8 year old~no diagnosis

[CynnLynn]

Hi All,

I'm beginning to think I'm going a little overboard worring about my 8 yr old daughter. She's had chronic constipation ever since I can remember. We (the doctor) finally put her on miralax almost 2 years ago. This is helping, but we're trying to wean her off and she's already going back to the old ways. In August, the doctor ran some blood work because she's also been suffering with migraines for about 3 years and she isn't following her growth chart regarding height. She went from the 25% to the 4% in 4 years. Her weight is fine at about 65%. Her hair is also brittle and breaking off into small pieces. Most of the blood work came back fine, but her RBC was low (white is fine), MVC was high and ALK PHOS was high (which I understand could be because of bone growth). She also had a bone age test which came back at 8 years 10 months and she was 8 years 0 months, so that was fine as well. She complains off and on about a tummy ache, but that was worse in summer. She eats fairly well and drinks a lot of fluid.

I made another doctor appt. with her pediatrician for a few weeks to talk about the ongoing constipation and to have her measured again. My concern about Crohn's is that we have a small family and the majority of the adults in our family have autoimmune diesease. My Dad and sister have type 1 diabetes and my brother and niece (my sister's daughter who has diabetes) have Crohn's. I know there issues were more with diarrhea, not constipation, but can constipation and her other issues be a concern with Crohn's? Any thoughts to help me stop wondering about this????? I'm beginning to think that it's just the chronic constipation. THANKS!!!!

 

[Crohn's 35]

:welcome: to the forum! Sorry you are going through this with your daughter and it stinks. Constipation and Diahreah are very common. Constipation is the one more to worry about, the bowels should be cleaned out at least once a day. She could have narrowing. I would suggest she have a colonoscopy or a barium follow through. The maybe able to detect what is going on. Do you give her fibre? Some people use metamucil, and to some it works. What country are you from? Perhaps someone in your area may have more information for you. :hang: there is a great bunch to help you out.

 

[CynnLynn]

Yes, her fiber has increased and we even tried some suppliments of fiber as well. I should mention that in the blood work that was done in August, the doctor checked on a lot, but was more focused on thyroid, Chromosomal abnormalities and growth hormone. He didn't check anything regarding Crohn's or Celiac's diseases. I'm not sure if they actually look at the family history that we give the nurses??? He mentioned that a non specific marker of some sort was up and that her body was fighting something off, but he thought that could be a sinus infection that was causing an increase in headaches. He then treated her with 3 weeks of anitibiotics. He then said that he shouldn't say this because I'll worry about it, but it could also mean some sort of autoimmune issue. I asked if we would re-test her for anything in a few months and he said not unless she's showing signs of any joint/muscle pain or any skin issues????? She had a CT scan of her sinuses to rule anything out that may be causing the migraines and that turned out fine. The ENT said that her passages are pretty narrow and she's at an increased risk for sinus infections.

I don't want to subject her to tests that aren't neccessary, but I also don't want to over look anything either. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments!!! We live in the Midwest in the States.

 

[Tesscorm]

Hi CynnLynn,

Given your daughter's symptoms and family history, I don't think you're going overboard at all in asking for some GI specific testing to get a better idea of any GI issues. If nothing else, it will provide you with 'baseline' results for comparison should her issues continue into the future.

As far as the constipation, you probably have more experience than I, however, my son recently had some problems with constipation. When he finally told me (he's a teen, not always the most communicative...! LOL), he'd been constipated for a few days and was having some pains. I was a bit panicked as he told me this on the way to his first hockey game at an out-of-town weekend tournament so I tried everything I knew and suggested... that night and the following morning, I gave him prune juice, yogurt drink and coffee. That helped 'short term' (next day he went 3 times!!). However, the constipation kept returning. Now, I try to keep him drinking a little prune juice and one yoghurt drink most days - this has helped.

However, due to the on-again, off-again constipation, he ended up with a fissure that took a bit of time to go away. It finally healed when he became diligent at using penaten to alleviate some of the pain, using wipes/Tucks to ensure extra cleanliness and having sitz baths with epsom salts twice a day.

Good luck!

 

[Brian'sMom]

Could you see a pediatric GI instead of the pedatrician? Might help calm your worries.

 

[DustyKat]

Hi CynnLynn and :welcome:

I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter hun...:hug:

With your family history I would definitely continue to pursue the reason for her constipation until you have solid answers. Not everyone with IBD has diarrhoea, my children didn't and my daughter tended toward constipation. ALK PHOS is often high in children and adolescents if they are experiencing a growth spurt or going through puberty.

There are many Extra Intestinal Manifestations (EIM's) of Crohns, including rashes and joint aches, but that doesn't mean they are the only two your daughter may experience. My daughter had EIM's but hers were migraine like headaches and knee pain. My son on the other hand experienced none.

Since her problems revolve around constipation, and are therefore intestinal, could you get a referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist?

When she next has bloods drawn aside from the standard bloods they do ask for CRP, ESR, B12, Folate, Iron Stores and Vitamin D to be done.

Also asks that they check for clubbing of her fingers. It is a sign of chronic inflammation.

Do you keep a diary of her symptoms? If not have a look at the one in our wiki. It will help to keep a track of what is going on and is very handy to take along to appointments etc...

http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Diary-Inclusions

Good luck Mum! I hope it all turns out to be something easily treated. Your worry is normal and natural and I wouldn't rest either until they could tell me why! Keep us posted!

Dusty. :heart: