13 year old boy, pain around/just above belly button, struggling to get any diagnosis or find anything that helps.

[Kaz5167]

My son has had pain around, or just above his belly button since end Nov. It went away for 2 weeks, and has since been bad again for another 3, preventing him attending school.

Eating doesn't seem to affect it, and he is going to the toilet normally.

We have tried buscopan (didn't seem to make any difference), mebeverine (only 3 doses, but 1-2 hours after, his pain seemed to increase, so stopped), lanzaprozole (we though this is what fixed it the first time as he was fine 5-6 days after starting, but 3 weeks on, has made no difference this time), imigran/sumatriptan nasal spray (one-off - told as this didn't work it was unlikely to be a stomach migraine).

Blood tests ruled out coeliac, anemia etc - everything looked fine. Stool test said no inflammation. Urine fine. Finger prick for sugar, fine.

Ultrasound checked kidneys, liver etc, all fine.

Currently (via Bupa paediatrician) been prescribed amytriptyline for pain (seems to have made no difference), and pizotifen to prevent stomach migraine. Have been taking both for a week, but no difference, due to increase the pizotifen dose from tonight for another week.

Saw GP again yesterday as two people this week have mentioned appendicitis, but he ruled that out. He has prescribed Propranolol for stomach migraine, believing that is the most likely cause and says this is better than amitriptyline for a child.

This is a long list of medication, none of which so far has helped.

Everyone also keeps going back to stess, worries, anxiety, believing that is the cause and the reason he isn't in school-the gp yesterday told me I just need to give him calpol (which has never made any difference to this pain) and send him in. He wants to go to school, he managed a week after the holidays and was quite happy, but when he is holding his tummy, complaining of pain & looking so poorly, I just don't think it's possible for him to be at school. He went in one day last week, and his pain scores that day were 6-8 (previous days 5-6), 7 that evening & 8 all the next day, resulting in him laying on the sofa all day, not being able to do much.

There's either something I'm missing, which I really don't think there is, as he tells me when he's not happy at school. I have chatted to him lots about any issues, as hv teachers & gp.

I'm just at a complete loss.

If it wasn't for the stress of trying to get him to school, and the issue of his long absenses, it would be manageable, but above everything else, just want to find the cause & for him to be better.

Sorry for the long post, hoping someone might have some insights...

[BabsyWabsy]

Hi Kaz, this must be such a worry for you. My eldest son had something similar, aged about 12. GP thought it was abdominal migraine. This was a long time ago, he will be 50 in December. There was nothing available to help him back then and we ended up home schooling until it resolved by itself, which it did eventually. That is a bit drastic of course, but nothing physical was found.

[Clarbear1]

I had gallstones as a child. I had pains from age 15! Drs said I had everything else. I had my gall bladder removed at 17. I’m not saying it’s that but not everyone fits the text book. Has he had an abdominal ultrasound?

Also has he been treated for threadworms? My daughter is a teacher and they are rife in schools. One symptom is stomach pains. They are easily treated. It’s a long shot but possibly worth looking at.

Good luck.

[Kaz5167 in reply to Clarbear1]

Thank you, yes, abdominal ultra sound was normal.

[Hidden]

Sorry to hear about your son. My daughter is going through the same thing. It started around sep mid. As I read your message I can just replace my daughter and it's the same thing we are going thru 😭...

I ended up enrolling her in online school.

Hope children get better..

[Kaz5167 in reply to Hidden]

I'm so sorry your daughter is going through the same thing. 😢 It's so tough. We had an MRI yesterday so waiting for results. Someone also mentioned autism can cause stomach pain & he does have traits, so looking into this too.As I'm sure is the same for you, just want an answer 😕

[Hidden in reply to Kaz5167]

For my daughter they.. nhs.. didn't want to do even X-ray.. did u go private?

[Kaz5167 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, he is covered on Bupa through my work (we have had to pay £100 excess) - NHS actually cancelled his paediatrician referral from the doctor because his blood tests etc were all normal!!

[Hidden in reply to Kaz5167]

I am happy that u have got a private insurance. We took her to my home country. For her it's fecal impaction. They prescribed 2 weeks of medication movicol and laxative.. the combination worked out. My daughter is doing good now. Hope you can look at this angle too because my daughter never has constipation issues. She had ache after eating and got better with passing of stool. The doctor in my home country was clever enough to identify the issue. An X-ray confirmed that. So my daughter is pain free now. Hope they identify the cause too. I wish the best for your son.

[Kaz5167 in reply to Hidden]

I'm so pleased! I do wonder about constipation, but he does seem to go to the toilet quite regularly, and passing stools doesn't make the pain any better (eating also doesn't make it worse...)

[Leo70]

Hi, I worked as a medical secretary for over 30 years, to a Consultant Paediatrician, who worked for the NHS and privately, and abdominal pain in children was one of the most common complaints that got referred to him. The abdominal pain was labelled "Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Childhood" and I typed absolutely loads and loads of letters related to this in my time working for him. When all other diagnoses had been ruled out and medications not really seeming to help, they were usually referred to a Clinical Child Psychologist to help them cope with the pain, as often it was felt to have a stress origin and the pain was usually around the belly button area. This proved helpful in many cases. I note that your son has seen a Consultant Paediatrician. I have put a link below, which might be helpful to you.

patient.info/childrens-heal...

[Kaz5167 in reply to Leo70]

Thank you. The GP gave me this link early on & it felt like a long list of possibilities, but no answers...

Finding ways to cope with the pain may be the next step forward

[Skyline4]

I just want to say how sorry I am for the discomfort your son has and for the worry that you have. It is horrible having to deal with this but so unfair for a child. I am convinced the neural system plays a large role but I have never heard of a stomach migraine before. I do so hope that your son will grow through this issue and it will be resolve itself as he develops.

[dinglebell]

Hi, I just saw your post, my child had this and eventually it turned out to be an umbilical hernia, spotted by a locum after numerous back and forth to GP, Hospital etc etc, she had a simple day op and that was it. They tried to make out she was making it up to miss school, but she loved school! I hope this helps, especially where (belly button) he feels it. It changes as they grow. X