diarrhea for 4 months and counting?

Question

My son is 11 and has had diarrhea for 4 months now and counting.He has no other sympotoms exept pain right before an attack then feels finer after he goes to the bathroom. Its once a day usually after dinner but not almost but mostly. We tried no dairy, tried diff foods and diff times still diarrhea. Dr did all kinds of blood and bowel tests for bacterias, parasites, celiac(sp) and all came out fine. Hes sceduled to go to a GI but untill then any one have any ideas or gone through this before??? Hes not on any meds except insulin since he is a type 1 diabetic. Im worried, Im confused and not sure how much more reasearch I can do. Drs dont always know it all I guess so Im relying on you guys :-) Thanks all.

Answer 1

I'd go to an allergy doctor and get him tested. Allergies do different things to different people. That honestly sounds like a milk allergy to me. I'd go get him tested and see. When I was a baby and first started on cow milk, I didn't grow for a long time and threw up every day. Sometimes allergies develop in people. I had a friend who developed an allergy to wheat at the age of 21. Go get him allergy tested and go from there. Good luck, I know it's hard.

Answer 2

Celiac disease/wheat allergy? Have these been ruled out? I don't honestly know much about either of these, but my Mom's coworker has them and diarrhea was the only obvious symptom. These both can cause diarrhea in adults, but I don't know about children. I guess I can see why the doc wants to do a GI series.

Answer 3

Could be lactose intolerant - it took me a long time to figure out that I was, because the severity would fluctuate (how much I ate, etc.). Sometimes I CAN drink milk without problems - but usually I can't.

It usually hits within 1 - 4 hours after I ingest dairy, and the first thing to hit is always really bad stomach cramps.

If it's a bug that didn't respond to antibiotics, it's probably just going to work it's way out... be sure to replenish the fluids.

Answer 4

Wow, that does sound worrisome.

I would try to make sure he's drinking plenty of water - that's very important for hydration.

Food allergies are awful and difficult to diagnose. Milk, you've already tried.

The LOUSY way to do it is limit him to just a few foods for a week or so and then re-introduce things one at a time.

Other possible food allergies would be wheat (hard to get rid of!) MSG, fish/shellfish, etc.

Best of luck.

Answer 5

He may be allergic to some kind of food. If his blood work is fine, I would not worry. My son goes through this from time to time. They are around so many kids in school and exposed to so many illnesses and germs. Your doc may suggest an allergy specialist. Milk and cheese gives my son diarrhea so he cant even eat pizza. Good luck.

Answer 6

Could be crohn's disease. It can occur in very young patients. Has he had a colonoscopy yet? If not, this should help diagnose any problems with the colon, such as crohn's or ulcerative colitis. Try to keep his stress level down, and make sure he gets plenty of sleep. good luck to you guys.

Answer 7

Have you tried a very low fat diet?
I saw that you have tried no dairy which honestly was my first thought.
I would stick with going to see the GI doctor.

Answer 8

His insulin could be his problem.talk to his Doctor about changing brands or trying different type to treat his diabetes's.My sister had to try many types before finding one that didn't cause her problems of one kind or another.

Answer 9

IBS?
It is odd that it's consistently near dinnertime.
Don't give up hope. Have you tried acidophilus supplements?
Lactaid?