Does anyone know anything about cyclic vomiting syndrome?

[Llyra]

DD2 (will be 3 in a few weeks) has been having these vomiting episodes for a few months, and we've been gradually going through tests to try to pinpoint a cause, and we're all out of tests, and the current theory proposed by the doc we saw this morning is cyclic vomiting syndrome. I've been reading about it all day, and it sure does sound just EXACTLY like what happens to Rachel. We haven't talked treatment yet-- we're keeping a diary of potential triggers, and waiting to see another doctor on Monday for another opinion.

Has anybody been through this, themselves or with your kids? I'd be interested in hearing your story, or hearing about how you've dealt with it, or treated it, especially treatments that don't involve really strong anti-migraine meds, because that option is frightening me, and it's what this doc today seemed to be set on doing. She's so tiny, still a toddler, and the idea of putting her on a daily medication scares me.

[insahmniak]

I've not heard of CVS. But our daughter has had a strange pattern of vomiting. Just in case it helps, it goes something like this:
eats something with some citric acid in it. It could be a fruit popsicle, or a fruit salad. Four hours pass - I could set my watch to it. Stomach is now empty, but stomach fluids come up repeatedly for the next hour or two. Poor thing.

She is now very careful to check for citric acid on all labels, and she avoids acidic foods like oranges, lemonade, etc. The pattern happened at least half a dozen times before we started avoiding citric acid. It hasn't happened in quite some time, now, and while I'm somewhat tempted to test the citric acid trigger I'd really hate for her to go through this again. She's not ready to test it and I'm not going to push her. She's 6.5. Probably started when she was 5.

Hoping you get answers....

[Collinsky]

My Dd (now 7) has been having episodes of unexplained vomiting since early in the summer -- we think it's either CVS or abdominal migraines (I'm not sure how they determine the difference, if there is one, as CVS has also been connected to migraines) -- we're still in the process of ruling everything else out. So we're seeing an allergist soon, and have already started seeing a gastrointerologist. She hasn't had an episode since October, so I'm hoping it's over, whatever was going on.

For both CVS and abdominal migraines, I think the usual is to treat at first symptom, sometimes with Zofran or other anti-nausea med -- as you said these are usually the meds they use for migraine as well. I don't think that they recommend using the meds on a daily basis, but to have them for when an episode occurs -- they don't put you on daily preventive prescription unless the situation is severe enough to warrant it. There are other things that you can try, one that has been suggested to me by several migraine sufferers is to use motion sickness medication at first symptom, and it makes sense that it would have the same success with abdominal migraine.

Also of course eliminate any triggers that show up, your food/activity diary will show over time if there is a pattern there. We haven't found one yet, but we it's not ruled out.

Good luck, mama... I hope you are able to find out what is going on. Sorry your LO has been so sick. It's hard enough when they're able to tell you exactly where it hurts and describe how they're feeling at least a little -- it would be REALLY tough with one so young.

[Llyra]

Well, we had another appointment today, and another set of tests that showed nothing, so we've basically ruled out everything we can. So we have our diagnosis, I guess.

From what I understand, the main distinguishing factor between abdominal migraine, and CVS, is that with the abdominal migraine it's the pain that's the most intense symptom. With CVS it's the vomiting.

So far in four months the only common factor I can see with the episodes is emotional upset. The episodes come after tantrums, or when she naps late and I'm already gone for work when she wakes up, or when she has a nightmare. Usually about 12 hours afterwards, which isn't really close enough to point directly at the tantrum or whatever as a cause. And she's 2, so it's really rather impossible to prevent emotional upset, ya know? I'd have a badly spoiled kid on my hands if I had to go out of my way to prevent every single emotional upset, on the odd chance it might trigger a migraine episode. She has plenty of tantrums that don't bring on a migraine, too. So who knows?

So we keep watching, I guess. Maybe there's something I'm not seeing, that'll turn up at some point.