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Forum -> Children's Health
IBS in children



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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2021, 1:59 pm
9 year old has been getting frequent stomach aches for years now. We've been to the doctor many times and he recently said it's probably IBS. Can't get to see a specialist for a while because of corona.

Does anyone have experience to share? We've tried cutting out various things. Some made a different, some didn't, but we haven't managed to get it under control.

Looking for ideas/support.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 7:17 am
bump
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amother
Coral


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 7:23 am
Does your child have anxiety? IBS is often a physical expression of emotional issues.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 7:43 am
It might be a contributor but it's definitely not the whole picture, IMO. I struggled with stomach pain for most of my teen years and one of my other kids does too.
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amother
Forestgreen


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 7:59 am
Look into the low FODMAP diet. I did it for my teen DD with IBS a couple of years ago. It was very challenging, but totally worth it, because once we got to the reintroduction phase we realized that there were just a couple of foods that caused stomachaches (garlic and apples) and she was able to return to a pretty normal diet.

Refuah sheleima!
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 8:45 am
amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:
Look into the low FODMAP diet. I did it for my teen DD with IBS a couple of years ago. It was very challenging, but totally worth it, because once we got to the reintroduction phase we realized that there were just a couple of foods that caused stomachaches (garlic and apples) and she was able to return to a pretty normal diet.

Refuah sheleima!


Thanks. Can you tell me a little more about how it worked for both of you on a practical level?
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amother
Peach


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 9:28 am
Just went through this with my 9 year old. He would spend days in the bathroom and hours moaning. He missed so much school, never-ending every day activities. I took him for every possible test. When everything came back negative I couldn't wrap my head around it. I also had stomach pain as a teen and wondered if this was genetic. Well, weeks after starting with a therapist and days after cutting out dairy and it's like having a brand new kid. Even if something is "just" anxiety, it has the power to totally inflict real and disruptive physical pain. In retrospect I am sure that was a huge contributing factor to my childhood belly trouble.
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 10:49 am
IBS is just medicalese for your stomach is messed up and we have no idea why. Mainstream medical testing barely scratches the surface of what is really going on in the body. If you want to get to the bottom of this, you will need to become a detective on your own. Personally, I would cut out gluten and dairy for minimum 3 months, add in a good digestive enzyme 30 minutes before meals, and a good probiotic. If you don’t see any changes after that, you may want to enlist the help of a functional medical dr who can help you do some digging by looking at pancreatic function and liver function, other food sensitivities and intolerances, bacterial or fungal overgrowth, motility, parasites, and other such things. Some people also have success with energy testing / health kinesiology for food sensitivities. Good luck!
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 11:08 am
amother [ Seashell ] wrote:
IBS is just medicalese for your stomach is messed up and we have no idea why. Mainstream medical testing barely scratches the surface of what is really going on in the body. If you want to get to the bottom of this, you will need to become a detective on your own. Personally, I would cut out gluten and dairy for minimum 3 months, add in a good digestive enzyme 30 minutes before meals, and a good probiotic. If you don’t see any changes after that, you may want to enlist the help of a functional medical dr who can help you do some digging by looking at pancreatic function and liver function, other food sensitivities and intolerances, bacterial or fungal overgrowth, motility, parasites, and other such things. Some people also have success with energy testing / health kinesiology for food sensitivities. Good luck!


Yes, I am very aware of the bolded, but I figured this would help me get responses. Thanks so much for your advice!
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amother
Forestgreen


 

Post Sun, Feb 07 2021, 8:51 am
Quote:
Post Sun, Jan 31 2021, 8:45 am
amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:
Look into the low FODMAP diet. I did it for my teen DD with IBS a couple of years ago. It was very challenging, but totally worth it, because once we got to the reintroduction phase we realized that there were just a couple of foods that caused stomachaches (garlic and apples) and she was able to return to a pretty normal diet.

Refuah sheleima!


Thanks. Can you tell me a little more about how it worked for both of you on a practical level?


It was a combination of changing the way I cooked for the whole family and making special foods for DD. I made soups with permitted vegetables, sauteed onions first and removed them (so they gave flavor to the oil) before adding other veggies. Used gluten free products (pasta, pretzels, etc) for her. Made her some baked goods from gluten free blends and oats (oatmeal cookies worked out great). No dairy. Used Pesachdik ketchup without high fructose corn syrup. Checked labels of pasta sauces to find one that didn't contain onion, garlic, or other forbidden ingredients. Used herbs to season schnitzel etc instead of my usual onion and garlic powder.

It was really hard for the first 6 weeks, but her stomach pain was basically gone after the first week or so, so that was encouraging. I think the first thing we reintroduced was gluten, as that was the hardest for her to go without. We reintroduced foods one at a time, a few days apart, and BH discovered that she was fine with most foods.

When I discussed it with the nutritionist at the pediatric gastroenterologist we were seeing, she was amazed that we were able to make it work. She said it was because of our "home cooking lifestyle."(She hadn't even suggested it to me; I read about it in Family First!) It really can only work if you cook at home and don't eat takeout, prepared foods, etc.

Again, it was really hard, but totally worthwhile.

Hatzlacha!!!
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