Pediatric gastroenterologist?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone please help me with a recommendation for a pediatric gastroenterologist? My soon to be 3 yr old dd was recently diagnosed with ASD and suffers from frequent constipation and gas. As I type this, she is crawling out her skin screaming in pain. I thought we made in roads by closely monitoring her diet and making sure fruits and veggies play a prominent role in her diet. But alas, I'm nearly going deaf from her screams of agony right now. DH and I are starting to wonder if dd could have a malformation of her intestines so I think seeing a gastro could help to rule this out. TIA!!

[Anonymous]

We saw Dr. Benny Kerzner at Children's and I would recommend him. He was very caring and thorough.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the recommendation. We ended up in the emergency room tonight because the screams lasted 5+ hrs. We got an xray and US and it showed nothing more than bad gas and constipation. Amazing that my DD pooped twice earlier today and passed lots of gas and still had these terrible problems. Despite the long night at the ER with no dinner at least we have peace of mind that it wasn't due to GI malformation. We have an appt with a DAN to discuss diet, etc. If that does help her situation, we will go see Dr. Kerzner. Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

Try Miralax.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry, OP. My son has irritable bowel syndrome, and he gets cramps so badly he rolls into a ball and moans. It sucks, sucks, sucks. We also went to Children's, but saw another doc who was great, so I think you can just go with that practice and see...

[Anonymous]

Kids with ASD or Sensory issues can also have tummy issues.

These issues - along with allergies - are on the rise in both NT and DD populations. Types of tummy problems can include eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders which can be food allergy mediated or have other causes of inflamation. Other tummy issues include inflammatory bowel disease, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome and reflux

A good GI will tell you if your child has symptoms of any of these and how to figure it out. Screaming pain from constipation is not normal. Please see a GI.

We used Doctor Pluta as our GI but there are many good ones in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

OP here- do you think it will be more helpful for DD to see a gastroenterologist rather than a DAN to help diagnose and treat these ongoing digestive issues? Or both?

[Anonymous]

NP. I would see a DAN first and then a GI doctor to cover your bases. I might also see a nutritionist who really knows the GI issues kids on the spectrum can have. For us the GFCF diet was life changing-GI issues are nearly gone. Your post sounded familiar to me because I lived something similar. Every kid is different so don't let me guide you-get a variety of professional opinions.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I would probably engage both the DAN and GI Docs and get both opinions. Both Doctors will likely look at the symptoms with a different perspective. My DS has eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (both of the esophagus and small intestine), so I may be a bit biased about the GI rec.

Best of luck OP. It is terrible to watch your child in pain. I hope someone can help find something to make her more comfortable.

[Anonymous]

OP here- Thanks so much for all of the great advice! It's clear to me now that DD's gastro issues have a huge impact that goes beyond discomfort. After getting her issues resolved in the ER yesterday, my DD had a great day today. She looked brighter, happier, more engaged, and teachers told me she did great in her ABA therapy. I have an appointment next month with a DAN! and my only concern with scheduling with a gastro is that I want to be sure that person also knows something about autism. I appreciate the recommendations!

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry for you and your DD. My son had a lot of bowel problems when he was younger, but luckily I think he's gotten a lot better. While I think you need to find a good doctor, you might want to consider giving your daughter a probiotic like Culturelle. It was a lifesaver for my son. He had gas, diarrhea, and bloating, but after starting a probiotic the problems quickly went away.

Also, after his bowel condition improved he started to make progress in a lot of other areas - language, behavior, social skills.

Is your daughter taking a lot of fish oil for autism symptoms? Too much can also cause bowel discomfort.

[Anonymous]

@10:26- I appreciate the feedback as I've been reading positive things about culturelle. After two trips to the er this weekend due to her unmitigating gastrointestinal pain dd is finally doing better. Children's hospital recommended miralax (1/2 adult dose daily for several weeks). We aren't doing fish oil yet because I'm waiting on our upcoming DAN! Appt before I embark on anything new. It is so great to hear about your DC's in roads. I will be so elated if my DD starts talking!! I've already purchased the culturelle and plan to start it right away!

[Anonymous]

@ 10:26 here - just FYI, my son appeared "classically autistic" at 2 1/2 when he was having bowel problems. After hearing about probiotics on this board, we started him on one and his diarrhea stopped shortly after. When he started feeling better, he had a real surge in language. Now, in first grade, he definitely has ADHD but we're not so sure about the ASD label. We've started medication for ADHD and he's performing above grade level in most areas, has friends, and is a happy kid.

[Anonymous]

We found that Miralax helped, but combined with a good probiotic, it solved the constipation problem for our DD who had been suffering through horrible constipation.

We've heard good things about Kerzner at Children's, but when we saw him, we weren't impressed. He was extremely late for our appointment, which we understand, but then he was in and out of the room constantly during our appointment and even answered a personal phone call on his cell while in the room with us - we could hear what the other person was saying, so we knew it was personal, or at least, not of an urgent or emergency nature that required his taking it in the middle of our appointment with him. Without going into the details, when he went to examine our child, he "joked" about her weight problem. It felt hurtful and unprofessional. Overall, we just weren't impressed and never went back to see him. We've been to see other dr's in that department and just haven't been impressed with the Gastro dept at Children's overall. We're going to try out Kennedy Krieger instead.