has been on Previcid 30 mg twice a day and erythromycin 4 x a day. He also takes Miralax for his IBS. He has been on this medication for 1 week now and nothing is getting better. He now is having more pain in the back and neck and now instead of just vomitting 1 time after he eats, he is vomitting 3-5 times after some meals. I'm not sure what to do with this anymore. I am very worried that this may make him have to repeat the 4th grade and he is a straight A student. Please tell me what I should do. I'm worried that the doctors are missing something and it may be more serious than just GERD.
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Avatar universal
Dear Hazelwood,
I would suggest you take your son to a neurologist.  What is worrisome is the disabling pain in his neck and back.  Could be he has a nerve disorder that is affecting the way his tummy works.  They can do an exam to see if he has any deficits, that may warrant further investigations.

Also, I think you should also take him to an internal medicine doctor, they might be more informed as to a wider range of organ problems than the gastro man is familiar with, and he can serve as a second opinion for you by doing another workup going at this thing in a different light.

Keep a journal as to everything that relates to his eating situation, to include time of day, what he was doing before and after he ate, how much and what foods he eats, particularly as relates to him throwing up.  While you say no particular food seems to trigger it, there may be some other common denominator.  Also, be aware of allergies to certain TYPES of food, like those containing gluten, sugars, nuts, milk.

In the meantime, if he will drink milk, get him some Acidophilus at the grocery store, it counteracts the erythromycin antibiotic he's on by restoring "good" bacteria to the digestive tract, which helps break down waste.  Also, erythromycin is notorious for causing severe constipation, which is really hard to overcome while he's on the drug, but extra water, keep him moving part of the day, just a little fiber type foods he tolerates, will help.  Also, he is losing electrolytes by vomiting, so he should be eating soups, drinking a little bit of juice.  Scrambled eggs will keep his strength up.

To treat his symptoms beyond what the physician gave him, a little alka seltzer is just great for the digestion, plus the aspirin in it is anti-inflammatory, which if his neck and back are sore, that might help that, too.  If he hates the taste, then a baby aspirin chewed up will help his soreness just as well, it just won't change his digestion.  If he has the urge to go, but it won't come out, a little KY Jelly on the area with a damp tissue will ease any soreness that has developed there.

Heat on the body of a sick child really helps them feel better.  An electric blanket or a heating pad, with a towel between him and the heat source, is very soothing.  And if you can get him to relax a little while in a very warm bubble bath, that works wonders for back pain.  Just soak, not to worry too much about getting clean.  An ordinary hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel, put under his arm next to his chest, feels good.

As for his schooling, see if his school offers a make-up summer school program, just for kids like him.  You could also arrange a tutor, and ask his teachers to give him some basic home study stuff that isn't too hard, and the two combined might help him keep up somewhat, maybe once or twice a week, half-days when he feels good.  He can study in his bedroom.  But lots of kids lose a year in school, and since your son is bright, in a year or two, he might can be pushed ahead a year, back where he belongs.  He is young enough now that social situations won't matter as much, but by the seventh grade, it will, so you have a little time to work on that idea.

I wish you the best, and I hope your son gets better soon.  Just stay on top of the situation, lobby hard for him, but of course don't let any of your own pressures telegraph to him.  He should feel secure and supported right now.  All this throwing up is very bad for anyone's emotional and physical strength, and you are his rock right now, more than ever.
GG

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Avatar universal
Your sons symptoms are similar to mine.  I was diagnosed with IBS.  After 4 months of vomitting and not seeing any bile, I researched the internet.  Found that your gallbladder is what distributes the bile.  I was having severe pain on the upper right side of my abdomen.  Well I went in and demanded to have my gallbladder checked.  The ultrasound showed no gallstones.  I was than sent to have a Hida Scan.  Its almost a 2hr test that they have you lay in this tube.  The last part of the test they inject something into your arm and the technician told me that if my gallbadder isn't working properly that it would bring on my symptoms right away.  Sure enough I started vomiiting.

Three days later I got the results that it was only working 21%.  I agreed to have it removed the next day by my surgeons associate.  Big mistake!  The man made 4 incisions and 2 of them are much larger than they are suppose to be.

A couple weeks go by and I started vomitting and very loose stool.  I go back to the original surgeon and he sends me back to the place where I had the H-scan but this time they put some radiation material in scramble eggs and had me eat them and than lay in the tube again and watched to see how long it took for my stomach to empty it into my small intestines.  It didn't go anywhere.  He said that I had a lazy stomach and perscribed Reglan twice a day.  I couldn't handle the side affects.

I decided than to get the advise of a specialist.  He did the endoscopy and biopsies.  All he could tell me was that it wasn't cancer and that he felt I had Gastricparesis.  Which is a paralyzes of the stomach.  The stomach takes much longer to empty.  My food was staying in my stomach over 2 days sometimes.  It would ferment and than I would vomit until it was emptyied.  He than sent me to another specialist.  I was put on Zelnorm for the motility.  The FDA removed it from the market like a month later.  I lost around 20lbs in less than 2 months.  They even inserted a feeding tube down my throat and I vomitted it up in an hour later.

I was than perscribed Erythromycin 4 times a day.  It made my stomach feel worse.  So they gave it to me orally.  I broke out in a rash.  I am currently on Nexzium to repair the stomach and esophagus from the GERD.  I take Miralax 3 times a day to treat the constipation and than I take Zofran for the vomitting.

Your sons neck and back pain makes me wonder if its something else though with the slow emptying stomach.  I was told the constipation is a result of the GI tract also moving to slowly.

Have you noticed if he gets his stomach so empty that he vomitts the bile?  You may want to elimanate fatty foods and food that would take along time to digest. I was told to eat 6 small meals and if it was a big meal to try and eat earlier in the day.  I went on a liquid diet.  Lots of soup, carnation good start, and alot of shakes just to get rid of the hunger pains.  I didn't vomit as much.

I have been dealing with this now since Nov.2005.  I hear you when you said that he may have to repeat the 4th grade.  I quit my job and now on Disability.  I'm not trying to scare you or anything but I hope I could help you with somethings that you should ask his doctor. By reaching out on the internet it helped me realize I'm not alone with this condition.

I would definetly ask for something for the vomitting.  Keep an eye on his weight and for dehydration.  I wish you luck and hope you can find some answers soon.  Please let me know how your both doing.  If i can help you further please email me at ***@****.  Take Care!
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