Help! Son Has Stomach Pain and Using Probiotics

He may be anemic and needs iron. I know, it sounds weird, but you need enough iron to be able to go poop. Been there and done this with my daughter and it works. Get some Vita-sol iron drops. You may have to request that the pharmacy order it for you, it is over the counter. You can mix it with some juice.

My daughter had sever constipations from about 6 months old to present (12 years old). When she started school it was even worse! I finally figured out they the schools never gave her enough time to drink enough water. I had the doctor write out a RX (yes a RX) for 8 oz of water at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. Because it was an RX the school was REQUIRED to give my daughter the water and make sure she took it all and her teachers always gave her extra bathroom time. This really helped. It got my daughter in the habit of drinking lots of water, it cleared up 99% of the constipation and is 100% natural.

On a side note I wish you could have seen the look on the doctors face when I asked for the RX for water! She was shocked, then laughed, then she said she was going to do this for about 4 of her other patients!

Hi P.,

Yes, probiotics are key when kids (or anyone for that matter) have been on antibiotics.They help replenish the healthy flora in the gut.

How is his diet? Does he eat a lot of dairy? dairy can cause a lot of stomach issues, such as gas, bloating, and constipation. How is his sugar intake?

In Chinese Medicine-the diet is what creates the energy of the body-and kids have very sensitive guts-which many people do not realize. So, sugars, dairy, wheat can adversely affect the gut-if it's already weakened.

Are you interested in handling this naturally? Chinese medicine is so effective with digestive disorders and children are incredibly responsive to it.

FYI-fish oils or flax oils would be really beneficial-the omegas would help lubricate his intestines. The probiotics would be beneficial in replenishing the healthy flora of his gut.

IMO-I get sad when I see or hear of children taking such strong meds, when there are definitely natural ways of taking care of their health issues-by using their body to balance their body. I just feel like taking meds creates such a snowball effect-the meds create side effects and then their is another med for the side effect and then another one-and on and on...and the liver and gut can only handle so much processing.

Anyways, if you'd like help or more information-don't hesitate to email me at ____@____.com i'll help in whatever way I can.

--
B. Sabaj, LAc, Dipl. OM LMBT (#8444)

Are you getting your necessary "ME" time?!
Come to Healing Point Acupuncture, where your "ME" time is 100% of the time.
www.HealingPointNC.com

My son has had stomach pain since he was very little. He is 12 now. He had constipation and diarrhea off and on. After many doctor's specialist visits and I decided to do some research and found a lab in texas which tests for different allergies. I sent them a stool specimen and inside of mouth swab and got back a very interesting result. It turns out that my son has celiac disease (he is intolerant to gluten), plus he is allergic to other foods (dairy, eggs, soy, corn, etc, etc). He has been on a gluten free diet for nearly a year but still has tummy aches so I have started giving him probiotics. I am hoping that they will help with his tummy pain. Celiac is a disease which doesn't go away and to live a long healthy life you must stick to a 100% gluten free diet. I believe that once his intestines begin to repair themselves from twelve years of ingesting gluten I will be able to re-introduce some of the other foodstuffs he is allergic to. Blood tests and even biopsies for detecting celiac disease are not foolproof, especially on children, that's why I did the gene test with the swab as genes don't lie. I think it's worth spending the money on these tests. It saved me a lot of trouble and worry. Good luck with your son.

At this age, it could be school-stress related. If so, it should calm down after school's out for the summer, so that's soon, anyway. It's usually quiet, peaceful kids who stress about school issues and sometimes it's as simple as feeling that he must make good grades, feeling that his teacher doesn't like him, being picked on (kids are cruel and have a tendency to pick on the gentle-natured ones -- especially boys), and/or finding it difficult to make friends.

The probiotics couldn't hurt and would probably be beneficial. I, too, hate for little kids to be taking 2 or 3 chemical meds for what could probably be cleared up with better understanding of what's causing it and natural remedies.

If it stops at the school-year's end, try to find out what about school made him stressed so you can avoid it next year. If it continues more than a couple weeks after school's out, though, I'd get it checked out further.

