Complaining of Upset Stomach

Have you considered acid reflux? There is a mild form of it that causes stomach aches. If she's suffering from food allergies you will see a red inflamed area around her anus. Environmental allergies (pollen, etc) will manifest as dark circles under her eyes.

One of my cousins was always missing school due to stomach aches. I think it was nerves. If she got really nervous or scared, she'd get sick. Have you re-introduced any foods the past 3 days? Is it an alergy to dairy or something like that?

There might be a mind-body connection to this.
Is she an anxious kid? Does she worry or stress out a lot?
Ask her what's bugging her and work on that - her stomach will heal itself after that.

Have you tried papaya enzimes? The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op sells them and they're like natures "Tum's" the problem with your daughter may be stomach acid and not that there's too much... maybe not enough. The papaya enzime will create more stomach acid getting rid of upset bellies, heartburn, and digestion problems. My 6 year old had the belly woes for years, describing everything your daughter does and those enzimes helped her. Good luck, R.

Hey there

This could be anxiety....dont freak out. Where do you go to the Dr.? You may need to see someone who believes in childhood anxiety. I had this as a child and the tummy aches are just no fun. I hate to see a child suffer like that when the cure is very simple. There are many things you can do. I am open to talking with you and sharing my experiences. Email me at ____@____.com and I can give you my #. I have alot of information to share. I have 4 girls ages 13, two 7 yr olds, and a 2 yr old. One of my little girls suffers from anxiety...I think I may be able to help. :)

Hi T.!

Our now 9yr old daughter has many food & environmental allergies. Her food allergies mostly manifest into a stomach ache & diaper rash type symptoms. Our ped couldnt find anything clinically wrong with her & we received a handful of dx's from various dr's. I also charted her food & we also eat very healthy. In fact, our daughter is a vegetarian so fast food isnt really an option either. We consulted an allergist & determined that most of the healthy foods I was giving her she would react to. Tomatoes, avocado, cashews, green apples, green grapes (& also beef, which is funny because she had a meat aversion from very young). We eliminated those foods & focused on building up the health in her gut by putting her on child dosed probiotics. It has worked WONDERS for her & also for our youngest daughter. We found thru further research & also consultation my my own nutritionist that her body is sensitive to acidic foods, thus the stomach aches, so we focused on incorporating more alkaline foods into her diet. That also helped. There are absolutely NO contraindications for probiotics. You can take them long term, with other medications, etc. And they are very inexpensive. The brand we like is Nature's Plus Acidophikidz. It's also a great immune builder, so if the kids are coming down with a bug, we boost the dosage & it takes away their loose stools.

Good luck! I hope you find resolve quickly for daughter & peace of mind for you!

Sounds very familiar in what our boy went through. On top of stomach ache he had daily loose stools. We found out that he was allergic to wheat gluten. Once we took him off of all wheat products (including oats that he also seemed to have a problem with) he did much better. Going wheatless is a big committment and it works best if the whole family support this type of change, but in the long run it increased the health of all of our diets. Check out this website for more info: http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_wheatall_hhg.htm

When my daughter goes through a growth spurt she eats an incredible amount of food. We joke that she must have a hollow leg. This might explain why your daughter was fine for a few months. When your daughter complains of hunger, offer her fruit and veggies. If she's really hungry she'll eat it.

My dad tries to get my kids to eat only at mealtimes. I gave up long ago on set times to eat and we all try to eat only when we're hungry. I would like my kids to learn to only eat when they're hungry. By the way, my mom who's in her 60's eats a really healthy diet and eats/snacks about every hour.

Firstly, she may have an allergy to something she is eating but as long as she is not screaming and moaning it probably isn't anything to worry about. No fever or throwing up is a good sign. Lactose intolerance is a also a possibility. You may want to adjust the amount she drinks or perhaps try soy milk (if she'll drink it).

I am the grandmother of a lovely five year old girl (and a 2 yr old boy). When she says something hurts I pay close attention but if it doesn't seem to be serious I always ask her if we need to go to the hospital. She's never taken me up on it yet but if she ever does, then we'll be off to the E.R.

