What To Do for a Child with Baffling Stomach Aches

Question:

Hi, Belleruth. I'm a psychotherapist, and I have quite a few of your guided imagery CD's that I use with my patients. But this question is personal... my 7 year old daughter has had stomach aches for years. We've had tests run from time to time, but all is well physically.

I would like to buy her a CD from your website to help her with her stomach aches. Most of the ones for kids seem to focus on relaxation. Perhaps that would be enough. I'm wondering which CD you would recommend for her.

Rosalynne

Answer:

Dear Rosalynne,

Has she been checked out for food allergies as well? (gluten, casein, eggs, nuts… stuff like that?) Absent that, anxiety may be the culprit, in which case, some relaxation CDs could be just the ticket.

It’s certainly worth a try, because they’ll be good for her under any circumstances, and, diagnostically, they could be useful, because if they do stop the symptoms, then at least you know it’s probably stress-related. (Please do have a look at this week's Inspiring Story too, which, oddly enough, also happens to be about a 7-year-old).

I would recommend Magic Island for her (one of the same recordings that helped Sam) as well as Charlotte Reznick's Discovering Your Special Place; and, for variety, if/when she gets sick of those, perhaps Fran Fujimoto's E-Motion series. Roxanne Daleo’s work is fabulous, but it may be a little on the young side for her – hard to say – depends on the child.

Hope this helps. Please let me know!
All best,
Belleruth

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Bookmark

Email this

Comments (5) Add Comment

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

...
written by JB, November 24, 2009

I can imagine the visualisations helping. I would like to point out that just because tests come back negative doesn't mean your child will not be sensitive to something. My daughter had stomach ache for over 18 months. She tested negative for all sensitivities. In spite of the doctor's insistence that there was nothing wrong ("The tests were negative!") my wife insisted on an exclusion diet. After 3 months of experimentation, we found she was highly sensitive to wheat. This was eliminated from her diet and now she doesn't get stomach ache unless she eats wheat (in a friend's birthday cake, for example).

...
written by Kimberly S, November 24, 2009

I have an 11 year old who suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder due to past domestic violence. He suffers from anxiety and stomach aches on a reoccuring basis. He has been tested for allergies and we found that he is lactose intolerant, however the stomach aches seem to relate almost entirely to anxiety now that we eliminated dairy. Both myself and his therapist have often wondered what else we can do to help ease the anxiety so I am going to give these a try!

Thanks,
Kimberly S

...
written by Ann, November 24, 2009

Please forgive me for being picky about medical terminology --

A food allergy is an immune reaction to a food or drink. So if a person eats, for example, shellfish or peanuts, and has a life-threatening immune reaction (anaphylaxis), or gets hives, that is an allergy.

The inability to properly digest something like lactose or gluten is NOT an allergy. It is, however, a food sensitivity. It is similar to an allergy in that the person does need to avoid that food. However, being tested for allergies will not tell you if a child has food sensitivities that are not based in the immune system. There is a breath test for lactose intolerance, and blood test for celiac disease (a major cause of gluten intolerance). But some food intolerances can only be diagnosed by elimination diets.

I hope that this information helps clarify how it can be that a person has negative tests but still has a food intolerance.

...
written by Belleruth, November 24, 2009

Both these posts are really helpful. Thanks much for writing.

...
written by Linda Pfaff, November 27, 2009

Regarding the post from Rosalynne about her daughters stomach aches. I am 59 years old. I had stomach aches since I was a very little girl. I was given pepto bismol every morning before going to school. The doctors pooh poohed it as just not wanting to go to school. So over the years I dealt with stomach aches until one day in 2006 during a Dr visit, with a new Dr., he suggested a blood test for H pylori an intestional bacteria. My test was positive. After a month on 3 different antibiotics I can now say that I know what it is like to NOT have constant stomach problems. So I agree with Belleruth, before we assume it is anxiety or some other emotional problem, make sure your little girl has a complete medical workup.

Write comment

Show/hide comment form

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

guided meditation

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites