Writing on behalf of my Daughter who is 18

[Katerino]

My daughter is a keen athlete and has been suffering from sporadic severe stomach cramps over the last 18 months to 2 years.

These cause her to collapse to the ground and her school are very concerned. There appears to be no pattern to the pain and it is centred on her tummy button normally.

She has had an ultrasound scan which did not identify anything. We have had 2 phone appointments with a consultant, who is convinced that it is IBS and has just advised her to keep busy so she can take her mind off it. This is completely unhelpful and I am not convinced that it is IBS.

She also gets headaches and a nurse friend has suggested abdominal migraine but I am struggling to get any helpful information.

She has had a test for Coeliacs but no result yet.

I do wonder if it could be Chronic appendicitis but would this be seen on an ultrasound?

She is very fit and busy all the time - doing Alevels and training for National level athletics.

I feel that she has been dismissed by the consultant who told us to embark on an exclusion diet but had no advise on where to start. It is really difficult to see how we are going to keep track of this as she can go for 2-3 months with no problems and then have 3 incidents in as many days.

Any insight or advice would be very gratefully received.

[edwangy]

could it be down to stress? It seems she has a lot onher plate with A levels and training.

[xjrs]

Has your daughter had all the necessary tests to rule out other digestive disorders? NHS link below regarding the tests which include both blood and stool sample tests (they should be testing for more than just coeliac):

nhs.uk/conditions/irritable...

Also, here is the NICE guideline that the GP should be following to diagnose IBS - it includes detail of specific blood tests:

nice.org.uk/guidance/cg61/c...

It isn't possible to diagnose IBS from symptoms alone.

In the mean time, when these bouts happen, she could try taking Rennie Deflatine and rest for a while. Sometimes trapped gas can cause excrucitating pain. If this helps, this may point to a digestive issue - just a long shot really. I'm wondering if your daughter is pushing herself too hard which might compromise digestion.

Also might be worth looking into endometriosis.

[Katerino in reply to xjrs]

They had already completed those tests with nothing identified. Thank you for your help. I will try giving her some deflatine. It is a very sharp pain and may start in a slightly different location but always ends up at her tummy button.

[Whitesugar]

Have gynaecological conditions been ruled out?

[Katerino]

No but the ultra sound did not reveal anything and there is no correlation with her cycle at all. She gets bad period pains but they do not seem related.

[lowraind]

my.clevelandclinic.org/heal...

[Sparrow58]

Hi I used to get severe stomach cramps when I was a teenager and it was caused by Coke, probably the bubbles. I also went on to get Migraines when I was older, so it could have been Stomach Migraine. They never really knew what caused it but I was told try and avoid Fizzy drinks. My son used to get stomach cramps, he did not like using the school toilets. Have you tried keeping a food and symptom and mood diary to see if there is a pattern. Also a lot of diet drinks contain sweeteners and they can also cause stomach issues. I wish your daughter all the best .

[BabblingBrooks]

My daughter had this but she started with it when she was a toddler. It presented as abdominal pain, nausea and a change of mood.

Then she complained of headache a year or so later.

Had loads of tests which showed nothing. It was a new GP who suggested abdominal migraine. By the time she was a teenager the attacks lessened and she grew out of it.

She hates the lighting in her work place and says it gives her headaches, she’s 25.

[Adriana5]

I think she should have her ovaries checked by ultrasound , my GP referred me for this.

[Starfush]

deficiency in magnesium . Very active and stressed she’s burning it all up