IBS in children

[CM0301]

My daughter (8) has been in hospital for the past 11 days (and had a previous stay of a week last month) due to severe abdominal pain. After multiple tests - blood, stool, ultrasound, xray etc - which were all clear, and still being in pain they are leaving towards functional pain and IBS in particular has been referred to. My mum suffers, and I think her mum did - I have had years of constipation and then diarrhoea but never been diagnosed, so I suppose it would make sense. I know very little about the condition though, and definitely nothing about it in children. The consultant has suggested things like peppermint and probiotics for us to try as well as medication- but I don't know where to start. I wondered if anyone had any advice. Thanks for reading this rather long post.

[CM0301]

I forgot to say that she has now developed a very real fear of eating due to the pain and has lost weight. Both of which are really scaring me.

[Pte82 in reply to CM0301]

CM0301, my wife has a health condition not related to IBS yet there seems to be a connection, thiamine. Thiamine is needed by the vagus nerve which can be deficient in bioactive thiamine. Adequate magnesium is one component needed to turn thiamine into it's activated form. Please study forms on thiamine such as thiamine hydrochloride, Benfotiamine, TTFD and Sulbutiamine for their advantages and disadvantages. Always consult with your health care professional before using any supplement.

eonutrition.co.uk/post/when....

eonutrition.co.uk/post/thia....

[Yaleamanda]

Ask to be referred to a dietician who will be able to work with you. If she has IBS you need to try and establish what foods are the triggers and the best way to do this is by the Low Fodmap diet with a qualified dietician. My daughter has IBS-C and we are still on the journey of establishing her triggers.

[NOTHINGBUTPAIN76 in reply to Yaleamanda]

Good luckx

[Batteria]

I would say just follow the advice of the medics for the moment and see how it goes. If no improvement then further investigations are needed. Stay on this forum and read all you can on the subject. My ten year old Grandson suffered a bit with bad pain and the runs for about a year but not as seriously as your daughter. They sorted him out with dietary changes and he’s much better now. His younger brother has now become anxious about his bowel although he hasn’t had any symptoms so we have to reassure him. Con amore Bx

[xjrs]

Is your daughter loose, constipated or normal? I suffer from functional pain and Alflorex probiotic has helped me greatly with this and made me more tolerant to foods.

[CM0301 in reply to xjrs]

Well I always thought normal, but she has been being treated for constipation.

[xjrs in reply to CM0301]

If she is suffering from constipation there is also Linaclotide to consider. It is meant to calm intestinal nerves to reduce pain as well as help constipation. When I started Linaclotide it reduced my pain by 50-60%. When I added Alflorex on top of that it reduced the pain to zero. I only get pain when I eat specific vegetables now, but I am now able to tolerate more foods.

[CM0301 in reply to xjrs]

She's been put on mebeverine (?)

[xjrs in reply to CM0301]

That is an anti-spasmodic which may help with cramps, but if she is constipated mebeverine may slow things down. It tends to be for those who are diarrhea dominant. Is it helping?

[CM0301 in reply to xjrs]

Not particularly..Still in alot of pain

[xjrs in reply to CM0301]

Not sure if this helps but there is info about functional pain here:

iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorder...

[CM0301 in reply to xjrs]

Thanks, that's really interesting. I must admit when they first mentioned it I thought it was a bit of a cop out as they didn't have any other diagnosis. It has definitely become an all consuming thing and has caused an overwhelming number of issues around eating which now all need dealing with..