Grandmommy C.

I had a thought as my 5 year old does this on occasion. Did this by chance start near your youngest son's birth? Could she be doing it for attention? I only have 2 kids, but I do know that they are always trying to get my attention away from the other. I try to make "special" time for each of my girls so they feel that they are getting an equal share of Mom. I am blessed that my husband supports this by spending time with the other child.
Hope this helps.

My guess is its an attention getter complaint. My daughter tried that in 1st grade. Nothing was wrong. Her teacher offered her up a reward if she didn't complain for a week and it worked. Give that a try.

Lactose intolerance appears about this age with my kids...
Just use lactose free milk, and low amounts of "unaged" cheese. Less lactose should stop symptoms in about a week.
It's simple, and doesn't invole painful/expensive medical test, so why not try it...

Dear T. L
Hi! my name is M. G. and I have experienced many stomach problems and the only thing I can tell you is that no matter how healthy you eat if your daughter has a allergy
to dairy she will always have stomach problems as long as she is consuming it. You might try a dairy free diet for a month or so, don't worry there are subsitutes that taste great and are good for her. She can drink almond milk or soy milk and eat soy cheese there are many good books for people who can't handle dairy or have Celiacs disease. After trying the no dairy diet if things don't get better try taking her off wheat, that could be another culpret. I have been on a dairy and wheat free diet for about 2 months and I love it. Whole Foods Stores have lots and lots of gluten free and dairy free products, you can even find some of these things at regular stores like SafeWay. I'm not a doctor and I'm not sure what is wrong with you daughters tummy but I know that it's not fun to have that kind of pain. One more thing, your daughter might have Candida it's a yeast infection in the intestins and can get worse if not treated. Has your daughter taken antibiotics lately or has she been on antibiotics for any period of time? If so she might need to take probiotics, they will help to replace the good flora in her system. You can go to any health food store and they have a number of these products on the shelf or in the refrigerator section. If you want to get some really good vitamins I can also help you because I'm a distributor for GNLD International. The products I sell are of the highest quality. If you'd like you can also go on the company website and check it out. Anyway candida can be a real threat to us and our children. Many americans have Candida and don't even know it. I would sugest going on-line and doing some research, this type of yeast infection is a nasty one and needs to be addressed ASAP! Your doctor can test you daughter for candida, although modern medicine doesn't always recognize these kinds of problems they do exsist. What ever you do remember I will be praying for you and your daughter to find what ever treatment is needed and I will pray that God would guide you and the doctors in curing your daughters tummy problem. Please, write me back and let me know what you think. If you have any questions or would like some more information about GNLD you can call me at home ####-###-####

HI,

Your daughter is having interesting sensations, "hunger" and upset tummy. Did you feel her belly when she is complaining? I wonder if it's a blood sugar thing combined with a food she doesn't tolerate well.

Start the log again and compare it to the last.

Do the complaints start AFTER a meal? I'd suggest switching her to soy milk and see if they go away. Trader Joe's has great tasting chocolate soy in quart and individual size.

My son never liked milk much, so we'd put him on Tums tablets at age 3 or 4 (on doctor's advice) to make sure he was getting enough calcium.

Once he started Kindergarten (he had milk every day at snack), he would complain of a stomachache. The doctor checked him out and chalked it up to nervous stomach, starting school. He eventually stopped complaining, I thought it'd gone away.

He starting up complaining again at the beginning at First Grade. We took him to the pediatrician again and he figured it might be the occassional "hot lunch" at school being too fatty for his digestion after what I fed him for lunch. He recommended being more picky about hot lunch and limiting it to only once a week at most. Eventually he stopped complaining, I thought it'd stopped.

Finally, in 6th grade, I bought soy chocolate milk cartons for lunch boxes by mistake. My son came home from school ELATED that for the first time he said, his stomach hadn't hurt after lunch! We've learned that he can eat regular yogurt, cheese sticks and ice cream, but milk for some reason gives him a stomachache.

Good luck!

