Try lactose free milk. Sudden onset of a milk allergy or i tolerance happens all the time. Made a huge difference for us and all stomach problems stopped.

Anonymous wrote:With my son its usually constipation, gas, or hunger. For some reason he can't seem to tell the difference - it all just feels like "my tummy hurts" to him.

Same with my son. He almost always tells us his tummy hurts about 15 min before he poops or 2 hours after lunch. We’ll say “you need to poop” and he will dismiss it. He is oblivious that the feeling will be followed by the need to poop.

The problem with tummy problems is that they happen for so many reasons. My 12 yo had very similar symptoms and I wasn't sure how serious the problems really were. (I figured there was something going on, but didn't know how serious it was.) This went on for weeks and ultimately months. As the symptoms started seemingly getting worse, I took her to the doctor. At one point, the doctor recommended a blood draw and I agreed and so did dd (reluctantly). That's when I knew she wasn't faking.

A lot of times the tummy problems are very real, but they are due to anxiety, stress, etc. which makes them difficult to treat. Once nothing turned up in the blood draw, I concluded it was anxiety/stress, but I didn't want dd to think I wasn't taking it seriously, so we ended up going to the doc a few times.

Ultimately, our pediatrician sent us to a gastroenterologist who prescribed a fairly extended dose of medicine. No tangible diagnosis, but a prescription that treated the most common culprits. And after that, the tummy problems completely went away. This was a year ago and I've not heard a peep since.

I'm still not sure it wasn't a placebo effect, but the fact that the tummy problems have re-arisen despite some stressful situations makes me think it was really a thing that was effectively treated by the meds.

Who knows if your dc is in the same situation. Other unexpected things that cause tummy problems are strep throat, food intolerances, etc. My other dc had ongoing tummy problems when much younger and it turned out to be a UTI. Lactose intolerance could also cause this and there is sometime some delay between drinking milk and the pain, which again makes it difficult to diagnose. The best (only?) way to really check this is to eliminate milk products for a few weeks and assess. But your doc will assess and make all of these recommendations.

In sum, if it were me, I'd go to the doc and if the doc suggests non invasive tests (stool samples, blood draws, etc) I'd take them up on it. It will rule out (or not) some possible ailments, and will show your dc that you're taking it seriously.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son also has mysterious stomach aches that come and go for no reason. My DH suspects it might be ulcers (which he also had), especially since DS really likes acidic and spicy foods.

We have the same issue going on right now with DS. Mysterious stomach pain, cannot really connect it to any particular food though - and DS does not like spicy food at all. It comes on suddenly, and quite severely. Usually ends in vomiting (no diarrhea), and the pain is immediately gone after that. He's regular, goes daily. Have had a lot of blood tests. Negative for Celiac. Doctor suspects H Pylori, he just got tested for that yesterday. waiting to hear on those results. If positive, the risk is obviously ulcers.

I'm the PP that suggest abdominal migraines. This really sounds like one to me. (I used to vomit right at the end of migraine headaches, and then they were gone). If the other tests are negative, you might see a pediatric neurologist.

abdominal migraines! wow!! this is interesting.

PP again. I have a friend whose son has them, and I'm pretty sure DD had a bout of them around 5th grade. The friend's son takes daily meds but they will pop up if he has sleep disturbances (staying up late a sleepovers, etc). My DD took some short term medicine (from her Gastro, not a neurologist) that helped hers and they haven't reoccurred.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son also has mysterious stomach aches that come and go for no reason. My DH suspects it might be ulcers (which he also had), especially since DS really likes acidic and spicy foods.

We have the same issue going on right now with DS. Mysterious stomach pain, cannot really connect it to any particular food though - and DS does not like spicy food at all. It comes on suddenly, and quite severely. Usually ends in vomiting (no diarrhea), and the pain is immediately gone after that. He's regular, goes daily. Have had a lot of blood tests. Negative for Celiac. Doctor suspects H Pylori, he just got tested for that yesterday. waiting to hear on those results. If positive, the risk is obviously ulcers.

I'm the PP that suggest abdominal migraines. This really sounds like one to me. (I used to vomit right at the end of migraine headaches, and then they were gone). If the other tests are negative, you might see a pediatric neurologist.

abdominal migraines! wow!! this is interesting.

When I was 6 I had stomach aches a lot. My mom and the doctor decided I had school phobia and was trying to get out of going. The pain was very real, however, but they didn't know that.

Turned out I actually had a urinary tract deformity that had to be corrected through surgery.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son also has mysterious stomach aches that come and go for no reason. My DH suspects it might be ulcers (which he also had), especially since DS really likes acidic and spicy foods.

We have the same issue going on right now with DS. Mysterious stomach pain, cannot really connect it to any particular food though - and DS does not like spicy food at all. It comes on suddenly, and quite severely. Usually ends in vomiting (no diarrhea), and the pain is immediately gone after that. He's regular, goes daily. Have had a lot of blood tests. Negative for Celiac. Doctor suspects H Pylori, he just got tested for that yesterday. waiting to hear on those results. If positive, the risk is obviously ulcers.

I'm the PP that suggest abdominal migraines. This really sounds like one to me. (I used to vomit right at the end of migraine headaches, and then they were gone). If the other tests are negative, you might see a pediatric neurologist.

I’ve just always made staying home from school or activities boring. It’s not a punishment, but I make sure there’s no benefit to it so the kids only claim to be ill if they’re actually ill. My rule is that if you don’t feel well enough to go to school, practice, etc., then you don’t feel well enough to do anything else either.

Anonymous wrote:My son also has mysterious stomach aches that come and go for no reason. My DH suspects it might be ulcers (which he also had), especially since DS really likes acidic and spicy foods.

We have the same issue going on right now with DS. Mysterious stomach pain, cannot really connect it to any particular food though - and DS does not like spicy food at all. It comes on suddenly, and quite severely. Usually ends in vomiting (no diarrhea), and the pain is immediately gone after that. He's regular, goes daily. Have had a lot of blood tests. Negative for Celiac. Doctor suspects H Pylori, he just got tested for that yesterday. waiting to hear on those results. If positive, the risk is obviously ulcers.

my DD feels this way, esp when she's dreading going somewhere. She has anxiety and OCD. Many times I have made her push through it.
or...
Does this pain stop on a dime? Might Google "an abdominal migraine" and see if that' describes what is happening.
Or...
could it be gas pains? Might eliminate food that cause excess gas. Check this list.....esp the column for high fructans.
http://www.katescarlata.com/lowfodmapdietchecklists/

If it’s upper stomach, could be an acid problem and tums will help.
If lower stomach, most likely gas (which can be awfully painful and then just goes away) and changes in diet could help or medication.
The problem with anxiety and stomach issue is that it can be generalized anxiety so if you ask the kid they will say they are not worried about anything because they don’t even really realize it.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is a few years younger and also complains that her stomach hurts. Fwiw, I finally took her to the doctor who said it is not uncommon at her age (Google seems to agree) but no known cause. I'm wondering if it's anxiety, although she is a mellow kid, not generally anxious.

Wow, I had no idea it was a thing at this age. I don’t think he has anxiety but I’ll check in with him on that. If it persists, we’ll see the dr.

My stomach bothers me when I get anxiety. Does this happen when he's doing something fun? If it's happening before school or sports activities but not at other times, it could very well be related to anxiety.

Take him to the doctor.

Sounds like it might be anxiety or constipation. You said he has a good appetite, so perhaps he should just eat bland foods moderately for a bit and monitor if this helps. I'd do the doctor if he's actually moaning.