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My granddaughter has been having symptoms for the past year such as migraines,chestpain,diarrhea,backaches.fatigue.. She has many test done and all come back negative. She is a senior in high school and has already missed over a week of school because of these symptoms. She has been tested for limsmdisease, NEG, all kinds of bllod work has been done, all NEG. My son is at his wits end not knowing what to do next. He is worried that she may have somthing that will not be cureable. If you may have any suggestions, please let us know as we are very concerned.
thank you for answering my question in such a timely manner. I will send this information on to my son and hopefully the doctors will find somthing.
Thanks again. Will let you know what they find.
pkwiss.
Thanks again. Will let you know what they find.
pkwiss.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the forum!
Chest pain, diarrhea, back ache and fatigue should be investigated in lines Celiac Disease/Ulcerative Colitis/Irritable Bowel Syndrome/ Crohn’s disease. It can also be a case of associated severe acidity and gastric reflux. Headaches are commonly associated with gut problems.
I would strongly recommend you to see a gastroenterologist (a specialist who looks after the diseases of our digestive system). Maybe your physician can recommend someone.
A number of times a gastroenterologist is able to diagnose these conditions by clinical examination and detailed medical history. Blood tests to rule out anemia, stool test to look for white blood cells, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy etc are used to diagnose ulcerative colitis. Braium meal and follow through, endoscopy etc are done to rule out GERD, Crohn’s disease etc. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed by elimination of other causes. Gluten is a complex protein present in four main grains---wheat, rye, barley and oats. If you have gluten intolerance, then you probably have celiac disease or Non Celiac gluten sensitivity. There are blood tests called celiac test to detect gluten intolerance.
In all probability once the gut issues are taken care of the headaches will vanish. Also get your grand daughter’s eye tested for refractive errors like myopia and hypermetropia. If all these are fine then a neurologist should be seen to rule out migraines.
Hope this helps. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
Welcome to the forum!
Chest pain, diarrhea, back ache and fatigue should be investigated in lines Celiac Disease/Ulcerative Colitis/Irritable Bowel Syndrome/ Crohn’s disease. It can also be a case of associated severe acidity and gastric reflux. Headaches are commonly associated with gut problems.
I would strongly recommend you to see a gastroenterologist (a specialist who looks after the diseases of our digestive system). Maybe your physician can recommend someone.
A number of times a gastroenterologist is able to diagnose these conditions by clinical examination and detailed medical history. Blood tests to rule out anemia, stool test to look for white blood cells, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy etc are used to diagnose ulcerative colitis. Braium meal and follow through, endoscopy etc are done to rule out GERD, Crohn’s disease etc. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed by elimination of other causes. Gluten is a complex protein present in four main grains---wheat, rye, barley and oats. If you have gluten intolerance, then you probably have celiac disease or Non Celiac gluten sensitivity. There are blood tests called celiac test to detect gluten intolerance.
In all probability once the gut issues are taken care of the headaches will vanish. Also get your grand daughter’s eye tested for refractive errors like myopia and hypermetropia. If all these are fine then a neurologist should be seen to rule out migraines.
Hope this helps. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
Has your granddaughter had a colonoscopy? If she has and it came back showing nothing wrong with the colon, doctors usually say this means that a person has IBS. IBS will cause most of the symptoms you're describing, and it's miserable. IBS is usually diagnosed when all the tests come out negative. It can be very frustrating to go through all these tests, knowing full well that one is having symptoms and having the tests all show negative. Well, that's actually how IBS is diagnosed. If it is IBS with diarrhea (mine is constipation), your granddaughter would benefit greatly by seeing an allergist to rule out any "true" allergies to various foods. Even if those tests are negative, too, that doesn't mean there aren't food sensitivities involved, which are like hidden food allergies. I tested negative for my food sensitivities at the allergist's office, yet I will have undeniable symptoms. Gluten and dairy bind me up something terrible. For someone with IBS prone to diarrhea, gluten and dairy will aggravate the symptoms. This is true, even if allergy tests are negative for gluten and dairy. I also have other food sensitivities. To address food sensitivities that are not detected by allergy tests, it is best to see a naturopath and go through the process of an elimination diet to figure out which foods trigger one's symptoms. There are also antispasmodic medications that most people with IBS take, whether they have the kind with diarrhea or the kind with constipation. There are also anti-diarrheal medications a GI doctor can prescribe that will at least slow down the diarrhea. It is important to get that diarrhea under control, because chronic diarrhea can lead to other serious health issues involving anything from dehydration to nutritional malabsorption, which causes other issues that no one wants.
