Belly Bug? 11 Yr Old Son Having Trouble eating...losing Weight.

First off, don't go jumping to conclusions based on what others have said. Yes, these could be signs of food allergies but unless it something that has been going on for a while, don't go there yet. My daughter has also been very sick the past couple of days with a nasty stomach flu so it is going around and it could just be how his body is reacting to it. You say this has only been the past couple of days so I would guess he just has a flu bug and not all the other stuff. Put him on a diet of light foods that are easy to digest with clear liquids for a day or two and it should clear up. If you have notice problems in the past, just eliminate the milk for a couple of days and once he feels like he is back to normal, add it back in and see if it causes problems again.

I would start a food journal and see if there is a "pattern" to his troubles. I just wonder if it could be a food allergy that is causing it. Although, I would think that an allergy would cause runny bowels, not constipation. Are there any other symptoms such as low grade fever, swollen glands, sore throat that would make you think it was a bug of some sort?
Childrens' illnesses can be SUCH mysteries at times, can't they??
Good luck!!!

A while back I complained on here about dizziness and nausea after a sinus infection. Well within another 2 weeks everyone in my daycare, both the children and the parents, were coming down with this same sickness. Some have had diarrhea, some only nausea, some terrible vomiting, some all 3. No one has had any fever at all. We have all been very tired and become dizzy easily. My own children have now had it too. It's some sort of nasty bug for sure.

Good Morning C., the other 2 mama's have great ideas and advice. I would certainly keep track of what he is eating especially the dairy items. I would think also it would cause diarrhea not constipation. He could possibly have a thing called irritated bowel syndrome. I have it once in a while. With the same symptoms of your son. Tummy hurting, rumbling and running to the bathroom with diarrhea though. He could possibly have a bowel blockage and that would also cause pain, rumbling and constipation. Having to strain to empty out.

I would limit dairy, peas or nut products, anything with seeds = tomatoes etc..
That can be hard to do having school lunches etc. Might ask the school if you can send a juice packet for his lunch for a while to see if that helps, instead of drinking milk.

God Bless you C. and I will pray your young man gets better soon.

K. Nana of 5

Have you considered this may be a growing pain? By this I mean he is 11 years old and that should be in a middle school range-kids-yes kids they are not old enough to call them adults and to big for children-so they are very sensitive to others at this age and this means using the bathrooms at any time during the day at school or activities. And of all things #2! This is a BIG DEAL in school. First he has no way to get that message to you again because of his age and it may be causing other issues such as bad gas pains and constipation, he could deal with that somewhat better than the results from his friends at school. Take him aside or possibly his Dad or other trusted man figure he will talk to and see if this may be the whole thing. Then the best you could try for is less milk during the day and let him guzzle a bit when he comes home and can "rest" from his stress. Water all day is good for him and won't hurt any part of his digestion-probably help it go smoothly.If in fact this is a lot of it his doctor may be able to give him something to help him adjust for a different time of the day to do his "thing". It is worth looking into this as all kids are different and what is going on with him may not be what the others have to deal with. Good luck Mom.

Sounds like food snesitivities. It might be Celiac (allergy to gluten. It's in wheat, barley, rye. Most oats can also get contaminated with it during harvesting). Keep a journal. Do some research online.
I have IgG allergies to dairy, eggs, sugar cane, banana, & pineapple. IgG allergies can be reversed if abstained from for 6-12 months, then reintroduced.
IgE allergies, like anaphalaxic (sp?) - extreme peanut allergy for example, cannot be reversed.
I would not wait to find out about Celiac. It does perminant damage to the intestines.
TRY THIS: http://www.celiaccentral.org/celiac_symptoms_checklist/
J.

In my experience, the MDs did not offer us help with our son's digestive issues. They just wanted to prescribe meds. Our chiropractor had far more knowledge about nutrition and digestion than our MD did, and I shop hard for very good doctors of all kinds. The chiropractor was incredibly helpful with these sorts of issues.

As was suggested, it could be food allergies, food sensitivities, or a lack of digestive enzymes. But, it could also be a simple problem of an imballance of normal intestinal bacteria. These bacterial imballances commonly occur following a round of medications, like antibiotics. Since he is 11, you might not want to rule out the possibility that he is taking some substance he shouldn't. Check your own medicine cabinet. If you are taking him to the pediatrician, you might want to ask if the doc would take a urine sample and have it tested for drug use. Your son doesn't need to know that you are doing this test, unless it turns out positive, of course. It will likely rule out that possibility, which will give you peace of mind! I'm not suggesting that we treat our children suspiciously. But, it is naive to think that they are not vulnerable to being easily misled at that age.

The digestive issues you described can also result from severe emotional stress. You might want to talk with the principal or school counselor and ask if they are aware of any unusually stressful situations that might be affecting your son. When boys are this age, you can often learn more from the P.E. teacher. They are often the ones who can pick up on tentions and rivalries that develop among their students because it is more likely to come out during sport competitions than in math class. Another person few parents think to ask is the bus driver. They often hear far more than the teachers do about these things.

There are just so many possibilities. Listen to your instincts. With a little investigation, you may be able to find better answers than the doctors will. I ended up learning a technique that helped my son better than any of the doctor's suggestions. Smart moms can often do more for their kids than smart doctors can!! Good luck!

I have had these symptoms for years and my 8 year old has had them the majority of her life. I went to several doctors and had many expensive tests, the only thing my Dr told me was we needed to do more tests. So I did research on the internet and found this site that changed our lives. It was written by someone who suffered her whole life, it is very minimal cost, no special or weird foods and most of all no drugs with side effects. You can try it with info online for no cost before you purchase the whole package. http://www.greattastenopain.com Try it for your whole family it will help your son as well as you.

It is most likely the stomach bug that is going around. My 7 year old son had exactly what you're describing. It lasted a good week. He, like your son, found that milk at school made his stomach feel weird during that time, so he had water instead. Due to your son losing weight, you really do need to call your pediatrician, though. You also don't want him to get dehydrated. Hope this helps!

Allergy testing sounds like it may help

Could be a food allergy to milk and milk products. Dont let the Dr brush this off insist on blood work and xrays, ect. Weight loss this much is a sure sign of distress.