Health Issues: (Part 1- Alexis' Tummy Aches)

Back when Alexis started Kindergarten (almost 2 years ago) she started complaining of tummy aches when she went to bed. This occurred frequently. However, Alexis has always been that kid of ours that ALWAYS has an excuse as to why she can't go to sleep. From the time we put her in a big girl bed at 2 we've heard it all.

"I'm thirsty. I'm not tired. Can you sing me a song? I'm scared. I have to go potty. I hate my nose." (Remember, that one! I wrote about it here.)

I'm pretty sure she's thought of everything in the book. As I type this...she just got out of bed to tell me how she is scared her toenail will fall off under her covers...if she puts them over her. BUT..."she's COLD and really wants her covers." (Her toe and our front door had a little run in this weekend.) Don't worry, I assured her if it did fall off we would retrieve the toenail in her bed and wash her covers. I'm a good mom. I know.

Anyhow, I'm proving my point of Alexis' excuses at bedtime.

So, when she started complaining of tummy aches at bedtime 2 years ago Chad and I would get pretty frustrated with her. The tummy aches starting occurring more frequently and started popping up whenever she didn't want to eat her dinner. So, naturally, Chad and I got even more frustrated.

It wasn't until first grade when the tummy aches started occurring at school that I thought, "Maybe, her tummy really does hurt." She frequented the nurses office when school began and her teacher and I had a talk. She felt like her tummy aches were legit since she was a good student and social. When the nurse would call us we'd talk to Alexis and ask her to stay at school. Not sure if that nurse thought we were mean parents or not. But, tummy ache or not...it wasn't going away whether she came home or stayed. So, she stayed.

People asked me if she was constipated. Nope. But we put her on some stool softeners just to make sure nothing was plugging her up. No, relief from the tummy aches.

Her teacher thought it could be stress induced because Alexis is a perfectionist. If she got a math problem wrong...her eyes would well up with tears. Then one day the teacher announced it was library day. Alexis walked up and told her she needed to go to the nurses office because her tummy was hurting. Then she found out Alexis had forgotten her library books and was upset about it. So, the teacher stopped sending her to the nurses office and would distract Alexis by telling her she needed her to stay and read to the class since she was one of the strongest readers. That helped. But, as the teacher and I talked throughout the year...we both knew the tummy aches continued.

I was at the Doctor's office in January during an urgent care appointment for Owen (you'll be able to read about that in Part 3 of our Heath Issues...coming soon.) Alexis was with me and her bout with tummy aches had been pretty bad that week. So I mentioned it to the Doctor. That's when I got asked a few questions...and with each question I felt worse and worse!

They started off by weighing her. She hadn't gained weight in a LONG time, over a year. That concerned the Doctor. Shouldn't I have known that!

Does she tell you she's starving and then take one bite of food and tell you she's not hungry anymore or her tummy hurts?

Yes...and it's frustrating.

Does she sometimes eat a ton of food and then tells you within minutes that she's starving?

Yes....also frustrating.

Has she stopped eating food she used to eat?

Yes...hamburgers and pizza...also frustrating when we want to eat out.

That's about when I caught on to the fact that all these things that frustrate us about Alexis...are ALL TIED TOGETHER!

He told us, "Well, I'm pretty sure she has Gastero-enteritis. But, we have to do some testing to rule out some other bacterial problems first."

What...there is a name for what she has? You can only guess how big I felt in that room. Mom of the year, huh? Or, I should say "Mom of the Year for the Last 2 Years" since I let it go on that long without doing a thing.

So, after 2 years of tummy aches, some testing and a stool sample...(Chad did tell me I deserved an award for that since he didn't think he could EVER do that)...we had a diagnosis for the "tummy aches." Gastero-enteritis. For now, we only give her meds if her tummy is acting up. She hates the medicine and it's not a daily occurrence...but when it hits, it hits hard for about a week or two.

I felt like a horrible Mom for a while. But, then I realized...how was I to ever know everything was tied together? I would have never guessed nor had I known anyone who had a child diagnosed with this problem. And, well, some of the problems just seemed so normal with kids. So, I'm just happy we have a way to control the tummy aches.

Now, I'm off to lay by Alexis in bed. Because she just came in to tell me how scared she is because there is a shadow by her door that's NOT moving. I rest my case!