Hello T.,

My daughter use to do this same thing, but even worst because if it wasnt her stomach it was some other part of her body. Thank God there wasnt any real problem with her stomach, but we came to find out that it was her way of seeking attention from us. She is a middle child and has an older sister (who she wants to be just like) and a twin brother who is the baby (in ever sense of the word :0)) i noticed whenever I would spend time with one of the other two her stomach would all of the sudden start hurting. Your little one although the oldest could be feeling overlooked and left out. I told my daughter that she doesnt have to say she's hurting to get moms attention. Instead say mom I need you and want some attention. From that converstaion forward she has done exactly that and when she does I make it a point to stop and listen to what she has to say and give her a little extra hug and kiss to make her feel special. Hope this helps

If your daughter is 5 I assume she is now enrolled in kindergarten. As you have been a stay at home mom, she may be feeling some anxiety about being away from you and in a new environment. Having a stomach ache may be her way of expressing her anxiety. My daughter had stomach aches in kinder also and there was nothing wrong with her. We asked her about her day and checked in with her about her feelings. We tried not to ask too much about her stomach ache in order not to promote complaining. We figured that if it really hurt, she would tell us. Once she got used to the idea that she had to go everyday and got more acquainted with the kids the stomache aches went away.

Hi, T.. We have a seven year old daughter (as well as two older boys) who also complains of an upset stomach a lot. I've tried to watch what we've been eating, monitor her bowel movements, etc. I do know that she is a little lactose intolerant, but over the course of time have come to realize that it is her way of communicating that she needs attention. I will usually make her a cup of tea and sit with her for about 20 minutes cuddling her and rubbing her belly. At the end she says it's not completely ok, but she does feel better. You of course want to rule out any physical malady, but the number of complaints goes down when we do this.

Is there a history of migraine headaches in the family? It could be juvenile migraines which before puberty can manifest in the digestive tract instead of the head. My third son had constant stomach pain for a year and a half. We saw many specialists and he had every test imaginable including two brain MRI's, colonoscopy, upper GI, etc. as well as checking his blood sugar eight times a day and keeping a journal of everything he ate, not to mention all of the blood tests and stool samples.

He was unable to go to school for much of the time and several of the "specialists" were convinced that I he was psycho and I was at fault.

It wasn't until he finally got the headache at around age 14 that we were finally sent to a neurologist who diagnosed the juvenile migraines. I had asked if this could be the case as I get migraines and had discovered that they are different for kids and was told no. Ask your doctor to refer you to a child neurologist. Many doctors are unaware migraines can manifest in this way, so you might need to be firm. If I had been listened to or been more demanding, my son's pain would have been treated at least a year earlier.

Hi there, my daughter will be 6 in april and she does the same thing. She was complaining of her stomach hurting and I took her to the doctor and they couldn't find anything wrong. So I told/asked my daughter if she was hungry or if she maybe needed to poop. She always says no to both. I found the less attention I gave it, the less I heard about it. It may have been a growth spurt but I think maybe she either had hunger pains or she needed to take a good poop. HOpe this helps!

Look into things like lactose intollerance (dairy products) or gluttin (wheat) sentsitivities. Both of these can make one's stomach ache and the spells come and go with what is being eatten. Also diets high in Broccoli and other vegetables can sometimes cause issues with gas. The other big problem with all of these is they can take days for your system to get back to normal after a flare up. So it may not be what was just eaten but what was eaten a few hours or days before.

My son does the same thing and usually it is because he has a gas bubble. Usually due to eating or drinking to fast. I rub his back and pat it like I am burping him and a few minutes later he has burped and feels much better. Something to try.

It could be stress. There might be something going on a school or home she does'nt know how to talk about and she could be having pyschosomatic symptoms. Upset tummy. My bosses duaghter had it because she was being teased at school.

Hi T.,
When my now 12 year old was five she started complaining about stomaches also! We took her to the doctor and couldn't find anything. We determined that it was "nervous stomache". She had just started kindergarten and we had just moved to a new city. We went through the questions "are you hungry?, do you have to use the restroom?, do you feel sick?" Always no. After she felt secure in her new school situation the stomachaches disappeared. Are there any new situations in your daughters life that may be concerning her? Praying for clarity.
In His care,
T.

