In the BeginningJohn, he's, 12. He was around 9 when he started getting these stomach pains. The first time, it was pretty bad and I took him to ED. They did some tests and that, but said that they couldn’t find anything and that everything. The results and that, were normal. I remember them saying that this can happen and that to keep an eye on him for the next day or so. So here is some panadol. So you can go home and contact your GP if you continue to be worried.
The next few yearsOver the next year or of so, the pain came back, off and on. So he had panadol, and rested and we used wheatbags and anything we could think of. It wasn't as bad as the first time so I thought maybe it is food or something. So you know, I looked up Dr Google (ha ha), we dropped out dairy, and nuts and tried stuff from the pharmacy, Biotics, gut health stuff. Things seemed to get sorta better.
Slayt: 2
Time to seek helpLast year, when he was 11 it seemed that the pain was happening every other day. He was having days off school and wasn't eating much and I was worried. so we went to the GP. She was great, did some bloods, and stuff and said everything came back normal, but since John was missing school and eating less she sent a referral to the hospital. It was around 3-4 months later that we got our appointment. By that stage John had lost a bit of weight and was missing loads of school and was getting really frustrated and sad.
Slayt: 3
NormalI must admit I was quite worried about what the outcome would be. I didn't think that it would be nothing. But the specialist said everything was normal and he had something called functional pain.
Since then, it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. We have tried different medicines, different diets. Been referred to a dietitian and psychologist, but I have been told there is a wait. All the while John is missing out on life, and it is like we just have to cope. But it has been going on for so long, now - almost 4 years. So I am going to see another doctor.
I was quite shocked, relieved and then worried that they just hadn't found what was actually wrong.
Slayt: 0
SpecialistWe met the children's gastrio specialist. He asked lots of questions and poked and prodded John. Then arranged a few more tests - blood and poo, and had an ultrasound and booked an endoscopy. These took about a month to get done. The we waited around 3-4 weeks to meet with the specialist again