Good Morning P.,

There is a wonderful all natural juice out there that is getting remarkable results from high lood pressure, headaches, joint issues, bowel issues and more.... you should try a bottle on him and see how it does... www.monavie.com

my little guy gets that way everynow and then (Sorry for the typing, this keyboard is horrible!) anywho, we use probiotic yogurt every nowa nd then and it seems to keep him pretty well. We did have to use actual prescribed probiotics because his diahrrea was so acidic that it was burning his bottom. but for the constipation, we've used glycerin supositories and they worked well.

we have also used the probiotic powder and just put it in his milk. it's tasteless.
good luck, tummy trouble is NO fun :(

i have always been told to use probiodics for the runs not the other way around. i have to take 2 stool softeners a day just for this reason and it has helped quite a bit good luck

Hi, I always give my children a probiotic when they are on antibiotics to replace the friendly bacteria. Now I use a natural supplement to promote health and that includes the digestive tract. You might want to look at www.liquidzeolite.org There is a lot of info here and you will need to sift thru what you need. Message me if you want more info and I can show you how i order at wholesale prices. Good Luck! M.

Sounds like a trip to the GI specialist is in order. Also my family uses SHAKLEE Optiflora Probiotic Complex daily to maintain a healthy digestive balance. I have used Shaklee products for 30 yrs, & now have a website (below) to share information about Shaklee, since it has benefited my family so much. You may want to take a look at the site. Information about the probiotic is at the end of this note. Good luck!

D. M. Focht
"Shaklee -Creating Healthier Lives & Environment"
visit: www.Shaklee.net/Focht

SHAKLEE Optiflora Probiotic Complex: Enhancing the growth of beneficial microflora promotes long-term colon health.* Optiflora is a unique two-product system that provides both the probiotics and the prebiotics. This patented probiotic guarantees the delivery of live bacteria to the intestine.

For optimal balance of intestinal microflora:
*Helps maintain a healthy digestive balance and promotes long-term intestinal and colon health
*Patented triple layer encapsulation technology to protect live probiotics and guarantee their delivery into the intestine
*This probiotic is part of our unique two-product pre and probiotic system to provide beneficial microflora and nutrients to promote their growth and multiplication for healthy digestive balance
______________________________________________

The probiotics should not hurt. You can give it to him every day. If you are concerned about that, you could always give yogurt or kefir to him. Also, it has been noted that most of our immune system is found in the digestive tract and this is the reason they say that probiotics are so helpful. I am still trying to understand this fully, but it does seem that probiotics can help children with chronic sickness.

I hope that whatever you decide to try, that you find a solution soon.

Our prediatrician wanted us to rely on a laxative to help our daughter's chronic constipation. Even though it worked, it was not an acceptable long-term solution for us. Once she stopped the laxative, she would return to the same level of constipation. She was already eating plenty of raw fruits and vegetables. After doing some research, we tried the probiotics from Shaklee. She took them for about two weeks, and the change was dramatic. If we had not sought another solution, she would still be taking a laxative every day. After the initial treatment, I usually give her a weeks course every month to help her maintain.

Here is the one we use. It does not need refrigeration to stay active. The special coating helps the probiotics get to the intestines where it is needed most, not just the stomach.

http://www.shaklee.net/lthigpen/product/20639

I hope it helps. I totally understand. It is so sad that our health care system cannot offer better solutions.

Yes, I have given my children probiotics for several years now. I have one child out of 6 that has had paticular stomach problems for several years now. Our doc years ago tried to put her on Miralax and Zantac too, but we never went that route and went strictly to a natural way.
Probiotics for kids are great. We use Garden of Life probiotics for kids. You can get it at http://appleadayandbeyond.com/estore_product.cfm?p=7&c=7
Its $15.55 through this website. I love this website and use many of the products there.
Also, for constipation you can get a Tea called Smooth Move from Traditional Medicinals that works really well.

is your son drinking cow's milk?
my daughter had this problem- and it stopped once we switched to (vanilla, for taste) soy milk.
(or whatever milk would work for you/your son- soy, almond, rice, goats...)

Hi P., a probiotic could help and I don't think that it will hurt. You can buy one that is specifically for children. For my DS, I just use the one that I have. I give him half a dose mixed in with some yogurt.

I spoke with my pediatrician prior to this ... and he indicated that it was a good idea with antibiotic use. We also use it if he has a bout with a stomach bug.

I hope he feels better! D..