Has your granddaughter been tested for Celiac? It, too, can present with these symptoms. Classic Celiac has the diarrhea involved. The blood tests for Celiac are not really always accurate. Usually, the next step is a biopsy of the small intestine. There are fecal tests you can get done online, if the biopsy still shows negative and your granddaughter is still having these symptoms. I haven't had it done and I can't remember exactly where someone else told me the website is, but one lady said that was how her husband was finally diagnosed with Celiac when the doctors kept insisting that he didn't have it. If I am remembering correctly, the website is enterolab.com Don't quote me on that, though. Celiac can be treated. Once under control, a person can live a happy and healthy life. My nephew tested positive for Celiac, so he has to be very careful what he eats. But, he is happy and healthy now that the Celiac is under control. Celiac that is left untreated can lead to other issues, including malabsorption, rheumatoid, osteoarthritis and others. When treated and under control, the person with Celiac doesn't necessarily have to face these other health issues.
As far as the migraines go, at least get a referral to see a neurologist. I have migraines, too. I still don't have mine under control, but seeing a neurologist is the best thing that can be done, especially while your granddaughter is so young. The neurologist may decide to run some tests like an EEG and and MRI at some point in time, if your granddaughter presents with other symptoms or if the headaches are severe enough.
I had unexplained chestpain for years. Then, when I had other gastro symptoms, it was plain to see that it was GERD. I have heard of very young babies and small children having GERD. I started having some heartburn symptoms when I was younger than your granddaughter. I didn't realize that the chestpains were related 'til much later in my 20's or 30's. It can be quite scary when it seems like it's something else. If EKG's show nothing else is going on, this could be a reason for the chestpain. I'm not saying I know for sure, since it could be something else.
Has your granddaughter's thyroid been checked? Not just the TSH, but the FT3 and the FT4. The testing standards are pretty strict, so even if they say her thyroid tests within normal range, she can be like me and still be on the low end.
While testing the thyroid, test for cortisol, the adrenals. This test is best done by a natural doctor, because conventional doctors only check for things like Addison's and will miss other low adrenal function all together.
I would have her blood tested done for auto-immune disorders, if it hasn't already been done.
Even if the blood tests for auto-immune disorders come back negative, that doesn't mean that something isn't going on. Many of her symptoms do sound like something like Fibromyalgia to me. Her doctor can do a tender points test. If she has at least 11 out of the 18 tenderpoints, she likely has Fibromyalgia. One doesn't have to test positive for auto-immune disorders to have Fibromyalgia. It's the tenderpoints that determine if this is the problem.
Has your granddaughter been tested for Celiac? It, too, can present with these symptoms. Classic Celiac has the diarrhea involved. The blood tests for Celiac are not really always accurate. Usually, the next step is a biopsy of the small intestine. There are fecal tests you can get done online, if the biopsy still shows negative and your granddaughter is still having these symptoms. I haven't had it done and I can't remember exactly where someone else told me the website is, but one lady said that was how her husband was finally diagnosed with Celiac when the doctors kept insisting that he didn't have it. If I am remembering correctly, the website is enterolab.com Don't quote me on that, though. Celiac can be treated. Once under control, a person can live a happy and healthy life. My nephew tested positive for Celiac, so he has to be very careful what he eats. But, he is happy and healthy now that the Celiac is under control. Celiac that is left untreated can lead to other issues, including malabsorption, rheumatoid, osteoarthritis and others. When treated and under control, the person with Celiac doesn't necessarily have to face these other health issues.
As far as the migraines go, at least get a referral to see a neurologist. I have migraines, too. I still don't have mine under control, but seeing a neurologist is the best thing that can be done, especially while your granddaughter is so young. The neurologist may decide to run some tests like an EEG and and MRI at some point in time, if your granddaughter presents with other symptoms or if the headaches are severe enough.
I had unexplained chestpain for years. Then, when I had other gastro symptoms, it was plain to see that it was GERD. I have heard of very young babies and small children having GERD. I started having some heartburn symptoms when I was younger than your granddaughter. I didn't realize that the chestpains were related 'til much later in my 20's or 30's. It can be quite scary when it seems like it's something else. If EKG's show nothing else is going on, this could be a reason for the chestpain. I'm not saying I know for sure, since it could be something else.
Has your granddaughter's thyroid been checked? Not just the TSH, but the FT3 and the FT4. The testing standards are pretty strict, so even if they say her thyroid tests within normal range, she can be like me and still be on the low end.
While testing the thyroid, test for cortisol, the adrenals. This test is best done by a natural doctor, because conventional doctors only check for things like Addison's and will miss other low adrenal function all together.
I would have her blood tested done for auto-immune disorders, if it hasn't already been done.
Even if the blood tests for auto-immune disorders come back negative, that doesn't mean that something isn't going on. Many of her symptoms do sound like something like Fibromyalgia to me. Her doctor can do a tender points test. If she has at least 11 out of the 18 tenderpoints, she likely has Fibromyalgia. One doesn't have to test positive for auto-immune disorders to have Fibromyalgia. It's the tenderpoints that determine if this is the problem.
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