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8yr old chronic stomach pain that got better for a time after an unrelated course of antibiotics?

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Vanessalee
Vanessalee

Hi everyone,

I have an 8 yr old that had suffered from daily stomach aches for about 3 yrs. She is seeing a gastro specialist and now a Naturopath. She recently had strep throat and was treated with amoxicillin for 10 days. By about the second day on it her stomach aches were not happening and completely gone until 5 days after finishing the course. Then they were back. We did an elimination diet and have done IgG food testing and it doesn't seem to be related to a specific food. I thought maybe H.Pylori because it wouild respond to antibiotics but the 10 days amox wouldn't have been enough and the right antibiotics to treat it completely and successfully however I looked in her records and she has tested negative to H. Pylori already. Is there any other stomach issues that would respond positively to antibiotics?

1 like, 18 replies

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  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 Vanessalee

    Posted

    If she had a bacterial stomach infection, antibiotics might help. The best person to speak to about this would be the specialists she is seeing at the moment. You could ask for stool tests to look for other stomach infections apart from H pylori.

     

    • Vanessalee
      Vanessalee pippa58442

      Posted

      Yes i will be for sure however out next appointment isn't until March. I'll definitely be asking for some comprehensive stool testing but was going to start reading up until then so I can be as informed as possible. 

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 Vanessalee

      Posted

      Does your daughter have bowel habit change and does the pain move about her stomach or stay in the one place? I began with recurrent, weekly bouts of constipation followed by generalised abdominal pain, loose stools. back pain and nausea.  After three and a half months of tests  no answers and rampant panic, I was diagnosed with IBS.

      Sensitivity to wheat and dairy is common with IBS. Pain can come and go or be daily and constant. My pain was daily and constant and then it changed to come and go symptoms and my bowel habits settled down after  my diagnosis which stopped my health anxiety.

    • Vanessalee
      Vanessalee pippa58442

      Posted

      It seems as though bowel movements don't help or change the pain and the location does not change. It is always at or near her belly button. She has regular bm's, usually once or twice per day and for the most part healthy looking not too hard or soft. Her pain comes and goes and it seems to be after she eats that it comes but no matter what it is. I think IBS is a definite possibility and that would be nice in terms of it not being anything "too serious" (although I know it can definitly be non functional and life altering and is in fact serious) but I almost feel like it's kind of the catch all for anything they cannot diagnose. I may be wrong on that but just from experience it feels that way. Even if that is the case I still want to know what the root of it is? Why IBS? What is causing IBS? etc..

      Thank you sharing

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 Vanessalee

      Posted

      The cause of IBS is different for everyone.   There is no one single cause. Some get it after a stomach infection, surgery, or stress.  Mine started after stress. For it to be IBS, pain typically improves temporarily after a bowel movement and bowel habit change will occur.  Either this will be constipation, (IBS C) diarrhoea (IBS D) or a mixture of both. (IBS A). Some will experience pain as their predominant symptom. (Pain predominant IBS).

      Food intolerance goes along with it.  If there is still pain after eating, she may have other food triggers along with wheat and dairy.  Some people have multiple food intolerances. A food diary could help to identify any others.   A lot of people have difficulty identifying a food problem.  The Low Fodmap diet might help with the guidance of a dietician.  This is used for IBS. 

      If no other cause shows up on tests, IBS is diagnosed.  Doctors don’t diagnose IBS because they don’t know the reason for your symptoms. They diagnose it based on a strict criteria called Rome iii.  Lots of tests are done to make sure they don’t confuse it with another condition because other illnesses can mimic IBS.  This can take some time and will depend on how knowledgeable your GP is about IBS.

      If your daughter has IBS, it can be treated with antispasmodics and or lifestyle changes such as diet or stress management.  There is no complete cure although some people do go into complete remission. My brother had it as a teenager, and suffered with the pain a lot more acutely than me and used to take to his bed which I have never done.  Then suddenly after some years, it cleared up.

  • mary19068
    mary19068 Vanessalee

    Posted

    Hi Vanessalee

    How long ago was your daughter tested for HPylori? If it was some time ago have another test carried out. Has she been tested for food intolerance such as lactose, gluten, wheat. Whar are her bowel movements like?..Also, keep a food diary and see if there is a correlation between the foods she has eaten and the tummy pain, not just food but also choc sweets , fruit drinks etc., Just record day, date,time (brek, lunch, evening meals snacks etc.,) and note if any food drink she has taken coincides with her tummy pain....best wishes...

