Stomach Pains

[poorlittlefish]

My 3.5 year old DD complains of stomach pains almost everyday.  Sometimes it is becuse she has to poop, sometimes it is because she is hungry but I hear it at least once per day.  At what point to do I take it seriously and bring her into the Dr.?

Does anyone elses child do this?  One time she has the strep virus and it affected her stomach and she had bad stomach pains.  That time I saw it in her face and knew the pain was real but in general, I am just not sure if it is an attention thing or if it is real.

We do have a high deductable plan so I really, really do not want to bring her in and hundred of dollars later find out she is fine but I don't want to be negligent.

Does anyone else have this same thing going on?  Suggestions are welcome!

[Dandelionkid]

Just wanted to say that my oldest has been complaining of stomach pains for years (she is 7) off and on. Almost always related to needing to urinate. Sometimes nothing seemingly. I did ask her GP and he really wasn't concerned because the discomfort is fleeting, unpredictable, not causing a lot of distress and is not getting worse or more consistent with time and wasn't accompanied by any other signs and symptoms. Her complaints seem to be lessening in frequency with age. 

[Mom2M]

My DD1 started complaining of stomach pain quite a long time ago and like you said, it was kind of confusing to relate it to any specific cause.
We assumed it was mostly because of her history of issues with constipation/holding back poop.
DH was convinced it was to get attention and sometimes I thought it was too except that sometimes she had them and it caused her to have to stop doing something she loved and really wanted to do so that she could lie down.

Several months ago, it got really bad and after a week of her having many episodes of pain every day that were bad enough to make her lie down, we made a dr. appt. They ordered an u/s and found an issue with her liver. We saw a specialist who also ordered a ton of blood tests and one of them was for celiac. She tested positive for celiac but he wants to repeat it in 3 months to make sure since it was on the low end of positive and he said he doesn't like to give that diagnosis lightly.

Honestly, DD's symptoms for all that time just didn't seem serious enough to actually investigate it but after we got the test results, I felt awful because I was thinking that maybe she just got used to being in some pain and only couldn't handle it when it got too bad.

I am incredibly lucky to have really good insurance and I think it is terrible that you have to worry about how much it is going to cost. I don't know how we ever would have afforded all that stuff if our insurance didn't cover almost every bit of it.
I guess the only suggestion I have is to maybe make an appt. just to see your ped. and talk to him about whether he thinks it warrants doing some kind of diagnostic test like the u/s at a place where you can get a payment plan and reduced non insurance rate. Blood work is even more expensive than the u/s and often the dr. will just run as many tests as possible to get a complete picture. So maybe being selective in testing there could help also if he feels it really is needed.


I think I would continue to watch her for a period of time like a month and consider making a food diary. That can be very useful when trying to figure something like this out.

Good luck and I hope she feels better.

[meemee]

First of all please believe the pain is REAL. not saying you arent, but just making sure. 

in my dd who has been having stomach pains since she could express herself - its related to anxiety.

at 2 i went back to work and then later lost my car in an accident and was living a crazy life of leaving house at 7 am and getting home at 8 pm with dd in dc for 12 hours or so. at 3 1/2 i quit. her stomach aches began when i lost my car which means commute became horrendous. the day i quit my job my dd's stomach pain went away. just like magic. never to return in that same manner - every day. i'd done everything for her pain but it did nothing.

that's when i realised --- aaah anxiety. in hindsight. i felt terrible i hadnt figured it out. 

i am actually quite grateful for stomach pains. they tell me how dd is doing as she prefers to put on a happy face sometimes so as to not concern us. her dad falls for that all the time. i didnt like that at K she was all nice and cheerful (i could tell). so i asked her if her stomach hurt. and then i asked her again if K was fun.... whole different story.

as she grew older i think by 6 they were really really reduced. BUT even now if i am stressed or not giving her enough attention (meaning not direct attention but not calming down) she can get stomach aches.

so look around at ur surroundings. if you change something around you and ur dd's stomach pains go away like magic then its probably anxiety.

dd had high anxiety when younger. at 5 i could see her tense up if i lost my way or if we were getting late for school. 

she still has anxiety at almost 9 but not so much as before. actually she now also gets headaches - rarely but intense - from maybe last year. 

what has really helped i think is my reaction and talking talking talking that this is what life is. she has seen me when i had the same experience as her - wasp sting, or yelled at, not loose my mind but take it cool and composed. i have been talking to her since she was 4 - that sorry but this is what life is. she hit her hardest part at 5. feeling things intensely and deeply. like the end of the world. i've tried to show her from others perspective. or had the attitude - its no big deal. happens all the time. you'll be ok. or maintained calmness and sat with her as she lost it. 

i think she has learnt more from my attitude than my words. she still has anxiety and always will, but i think she has figured out coping skills that even help her with nightmares. 

[poorlittlefish]

Thanks, ladies.  I have a well baby in a few weeks with my ped for my other daughter.  I will mention it to her at that time and see what she says.

Meemee, I like what you said about believe that the pain is real.  Because I alternate between being very concerned and rolling my eyes about it. You are right, I need to believe that it is real all the time.  Thanks for that.