PARENTS: What would you do in this situation with a child who keeps getting sick? (LONG)?My 7-year-old came down with a bad stomach bug on December 15th. He was vomiting and had diarrhea for several days and was better by the 18th. The next couple days, he was fine and we resumed our normal routine. Then on December 21st, he started throwing up again. He threw up all that day and the next and missed his last two days of school before his break. Then he was fine on the 23rd, but then he started up with the vomiting and diarrhea again on the 24th and was sick through Christmas. By the 27th, he was feeling a little better, but because it had been 13 days since it all began, I took him in to the doctor (I had previously taken him in on the 21st as well). She ran all sorts of tests, which all came back negative, and decided that it was a bad virus that he couldn't shake.
Oh, and he has otherwise been a very healthy child his whole life.
After that, it seemed to clear up for him, though my three other kids all got at least diarrhea for one day and vomiting for one day. I had one other child who got sick with diarrhea and vomiting on the 27th of December and wasn't well again until January 1st. Then on January 4th, he started up with the diarrhea and vomiting again and that lasted until January 7th.
Well, my 7-year-old got sick with the bug again while my 4-year-old had it. The 7-year-old had really severe vomiting and diarrhea on the 6th of January and missed school again for it (the 6th day to miss in that short period of time--part of which was over Christmas break and he didn't have school). But by Friday night, the 7th, he was doing much better. Over the weekend, he has been fine and so has my 4-year-old. The other two (ages 6 and 3) only each had a bout of diarrhea and one threw up once, but that was all. Oh, and I had it on the 27th and 28th, pretty bad--I had to go in for i.v. fluids because I was so dehydrated (and I'm 28 weeks pregnant).
Okay, today, after 3 days of being fine again, my son called from school saying he felt sick to his stomach. He had also called on Friday from school, but when I picked him up, he acted fine and proceeded to act fine the rest of the day, so I had a feeling he just wanted to leave school early. Today, he called claiming a sick stomach again.
So now I don't know what to do. He's been to the doctor and tested for all things digestive system related--diabetes, celiac disease, an autoimmune disease, even cancer. I don't think it's medical. But what else could it be? He does well in school, his teacher said he is not struggling academically in any subject and he is friends with everyone--nobody is mean to him. I can't figure out why he'd want to be here when all he's allowed to do is lay on his bed when he's home sick. He gets plenty of rest (goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes around 6:30 am).
So, would you take him to the doctor yet again (aside from his two appointments, I've called about three times over the course of this)? Or would you wait it out and see? Would you try and figure out a psychological cause?
Ideas? Similar experiences? Please help!
Posted by kim h
I would start with disinfecting the entire house and everything in it. They keep getting it from somewhere.
Posted by Sienna! ☮
I'm not sure if my answer will be of any help since I'm not a mom, but it's usually best to go with your gut instinct. Just from reading it and pure speculation, it sounds like he's shaking off the virus (and it doesn't seem bad since it went around your whole house and everyone's recovered). However, if you feel that he's just doing this now to skip school... you know him better than the Internet does.
Sometimes a mother's instinct is superior to a doctor's knowledge. There are so many stories I've read where parents persistently nagged doctors to perform numerous checkups on their child (no matter how many tests came out negative) to find that they were right all along. If you think he's actually sick, I'd suggest taking him to a specialist (who would be much more adept at spotting what's wrong with your son).
Otherwise, I think you need to make staying at home much more boring. No TV, no computer, no games (although I see you've taken care of that).
Posted by Elizabeth
Mine have to produce vomit to have a day off school. Or actually look ill (this usually involves looking transparent or have a high temp). I make them go and tell them that the teacher has my phone number should they need to call me. They usually perk up when they're there.
Perhaps give him a course of multi-vitamins and Multi-minerals (speak to your pharmacist) I used to give mine a nice tonic in the winter months or after a bout of illness which perked them up. Perhaps those bio yoghurt's might help get his tummy back into order too, and it doesn't hurt to give them a touch of chocolate, or lemonade etc I find after they've been poorly - I find they sometimes need the sugar (tho it might just be they want something "nice" lol)
Posted by PS3 Slim
Take them to the doctor.
Posted by Calichigal
Did the doctor check for Crohn's Disease? Others in the family having a stomach bug with similar symptoms could have been just coincidental.
My son, who was barely ever sick, started having symptoms like this when he was 11 1/2. At first he was diagnosed with sinus infection. As time went by, and because it seemed to hit him only during the week, I thought it may have had something to do with school and was stress related (like your son, he was doing well in school and liked everyone there). I finally took him to a different doctor, who did blood work, and found he was anemic. A few weeks later, thanks to events that put him where he needed to be (too long a story for here), he was diagnosed via a CT scan. (Crohn's is a disease that is often misdiagnosed) My son's first GI doctor watched the SED rate. I think there are other things that are looked at now, as the labs his current GI doc look at don't include it. Something the doctors should be looking at (and his current doc DOES look at) is the albumin level - this is an important protein in the blood and the level should never drop below 3. In 1999 my son's had gotten to 2, but because the "usual" Crohn's indicators were not present his doctor ignored it. Turned out he had a very serious Crohn's-related issue going on in his GI-track that nearly killed him. At the time that happened I didn't know anything about the albumin or it's importance. Now I know and when he has low albumin levels I get right on it with his doctor.
I hope this is NOT what your son has - and that maybe it's allergies or something that will go away. I wish you and your family the best.
Best Regards,
Janice
Orignal From: PARENTS: What would you do in this situation with a child who keeps getting sick? (LONG)?
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