12 yo with chronic Abdominal Pain

My sun has suffered from three years of age with stomach pain and discomfort uppon eating he is now 12 years old. We have seen many doctors all of whom are very vague. His blood work consistantly comes back with low amylase and lipase. Yet they dont see any need for further investigation. I have been told he has a sensitive stomach. As a mother I see more. I live with him and see him every day. He eats very little, (i think it still hurts) he says he's not in pain anymore. At nine he was still throwing up food, bile and spit. That, thank God as stopped, but I believe he has some sort of malabsorption. Those enzymes break down your food for absorption and why won't they give him enzymes why wont they diagnose him? Im so upset I feel like I don't want to cause him anxiety and he doesn't want to go anymore. But how do I ignore his problems. They act as if five pounds is great in one year, his hair is almost bald on top and he is sad. If you have any reccomendations please feel freee to say. Thank You.

Is your son on any ADHA meds? My son was on a dose that was too strong for him. He was throwing up and very depressed. We lowered his dose and now he is better? It may not be just ADHA meds though. Just a thought.

You can purchase digestive enzymes at any health food/supplemnt store, many grocery stores with a health food supplement section (Whole Foods, Wild Oats or others with a good supplement section) and online (try Vitacost.com - great prices and good service). Look for a good general/multi enzyme formual. I like Acti-Zyme by Nature's Plus, also like Digest Gold - a top quality but expensive product). Take him to a good diagnostic internist - demand that he be tested for deficiencies including a complete thyroid workup (causes hair loss among many BAD problems), complete Iron workup (including circulatin and stored iron not just total iron levels - either can cause anemia and malabsorption), also check B Vitamins (B-12 and Folic Acid - in balance can cause pernicious anemia), also get his Vit D checked (25 (OH) D test) which can cause numerous health problems. You need to find one that will check him for celiac (gluten intorlerance) using blood test, if not take you son to a qualified nutrionist and get him tested for food sensitivities, especially gluten (wheat) intolerance, corn, dairy (milk/eggs) and soy. They can order blood tests that will show any food sensitivities he may have. Any of these can cause toxic build up in the gut and damage it causing malabsorption. If you can't afford the testing (health insurance should cover these except for your copay), you can do a simple "elmination" diet on him. Eliminate all wheat and gluten products for 2 weeks and see if he improves. You can read up on the internet about the syptoms of gluten intolerance (skin rashes, skin doesn't heal, dry/scaling/scabbing/itchy elbows, gas, bloating, etc.) There are many products that have hidden whest in them and gluten (barley, soy sauce, even oats), etc. So read a website about Celiac's disease to know what to look for. Then you do the seme for 2 weeks for all Corn (corn syrup, con starch, etc.) Corn intolerance will lcause sinus drainage, mucous, sinus infections, headaches among other things. Then do it for dairy/eggs, then soy. A quicker way is start with a really bland diet (rice, veggies, fruit, meats) and keep him off sugar for a week or two, then add one suspect item for a meal (wheat) and wait 72 hours to see if any syptoms show up. Usually if you are senstive, after going off one of these allergens for a week or so, just eating or drinking a little of it again will trigger a reaction in a short period of time. To rebuild his gut, give him a good probiotic to put good digestive bacteria in his gut (instead of the bad ones that thrive on the toxins from allergic foods). Jarrow-Dophilus EPS is good one (I think Vitacost.com may have it too). Just do one a day for a couple of weeks and see if it helps. (Antibiotics and toxins from undigested food destroy the good digestive bacteria in your gut, so you have to rebuild them.) If he's not allergic to dairy, you can give him a good yogurt with live cultures (try Stoneyfield Farms or Brown Cow). Also for stomach pain, to heal the stomach liining you can give him Deglycyrrhized Licorice Root extract - chewable tablets also known as DGL. It tastes sweet like candy. REGULAR Licorice candy will not work - raises blood pressure. I use Natural Factors DGL, but any good brand will do. (check Vitacost.com) Give it to him before meals or anytime his stomach is bothering him. PS a gastrointeralogist can do an endoscopy to check for celiac or other malabsorption issues, but that's expensive and not a fun test for a little kid. I would try to do the blood work ups and get with an internist and a nutritionist first. The treatment for Celiac or any other food sensitivity is the SAME - avoid the allergen like crazy. It can take a year or more to heal the gut after a malabsorption issue, so eating really good, whole foods, not processed foods is important. And adding in probiotics and digestive enzymes will help it heal faster and help digest food better. They have liquid vitamins too that are easier to absorb if he is vitamin deficient. Good LUCK!

Have you asked your GP to test for Coeliac Disease. They need to test his Endomyseal Antibodies. If he has this it is better to find out now while he is still young. It might not be but it's worth a mention. Good luck.

Has he been tested for Crohns or UC...worth a look
Hope you find out whats wrong

Does his stool float in the toilet? is he growing well? does his stool smell unusual? if you answer yes to all or any of these ...
have the primary doctor test him for cystic fibrosis.

Ammendment to my answer:
if you answer yes to the two stool questions and no to growing question then have him tested for cystic fibrosis or SDS

have you had him tested for Lactos Intolerance--allergy to dairy products, such as milk

Please have a simple & painless "sweat test" done. It will either confirm or diagnose Cystic Fibrosis. One easy condition to rule out one possibility