Preschooler complaining about intermittent stomach pain and he says he's dying

[Anonymous]

DCUMs, I need your help solving this medical mystery.

My 4.5 year old son, a happy and healthy little guy, has been complaining about intermittent stomach pain since last Thursday. He will be happy and immersed in a project and then, boom! All of a sudden he's desperately sobbing that his stomach hurts. It lasts about 5-10 minutes or so and then it's gone. It's not constipation - he's pooping as usual - and it doesn't seem like he's extra gassy or anything. He cannot express what it feels like or what hurts, other than to say it hurts around his belly button. Once it's over, he is right back to normal and back to his usual tricks. His appetite and thirst levels are the same as usual.

Compounding this mystery and further confusing the issue, he is also all of a sudden obsessed with dying. Completely obsessed. So every time his stomach hurts he goes into a tailspin of "Am I dying? What if I die? Is this making me die?" It is heartbreaking. I suspect that he had some minor stomach cramp a few days ago and then someone along the way (at school, most likely) said something to him about dying and now he has the ideas all intertwined in his head.

I tend to think he might be exaggerating the stomach pain or even faking it (last night he got oout of bed 2x to complain that it hurt, but he also burst into sneaky giggles when I said I wasn't sure if I believe him.) But on the other hand, it's been several days and this is very out of character. I will happily take him to the ped, but I'm wondering if this is some sort of devlopmental stage or something that anyone can explain before we schlep all the way to the dr.

Thanks in adavce for your help!

[Anonymous]

recently my almost 4yo complained of a stomach ache on and off for almost a week before I finally brought her in. turns out she had strep - she had never complained of a sore throat nor had i noticed her having a fever. i learned my lesson, i don't wait anymore because untreated strep is scary. i would take him in.

[Anonymous]

OP here - You know, I literally called my husband from the car the other day and said "Could this be strep?" but we didn't find anything online about strep = stomach pain. Thanks for the advice.

[Anonymous]

I'd take him in, too. But it might be gas. Has he been drinking too much fruit juice? Or any other changes in his diet over the past few days?

I'd also check for fever. My only other thought was appendicitis, but doesn't that usually involve a fever?

[Anonymous]

No fever. I read somewhere that if it's appendicitis, it is excruciating to jump up and down - he can jump up and down just fine. I need to get off the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - You know, I literally called my husband from the car the other day and said "Could this be strep?" but we didn't find anything online about strep = stomach pain. Thanks for the advice.

PP here. you are welcome. FWIW my DD also woke up every night crying until she finished her antibiotics. check back when you take him in...i am curious how common this could be.

[Anonymous]

You can also get abdominal migraines.

[Anonymous]

Def get him checked. Appendix pain is intermittent at first and radiates from the belly button. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Has someone in your family died recently? Has he seen a movie/ show about someone being sick and dying? Definitely have him checked for physical issues, but he may also be acting out something he's seen/ experienced. Might be helpful to ask him.

[Anonymous]

Stomach pain is also a symptom of my dd's when she has strep. She is 7. However, right now, she has intermittent stomach pain and is couging quite a bit. We took her in, and the rapid strep test came back negative. Now last night, she had diarrhea once. We have no idea what is causing her symptoms. The dr said it was most likely a virus. She is at home from school resting. I hope it goes away soon.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely take him in, just in case. Let the doctor rule out the scary stuff and then you can worry about whether it's a developmental thing. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My 3.5 year old had intermittant stomach pain for about 10 days recently. He did not cry, but would clutch his abdomen and complain about an hour or two after eating. Usually he would then have very loose stools/diarrhea. This happened about 2-3 times a day for about 10 days. He had one day of mild fever on day 4 or 5, was over-tired by the end of the day but had tons of energy all through the day most days. I wasn't sure if he was really sick or if he was reacting to the fact that he has a brand new little sister (he seemed fine with her otherwise, so I wondered if he was internalizing stress/sadness). After he was better, I had 2 days of dirrahea but no other symptoms. We both had flu shots, so I thought we might have had mild flu or some other stomach bug.

Anyway, I would take your son to be checked out and use it as a learning experience for both of you -- talk to him about how he has been having these symptoms and you want him to be well and healthy, so you are taking him to the doctor to have him checked out. If the doctor finds a physical cause, it's a win. If there is no physical cause, you can address whatever else is going on, which is also a win. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Could there be any chance he's swallowed a magnet or small battery? Small magnets can pinch together in the gut, and button batteries like those in toys and greeting cards can do damage, too.

[Anonymous]

My daughter had pain daily until we eliminated lactose. Within a day it was gone.

[Anonymous]

I had exactly this about two weeks ago - totally fine oneinute - doubled over the next - buy it only lasted two days and I write it off to weird food poisoning or something