T.,

Congratulations on your wonderful family and being able to stay at home while your children are growing up! This might be a stretch, but have you thought that the tummy aches might be your daughter's reaction to stress? I suggest this because we went through the exact same thing with my daughter, who is now 13-years-old. Her tummy aches began when she was in 2nd grade. We tried everything and tested her every way the doctors knew how to try to find the cause. I never realized that her situation in the classroom (a very tense environment, where the teacher couldn't handle an especially-rowdy group of kids) could be causing her distress. Miraculously, a few weeks after school let out, her tummy aches disappeared. They tend to resurface when she's especially nervous about a test or an athletic competition. Thank goodness these episodes are very few and far between now! But back to your daughter: When you think of all of the changes that have occured in her young life with the arrival of new siblings, maybe this could be the trigger. This is just a thought, though. Good Luck!

Did your doctor check for celiac disease (wheat intolerance)? Lots of g.i. symptoms can be caused by this allergy. Good luck!

Is she in preschool? It may be that she is nervous about a bully or afraid of something. Ask her in the most non threatening way what is going on in her day away from you. Sort out if there is hesitation or anger about any person or subject. I'm a teacher and I had "tummy trouble" when I was in school because of fear (bullies in the 70's)! Good luck!

Hi T. - my daughter complained of tummy aches for years. We finally narrowed it down to nerves/anxiety (usually small stuff to an adult)and also drainage from allergies. Started working on coping skills and talking more about things she was "excited" about (school starting, new sibbling, etc) She's 10 now and has a pretty good handle on it. Has a slightly "sensitve" tummy (like her daddy) but rarely the problems of 4-6ys old. Hopes this helps (and couldn't hurt). Good luck

Hi T.

What about dairy, is she still eating that and if so, you may want to consider getting that out of her diet. Something to consider too, when she says her stomachs hurts, what part, I always ask my son is it the upper and I touch his upper stomach or lower. The reason I do this is because if it's upper that can kinda be an indication that it's something the child ache more recently and if it's lower, the perhaps earlier in the day or even day before (as the food would now be lower in the intestine) this may help you kinda figure out which foods could be the culprit and if not. then maybe a second doc's oppinion is needed just to rule out anything serious.

T.,
Did the doctor do any testing for infected colitis? Not sure if that could affect a child, but it sounds similar to the symptoms.
Hope you come to a conclusion soon!
G. C

T., when did these stomach problems begin occurring? Is your daughter in kindergarten? She could be feeling really nervous or anxious about something in her life, and it manifests itself with stomach pains (a very common physical ailment for emotional distress- even in grown ups for that matter). Just a thought. The other option (and I hope these are not it, is that she could be allergic to wheat or milk and they're causing her stomach pains). I recommend you continue to keep a log of what she's eating, times, and when she has stomach pains and goes to the bathroom- you might find a pattern there). Another cause of stomach pain in grown ups is ruptured cysts but I haven't heard of little ones getting this--- but if it gets really bad and there seems to be no other cause, you may want to inquire with a doctor about this. I hope your daughter feels better.

I too have a daughter almost 5 years old that was always complaining about her stomach hurting. When we spoke to the doctor they mentioned it might be a lactose issue. I changes milk from 2% to 1% and sometimes non-fat. She doesn't complain hardly anymore, except when she's had TOO much milk in the day. She really enjoys chocolate milk and cereal, some times she overindulges.

could be stress. could be that a lot of times when a grownup would have a headache a child will have a stomachache. could be an allergy or sensitivity. I assume that the doctor would have (or will if necessary) notice if there is some structural reason why she's hungry but not able to eat. ...

T.,

One very wise thing I remember our son's doctor telling us was that, under stress, often "adults get headaches and kids get tummy-aches." I notice your daughter is the oldest of 3, including an infant. That has got to be really stressful for all of you. Maybe talking with her about how busy you all are and letting her express that it could be hard for her, as the oldest. Try to make special time to spend with her, when she can be your baby (as our kids always will be to us) for a little bit. Maybe the two of you will be able to talk about how being the oldest is sometimes a tough thing!