    • Vanessalee
      Vanessalee mary19068

      Posted

      She was tested most recently about 3 months ago for the H. Pylori. She has been tested for celiac and tested positive for food sensitivity to wheat and dairy through IgG testing at the Naturopath. We did an elimination diet and I have a food diary and had it going at the time of the antibiotics as at that time we had cut out all the food she was sensitive too. There are no links to foods that we can see. The pain came back and she was still on the same elimination diet and not eating any of the sensitive foods. 
    • mary19068
      mary19068 Vanessalee

      Posted

      Hi Vanessalee

      Has your daughter been checked for stomach yeast infection/candida..This can cause stomach pain and is managed with antibiotics. Perhaps the amoxicillin dealt with it but the course wasn't enough and it came back....just a thought for your to consider getting checked..best wishes....

    • Vanessalee
      Vanessalee mary19068

      Posted

      She has not been checked for that so I will make sure to bring that up at her next appt.  She also has been on antibiotics many many times in her life for strep mostly but that will have definitely made her more susceptible to a yeast problem. Thank you very much, I hadn't thought of that one yet. 

    • mary19068
      mary19068 Vanessalee

      Posted

      Hi Vanessalee

      Yes taking a lot of AB's can cause yeast infections in the stomach. Taking probiotics could help to put good gut flora back to replace what the AB's destroyed.....it may be that she may have been left with a yeast /candida infection after AB's but check with doc first to see if she does have Y or C infections.....best wishes....

    • mary19068
      mary19068 Vanessalee

      Posted

      Hi Vanessalee

      Just one more thing....in the meantime before you see your doc..check your daughters stool there may be little white specks of candida in the stool....the doc may carry out stool test and a special urine test (Urine Organix Dysbiosis Test) a blood tests does not always show yeast/candida......best wishes...

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 mary19068

      Posted

      I picked up a candida infection after taking antibiotics for a suspected urinary infection which I tested negative for.  I was tried on two lots of medication as a precaution to try and diagnose my stomach pain. My pain continued , I felt sick on the antibiotics and I had loose urgent stools. The soft stools were a more welcome side effect because I had had bad constipation before this.  I was eventually diagnosed with IBS. 
  • Lotsofpain
    Lotsofpain Vanessalee

    Posted

    Its odd this.  I have longstanding colon problems, and when I take amoxycil or similar antibiotics for unrelated  conditions it helps my stomach - to the point where I have asked if I can be on it long term bity docs say no as it will lose its effect after a while and then be no use when I need it for throats etc.  It does suggest that it is helping the balance of stuff in the tummy

    Other antibiotics reek havoc with my tummy

    Sorry I cant be of more help

    • Vanessalee
      Vanessalee Lotsofpain

      Posted

      That's interesting, she is not the only one this has happened too. Well hey when I figure it out I will come back on here to let you know. If the specialist won't look for pathogens for me or figure it out I'll be going to the Naturopath and getting the GI-MAP stool test to look. We just had it done on my husband who suffers from completely different stomach pain than my daughter and it was extremely valuable information we got from it. Good luck!

  • teswanson
    teswanson Vanessalee

    Posted

    My son had a history of stomach problems. He also itched his back frequently in the mornings. One night I was reading in bed about my own stomach issues, and came across a parade called pin worm. I immediately grabbed a flash light, went into his room, and checked him for worms. I literally saw what looked like some tiny pieces of rice crawling back into his anus.

    I went to the pharmacy, and grabbed some pin worm removal for him and I. He hasn't itched since, and his stomach issues went away. The parasites must have wreaked havoc, because it did take a bit for him to heal.

    I still have issues, but I don't think it's pinworm. I think it may have triggered Crohn's, since that's what the Dr diagnosed, but I've addressed it with a clean diet. I think my body was fighting something so long, it turned against my own tissue.

    Anyway, a quick check at night, in the dark, while your child is sleeping, is simple.

    • Vanessalee
      Vanessalee teswanson

      Posted

      We actually suspect my other daughter to possibly have pinworm right now. She's had pain in her bum the last 2 evenings and everything comes up as pinworm or hemmoroids. I did look and haven't seen any and completely dissected a piece of her poop looking for them lol I remember as a kid seeing them in mine when I had pinworm. I know they are very contagious so if one has it the other I'm sure would as well. I'll see what the md says when I bring the little one in. You never know... thank you

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