DD says she's nauseous all the time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 16 year old is dealing with this.

It started with nausea whenever she ate something heavy or a large meal, and now 3 months later has progressed to stomach pain after she eats anything. She has had an ultrasound, extensive bloodwork, an upper GI, and finally an upper endoscopy. She was ultimately found to have gastritis, but the cause has not yet been determined. We are waiting on the next GI appt in a couple weeks.

She has lost 15 pounds in the past 6 months and is down to 105 lbs at 5'6". I'm hoping they can fix this before she disappears.

PP with DD with gastroparesis.

Please get your DD a gastric emptying test. That is considered a very significant weight loss.

For some reason this test seldom seems to be on GI doctors' radar screens and they put off doing it. It's WAY easier than an upper GI or endoscopy. Not invasive at all and requires no anesthesia. (It is four hours, though, mostly of waiting around.)

See if having many small meals a day and restricting fat and fiber helps.

Pp here. The doctor mentioned it but hasn't ordered it yet. Dd hasn't had any vomiting, consolation, or diarrhea, and transit time on her Upper GI with small bowel follow through was normal. That may be why she hasn't ordered it yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:EDs are awful. But it is also for awful for teenage girls with true GI issues to have to try to prove somehow that they don't have EDs in order to get the medical treatment they need.

Don't know what the answer is.

This.
I developed severe GI issues at 17 that ended up being Ulcerative Colitis.
I dropped to 97 pounds and I had to convince everyone I knew and every new doctor I saw that I wanted to eat and that I was eating. Weight loss is only one symptom of an eating disorder. There are plenty of others. Being a sick teen is hard enough without everyone trying to convince you that you're depressed and anorexic when you're not

[Anonymous]

I had nausea and lots of heartburn at that age. In hindsight, I might have had an ulcer, but it was not obvious. Later I received a diagnosis of Crohn's disease in my early thirties. Please get her checked out.

[Anonymous]

I had nausea for quite some time. I never threw up, and it was worse when I ate. I had an endoscopy and the gastric emptying test. I also had an MRI to check the nausea center of my brain (the gastroenterologist ordered it). Everything came back normal. The only diet I could eat comfortably was the BRAT diet along with yogurt. I got better and went back to normal but it came back a second time. A new gastroenterologist said that I probably had an ulcer in my lower intestine, which you cannot see during an endoscopy. I know this was caused by some very strong antibiotics and anti-inflammatory I was required to take following surgery. Has she been on any strong medications or has she been taking a lot of anti-inflamatories (over the counter -- Motrin, Alleve) for headaches, period, etc? If she was on some strong antibiotics, her gut bacteria could be off. I took FloraStor probiotic in the morning and evening, which restored the balance of my gut bacteria and gradually took away the nausea.

Having said all of that, DC gets major stomach issues with anxiety. It's amazing how much it can upset your stomach.

The post nasal drip and allergies is another thing worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

Reflux

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:EDs are awful. But it is also for awful for teenage girls with true GI issues to have to try to prove somehow that they don't have EDs in order to get the medical treatment they need.

Don't know what the answer is.

00:52 here. 100% agree with this. Just wanted to mention the fact that some people with EDs have these same complaints, did not mean any offense!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EDs are awful. But it is also for awful for teenage girls with true GI issues to have to try to prove somehow that they don't have EDs in order to get the medical treatment they need.

Don't know what the answer is.

00:52 here. 100% agree with this. Just wanted to mention the fact that some people with EDs have these same complaints, did not mean any offense!

I am the PP and have the DD with gastroparesis. And yes--this is true, making it even trickier. It is possible for a bulimic to develop gastroparesis, but in almost all cases only after many years of throwing up. It's pretty rare.

What we found, however, it that once we got the gastroparesis identified and got to the right specialists, they knew how rare bulimia as a cause is and were capable of figuring out very quickly DD's case was not an ED.

It was the general practice doctors who seemed especially quick to leap to the conclusion what she must have an ED. That's pretty much true of almost all young women who have this disorder, which can be incredibly incapacitating. They then can get stuck in the position of trying to prove a negative in order to get medical care. Many of them are like my DD on the edge between life and death before they get it.

As I said, I don't know what the answer is for distinguishing rapidly between those with an ED and those with a medical GI problem so each group can get the care they need promptly.

[Anonymous]

Test for H. Pylori infection. My doc said that there was no way our DD ahead that and she did.

[Anonymous]

OP, why are you refusing to take DD to the doctor?!?

[Anonymous]

When my DD had a similar problem her pediatrician did a full work up with blood and stool tests and everything came back fine (checked for celiac, parasites, infections, etc.). Ped. suggested an elimination diet starting with gluten and that turned out to fix the problem.

However, don't just play around with diet before consulting your dr. to make sure something more serious isn't going on. Particularly with the gluten issue for DD -- if we'd eliminated that first and then had her tested for celiac the test would not be accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, why are you refusing to take DD to the doctor?!?

OP said that they are poor. Maybe they don't have health insurance, or don't have good health insurance, or she'd have to come up with an expensive co-pay, or take unpaid time off work to take her child... or some other reason related to why poor people get less good health care than well off people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why are you refusing to take DD to the doctor?!?

OP said that they are poor. Maybe they don't have health insurance, or don't have good health insurance, or she'd have to come up with an expensive co-pay, or take unpaid time off work to take her child... or some other reason related to why poor people get less good health care than well off people?

Maybe, and I could sympathize with that. But the reason she gave was not wanting her daughter to be on medication for the rest of her life, and is planning to treat her herself with ginger tea and crackers. That sounds like ignorance and selfishness, not being poor.

OP, if money is the issue reach out to your child's school's social worker for ideas. Or call your local health department. Your current plan sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why are you refusing to take DD to the doctor?!?

OP said that they are poor. Maybe they don't have health insurance, or don't have good health insurance, or she'd have to come up with an expensive co-pay, or take unpaid time off work to take her child... or some other reason related to why poor people get less good health care than well off people?

OP may not have great health insurance for herself, but her child should qualify for decent health insurance under SHIPP and other programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why are you refusing to take DD to the doctor?!?

OP said that they are poor. Maybe they don't have health insurance, or don't have good health insurance, or she'd have to come up with an expensive co-pay, or take unpaid time off work to take her child... or some other reason related to why poor people get less good health care than well off people?

Maybe, and I could sympathize with that. But the reason she gave was not wanting her daughter to be on medication for the rest of her life, and is planning to treat her herself with ginger tea and crackers. That sounds like ignorance and selfishness, not being poor.

OP, if money is the issue reach out to your child's school's social worker for ideas. Or call your local health department. Your current plan sucks.

You know not everyone can afford all the medication they need, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. DD is definitely not pregnant and definitely doesn't have an eating disorder. She does take Lactaid when eating any milk products but it happens even without eating dairy or with having a Lactaid.

I am not in any rush to put her on medication for the rest of her life. We will begin with natural remedies and progress if those don't fix things. I will tell her to try a couple of saltines and see about ginger tea, and talk about post-nasal drip first.

Whips said anything about putting her on medicines the rest of her life? I have had lipoma of stomach issues, and taking medicine for a few days or weeks can help,stop a bad cycle. Gastritis can linger and cause serious health issues. Not to mention those symptoms could mean a serious illness. Hopefully not, but you need to go to a doctor. Not doing so borders on abuse.

As far as post nasal drip, using an antihitimine at night will help determine if that is the issue. You could always try natural remedies after that, but at least you would know what you are treating.