Kindergartner complains about his tummy every day

emberlee3

DS started kindergarten August 6.  It is going well.  He likes school.  He is starting to make friends, although he has not asked to have any friends over to play yet.  About two weeks ago, he woke up at 5:15 and said his tummy hurt.  He really did seem sick, and he threw up before I left for work.  So he stayed home with DD and the nanny that day.  He threw up again once that day, but was pretty much back to normal the next day.

Since then, he complains about his tummy almost every day.  He has refused to eat some meals and snacks, but not consistently.  He has GERD and takes Prevacid and Tums twice each day.  He is not constipated.  I made him eat toast and applesauce and go to school despite his complaints.  I don't think he's making it up, but I don't think he's sick, either.  Any advice or experience to share?

ppants

Stomach aches can be a sign of anxiety. I know you say he's not constipated. DS was holding his poop until he got home. After a few months, he had to be hospitalized due to extreme constipation. I had no idea he was holding poo in until he was writhing on the floor in pain. Not very helpful, but that's all I can think of right now. I hope he's better soon!

emberlee3

I would be inclined to chalk it up to anxiety, except that he is not showing other signs of stress about kindergarten. No tantrums, he goes to bed fine, he is excited to practice stuff he's learning, and he's getting along well with DD. Maybe I need to try some play with his stuffed animals to see if he opens up about anything?

74dragonfly

If he suffers from GERD maybe see his Dr. Maybe his meds need a tweak. 

I also agree with the poop thing. sometimes my DD doesnt drink enough water, and gets constipated and says her tummy hurts, 

emberlee3

Thanks for your responses. It got more complicated because he threw up in the middle of the night. After much deliberation, I let him stay home today. I think he may be sensitive to bananas; he ate several this week before he started showing actual symptoms.

I also talked with him about the importance of school. We agreed on a system for him to earn extra special time for school attendance.

I am pretty vigilant about GERD and constipation because I am a physician. But it's trickier with kids, for sure.

neverblushed

Since he has a history with issues in this area, I'd direct this straight to your pediatrician.  Could be anxiety but could be something strictly physiological.

emberlee3

Well, he might have had a stomach bug.  He was better over the weekend.

There's actually a lot of back story about his tummy troubles.  It's been on and off for the past 2 years, and my pediatrician is stumped, too.  I think I will take him for allergy testing after the first frost (so we can stop his Allegra and other allergy meds in advance).  We know he has seasonal allergies, but maybe he has undiagnosed food allergies.

Thanks for all the advice.  I am curious how y'all handle those types of complaints if you do think your kid is trying to avoid school.

aglenn

Some stomach bugs can linger for a long time so it is possible that he was still feeling the effects for a while.  Glad he's feeling better.

My DD has a flair for the dramatic and it is sometimes hard to tell when she's really feeling bad and when she just wants to stay home for other reasons.  For the most part I just go with my gut, but if I'm not sure and am sending her anyway I will just tell her teacher to call me if she's not acting right.  Most of the time she is fine, but there have been a few times when they called me to come get her. 

cautionwillburneyes

Have you ever had him checked to see if he has Celiac disease?  It can cause a variety of symptoms, but can cause GI upset after eating something with gluten in it.  I have a couple of people in my family with it (mom is one) and her symptoms started as a young child.  

emberlee3

Celiac is a good thought. I took him to the doctor last week. She thinks he had a stomach bug that made his GERD worse. She added Zantac, and he is doing better.

emberlee3

He doesn't like the taste, but he hasn't complained about taking it. And his appetite has been normal all week, so I am hoping we figured it out.