Good luck! You have your hands full with 3!

K. K.

it could be a food allergy such a gluten, wheat, or more commonly dairy (lactose intolerance). I personally have lactose intolerance, some days I am really sensitive to all dairy, other days I can have aged cheese. I remember being 4 years old and getting a tummy ache after drinking milk. My mother did not believe me and I was forced to deal with it. When I got older, I figured it out on my own.

I would try taking each of these things out of her diet for a week each and see what happens. I hope this helps!

T.

I went through something similar with my oldest son (now 17) when he was about 5-6 years old. Doctors could not find anything wrong with him and then one doctor asked me if Chris was an over acheiver, dedicated to excellence. He asked if Chris was competitive, all answers were a resounding "yes". He told me that this was a common occurence with first born, over acheiver children. It is almost like a irritable bowel syndrom, except no long lasting effects or physical diagnoses. I don't suggest forgoing having a doctor check your child out throughouly, but when she has her next stomach ache try getting her lay down, make her comfortable and try and get her to talk about some of the things that might be bothering her. Once my son began to get some things off his chest, his stomach aches subsided. Hope this helps!
V.

There is emotional pain as well. Try to figure out when this occurs. Is it at the same time every day? Are you or your daughter engaged in the same activity? Are you engaged in activity with another child or your husband? There are so many reasons for emotional pain and because at this age and sometimes older you can't verbalize what's really going on it becomes physical pain. Do you take time out to talk to her, to ask different questions like "what's going on, can I help make you feel better by doing something for you, would you like to play a game, is your heart hurting, let's talk about it" Sometimes you have to dig but the emotion is there and it will come out. Pray is always available at times like these as well. Pray together, ask God to comfort her heart, her tummy, and her soul. I hope this helps. I have three girls just about a year apart.

Dr B.

After our son's first stomach flu he complained for a month that his tummy hurt (he was 5 at the time). I think he just couldn't get past the yucky feeling he had when he was sick. I began asking him to describe the feeing and kept telling him if you do this or do that it will make your tummy better. He slowly got better although it took a few more weeks to convince him he was o.k.! I hope you daughter gets better soon. Talking about to them and letting them describe it helps too. Doing slow breathing and relaxation can help along with praying with your child. I hope this helps. I have been there and it sure is a hard thing to go thru!
Ang

Dear Tracy:
My son, Smith, is now 12 and he has had stomach aches since I can remember. We have gone through lots of specialists because sometimes the pain was so intense and was interfering with kindergarten through to middle school sports!
You should make sure to get a consultation with a pediatric gastrointerologist; mostly so you can rule out things like celiac disease, crohn's, etc. Once you do this and it comes back negative then you can at least rest easier that this is something you can work on.
The answer that came to us was from an adult GI specialist last year. Basically he said to think of your gut and the ability to relieve your bowels as convenience mechanisms. I know this is sounding weird but after 12 years this has made the most sense! The pain she is experiencing after a meal may from the food she had yesterday. Even though she is toiliting regularly, it takes about 24 - 36 hours for your meal to get through.
Your daughter will probably gravitate toward food that doesn't seem to cause a problem; staying away from dairy (milk, cheese, ice cream), heavy meats (even chicken with too much sauce). We try to take fiber type vitamins everyday to keep things regular and I really encourage water and not juice or sodas.
I hope you don't find any of this defeating... the good news is that this is something you can work with (it is just going to take some time and patience). For us, we know it's not disease it is just a way of living.

I wish you the best of luck. M.

If it is constant pain, take her to a doctor soon. I do not want to scare you, but there are some not nice diseases with stomach pain as the first symptom in children.

has she been checked for food allergies? sometimes there can be a certain thing, even a small item, that a child can be allergic to that can cause a tummy ache. And it's just a blood test to check for them all.

