Frequent stomach ache (underbelly)

Question

Hello,

my daughter (12 years old, CF) keeps having stomach aches in the underbelly, at times severe. She has the feeling that the stool “pushes” and that she has to go to the toilet repeatedly, although the pain rather gets worse afterwards.

Quiet, distraction with positive things (e.g. listening to music) and a hot-water bottle sometimes help.

However, we would like to know the cause of this pain and whether one can do anything to prevent/treat it.

A stool test for candida (among other things) was negative, and the occurrence of the pain cannot be linked to certain food products or wrong dosage of Creon.

Thank you for your help and kind regards!

Answer

Hello,

the first thought that comes to mind with the symptoms you describe for your daughter is indeed the question whether the pancreas enzymes are dosed optimally, and/or when the last stool test concerning digestion was done. Information on the stool frequency would be helpful. Bowel movement should happen regularly, there should not be congestion, and the exam by a doctor should not cause pain. An ultrasound could provide a first overview of how full the intestine is and possibly also a hint to constipation or thickened intestinal loops as signs of an inflammation. So-called DIOS (distal intestinal obstruction syndrome), an accumulation of stool in the right underbelly that is rather common in CF patients, can lead to the kind of pain you are describing and should be precluded. At any rate, I would recommend further diagnostics for your daughter with a CF doctor; only then can a targeted therapy be started. In addition, nutritional counselling could be helpful.

Kind regards,
Dr. H. Ellemunter

02.05.2012