Children with ibs
#2373 - 03/10/03 01:40 PM
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britsarah
Reged: 02/16/03
Posts: 253
Loc: United Kingdom
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My 8 year old has been complaining over the past 6 months or so of a lot of gas and diarrhea, I'm trying to feed her a little more along the lines of the ibs diet. Is it worth taking her to the doctor or should I try to manage it myself? She's starting to ask if she's got 'the same as Mom'. Was anyone on the boards diagnosed as a child?
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Sarah
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Hi,
How sad, this really touched my heart. I constantly worry about my son living with IBS as I have had to. Thankfully he has no signs yet.
If it were me I would take her to the doctor as I would want to rule out any infections etc.
If all signs still point to IBS I would certainly follow the IBS diet guidelines with her. It should be fairly easy if you are doing it too. You would need to educate her on "happy" foods for her tummy for when she is at school, friends houses etc because these places could be tricky for her.
Good luck and if it is IBS at least she will have a Mum who thoroughly understands and supports her condition. Let us know how she gets on.
Kerrie
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What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
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Hi - I had my first IBS attack at age 9, though I went undiagnosed (due to a spectacularly awful pediatrician) until I was 16. Children as young as 4 have been diagnosed with IBS, and it does seem to run in families though they haven't found a solid genetic link.
It's crucial that other problems be ruled out before you assume it's IBS though - at a minimum, your daughter should have the blood work done to initially screen her for celiac and inflammatory bowel diseases. If those turn up negative her doc may not want to do any more invasive tests. But, that basic bloodwork is essential.
She can certainly eat according to the IBS guidelines - that won't hurt her if she doesn't have IBS (though the test for celiac will tell you if she needs to avoid gluten - something very different than the IBS diet). She can also take a soluble fiber supplement every day - no risks to that, but check with her doc for the dosage for an 8 year old.
There are actually special sections for children with IBS in the First Year IBS book - this is a topic quite close to my heart. A lot of the chapters are online at http://www.firstyearibs.com/contents.html
Also, there are a lot of great recipes on the recipe board here that are very kid-friendly. You could post requests, too.
Please let us know how things go...
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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An update on this..
I took my daughter to the doctor's today after yet another night of pain, then diarrhea this morning. She's 9 now (this Tuesday!) and we were both getting really fed up of her feeling so bad. The doctor we had to see was one I wasn't really sure about either, so I didn't want to be labelled an 'interfering' mother.
Anyhow, I shall never be so narrow minded again - we went, I told her Annie's history and she felt her stomach and said "I think it's irritable bowel". She also promptly prescribed her a soluble fiber supplement and asked me about her diet. I then told her about my ibs, and said I was worried that I was seeing symptoms in her that weren't there, but she reassured me that it wouldn't have inflenced her at all.
We also discussed other tests, but as she had had other tests recently for another problem, she felt that they had ruled out anything else. So at least I know how to best look after her, and I reassured Annie that it's not really that bad once you eat the right kind of things. We've just got to sort out now what her triggers are, and after a couple of weeks report back to the doc, as she said she might give her a peppermint oil supp. as well.
Three cheers for enlightened doctors!!
Sarah 
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Sarah
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