This is the story of my life, but when my mother used to take me to the hospital writhing in pain they would tell her it was just gas. Look into IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I have foods that trigger pain and upset stomach, but stress and emotions also play a part in my discomfort. Some days an egg is fine other days it will give me diarrhea, it all depends on all of these factors that irritate my bowels.

Perhaps the doctors need to look at Chrones (sp) disease. My sister had that, stomach always hurt, cramping feeling, etc. She ended up having chrones.

Hi T.,

My daughter also has complained of stomach aches in the past. It may be related to many things, but it could also be heartburn. We started giving her a tums tablet whenever she complained, and it seemed to help. It is a good source of calcium anyway, and there is no harm in it. We rarely give it to her any more, but is nice to be able to hand her something even if she is just imagining it works. Thanks, J.

Is your daughter under some sort of stress? Did the stomach aches start with the new baby? or is she in school? My daughter went through a period like this for nearly 2 years. We looked at diet, allergies etc. Just like your daughter it could come and go sometimes for months at a time. She was older but we ended up switching schools after 5th grade and she hasn't had a problem since. You might look at a different kindergarten or pre school. My daughter never said a bad word about school but I don't think she was conscious of the problem.

I would just encourage you that while she is still complaining of being ill in any way, that I would not encourage any immunizations as that could just add more problems. Just a thought. Best of luck...God will give you wisdom!
K. W

Try a naturopathic doctor or an acupuncturist. Sometimes Eastern medicin has a narrower scope and can find things Western doctors can't. Make sure they come recommended and use applied kiniesiology to muscle test responses to food or other allergies. Don't rule out going to a specialist either. There are some rare genetic disorders related to this kind of symptom that sannot be found by a general practitioner. Try everything. Several approaches are better than one.

Hello T.,

Sounds to me that she is doing this for attention. I work in health care and see this often when there is a younger child in the home. Usually the oldest child feels displaced by their younger siblings and will often complain of things like stomach aches or headaches to get their parents attention.

What I suggest is that you take some time to spend with her alone. Maybe you can send the younger two to bed for one hour nap during the day and use that time to spend with her doing something she enjoys. You could also try to involve her in the care of the other two kids if she is open to it and make her feel like her siblings are her friends and not her enemies.

But most important of all, keep praying and let God guide you in this. Sometimes moms want to do everything on our own and we get very overwhelmed.

Good luck

I have a 5 year old son that have upset stomaches often. He was born with acid reflux and has always been that way. I started buying children's tums and they seem to work pretty well. I hope that will be of some help.

C. A.

Hi there!
Maybe it has nothing to do with food, but it could be that something is bothering her. My son used to get tummy ache around when, we had to move cross country away from his friends and he also got it when it got bullied at his new school, and he didn't want to go back again. Thankfully, we worked that one out quickly. Talk to her and see if there might be something or someone that is bothering.

My daughter regularly complains that her tummy hurts (she's almost 4) but I've discovered that it's directly related to her having to have a bowel movement. She's not constipated, but it's like she easily gets gas so I imagine there's some pain in her intestines or something. Once she poops, things seem to be fine. But if that's not the case with yours, I'd continue to pursue things with the doctor - have them focus on the intestinal tract - get an xray or other diagnostic tool.
The other thing to consider is that it's an attention-getting scheme. With a new baby in the house, maybe she's feeling neglected and this is the only way she can think of to get you to spend time with her. Make sure you carve out some alone time with her, as difficult as that may be.

Many times when my children complain about tummy aches there is something stressful going on in their life. It may be something small and insignificant to us that is causing her some anxiety.

Perhaps she's having trouble adjusting to the time your little guy is taking from her since she is the most indepent of your children. She may need some "Mommy time". My kids have feigned illness to spend a day home alone with me, which, once you get past being irritated, is very sweet and can be fun.

I would suggest blocking out some time alone with her to do something fun together and talk about what may be going on in her life. What feelings she is having. Often kids will not open up about their problems or complain about not getting enough attention. Especially if she is not getting undivided attention due to the daily household commotion.

Hope you are able to figure this out. Good Luck!