Do these symptoms match anyone else's?

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ksh

Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
17
My son is 3 and I have the following list of symptoms that he has experienced. Can anyone offer any directions to look in? He has had stool tests to look for giardia (sp?) and other parasites as well as reducing substances. All were negative. He goes to the doc tomorrow for blood work, additional stool tests and is also supposed to have a barium enema and a sweat test later in the week.
• Diarrhea – started mid fall (October?). Always had a lot of mucus in it.
• Bowel movements of JUST mucus – happens about weekly or more often, often multiple times in a day. Sometimes there is a small amount of stool with it.
• Had a week or more that the mucus would seep out. Sometimes I would only notice it on his underwear, sometimes it would soak through his pants.
• Sometimes he would also seep stool. There was more than wet gas, but less than a bowel movement.
• Stopped eating foods – started noticing that he wasn’t eating his lunch at day care (used to make a “happy plate” several times a week). This started mid fall as well. In December I don’t remember seeing any happy plates and often will get notes that he has only eaten ½ or ¼ of his meal. Sometimes he will only eat the fruit.
• Reflux has started again. It is really bad. We can hear it in his chest when we hold him. Gets worse in the evenings. He hasn’t been on meds for this for years. (Noticed it in the last month, gotten really bad in the last couple of weeks)
• On December 28 after dinner (Owen would only eat apple sauce and had about a half of a cup) his belly got swollen and REALLY hard. We gave him Tums and gas drops and it helped after a little while but he could hardly move for a little while.
• I have noticed that he is more willing to eat in the morning and seems very bloated by evening.
• His bowel movements are VERY loud. When he does pass stool it often explodes out him with force.
• He rarely complains of pain, but he does get very irritable and we can tell when his stomach is bothering him.
• Started Flagyl (3ml, 3x day) on 12/31/13
• Eliminated dairy 12/31/13
 
Is he seeing a pediatric GI?

sweat test would be for CF- kinda standard for kiddos with GI issues (painless)

Has he ever been scoped?
seen a ped pulmonologist for the chest stuff?

good luck
 
Hello, might be able to give a shout out on some of your questions.
The diarrhea with mucus is usually from inflammation in the intestines. The intestines try to coat themselves with mucus as a protective attempt.
The seeping you mention can happen if/when the lower large bowel is inflamed and the rectum can be involved causing the muscle to not hold stool in properly.
Food avoidance can happen to avoid pain and fear of incontinence at adverse times. Having a change of clothes on hand and wearing protective undergarments can help sometimes while the symptoms are being addressed. Keeping your voice quiet or discuss your child's CD in private to give the individual their privacy at any age when mentioning the digestive activities. Keep in mind other children and even adults can be cruel ~ most have little understanding or compassion when it comes to CD. This illness can be humiliating.
Bloating can be caused from several different reasons from food not passing properly, too many carbohydrates/sugars, swallowing air when eating from nervousness. etc.
The loud bowel movements - gas could be from again too many carbohydrates that turn to sugar- inflammation. Undigested foods as they pass too fast.
Can you ask to see a dietitian? Tell them what you mentioned here.

Peace to you.
 
Thank you so much for your reply.

He hasn't been scoped yet. He has had an xray that showed both his large and small intestine were distended...not too sure what that means?

He hasn't seen a ped GI yet, but our ped has been in touch with a ped GI and is running all the additional tests at her direction. Once all these tests are complete we will meet with that GI and I guess plan the scopes.
 
XRAY doesn't mean much for crohn's
I would ask for a referral to a ped go ASAP if you need one
otherwise if you don't for insurance purposes I would call for an appt.
 
Thank you if*. Will definitely try to talk to a dietician. Being a 3 year old, my guy does love his carbs :/
 
Do you think his symptom's match Crohn's? I have never seen blood in his stool and he doesn't seem to have the fatigue that so many seem to suffer with.
 
Hi and welcome.
My little lady is four, so to be five.
I'm sorry to hear about all he's been through.
IBD can act so different in everyone.
So yes it very well can be IBD but more testing should be done.
So many things can cause this.

But your on the right path. You know this isn't right and you need answers.
 
Hi and welcome. Sorry I'm no help on symptoms, just wanted to wish you luck with all the tests. If he hasn't had one done, a faecal calprotectin is a stool sample test and shows levels of inflammation in the bowels.
 
Hi ksh! This sounds very similar to my daughter. She did not have bleeding either. We were so caught off guard with our diagnosis, but thankful for our allergist who was highly concerned with some recent changes with her. I recommend seeing a Pediatric GI. Do some research and find out who is most recommended in your area. Good luck!
 
Recommend pushing for a referral to the peds GI. Also a fecal calprotectin can't hurt for a baseline. It is a stool test. Distention is another word for swelling or expansion. It shows that something is going on but you need more info to say what.
 
Will ask about the fecal test at our appointment tomorrow. I know he said he wanted to run more stool tests and I will ask that he do that. Can anyone offer me more information about that? Is there a recommended tests section to this board? Are there anymore questions that I should be asking?

This evening he passed blood twice so far, once in stool and once in mucus. This is new for him. I'm glad we have an appointment in the morning.
 
Are you able to catch the bloody stool in a container?
Try taking a picture. Sounds crazy but they will want to see it. Trust me.
 
Yes, definitely take a picture.

My youngest daughter is 6 and has the mucus stools that you describe. She also vomits mucus at times in the morning. For her the underlying issue is asthma and chronic sinusitis. We actually had no clue about the sinus issues until her ENT requested a CT scan. She did not have frequent infections or allergies. Even when her asthma is under control she still struggles with the mucus.

So your son's issues could most definitely be from IBD....or they could be a result of something else entirely. If things turn out to be okay as far as the GI is concerned then you may want to visit a pediatric ENT. Hope you get answers very soon!
 
Thank you all so much! I have taken a picture of each bloody stool. I could catch it, but (I know this is a crazy question) how long does it keep? I don't have a standing order for a stool sample or anything.
 
So we were admitted to the hospital on Thursday. They did a barium enema and were able to rule out Hirschsprung's Disease. We go on Tuesday for upper and lower scopes. He also had blood work that was all normal. Several stool tests were all normal too.
 
Grace had normal labs and stool.
If they do scopes, please ask for a pill camera.
I wish I had
Btw, scopes were the ONLY thing that show my daughter's disease.

Hugs
 
My son had a lot of mucus output as a baby, wasn't dx til age 8 though. It sounds more like a food sensitivity, maybe wheat. Have they checked for celiac? Any results back?
 
So sorry he is not well, my little lady Lucy (5) always passed lots of mucos in her stools. She has crohns but no two kids present the same so until all his tests results are back and scopes are done you won't know. Did the test for celiac disease also. Good luck
 
Ask for a capsule endoscopy as this looks at the small bowel where the colonoscope and endoscope can't reach. sometimes mri and ct scans can rule out any other issues.
 
Owen's tests showed no inflammation at all. I didn't get to ask about the pill camera, but I have noticed an improvement since stopping dairy. They did do biopsies, but the results won't be in for a couple of weeks. The doc said she suspects that constipation was the culprit. Hoping she is right for his sake, but I will be monitoring his symptoms closely. Thank you all so much for the support.
 
Glad it was a clean scope.
My son had a clean first scope with constipation.
Biopsies however showed acute and chronic inflammation .
 
Glad all looks visually good.
Same experience here as stated above....minus the constipation.
Which is interesting because she can't go without miralax.:yfaint:
 
So he passed JUST mucus again last night...I guess I will wait for the biopsy results :/
 
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