10 year old undiagnosed. History of IBD in Family

Hello all,

I Hope you can help. My daughter is 10 years old and has had Bowel problems since she was born. She was and still is constipated. She had to have special milk as a baby but as she moved onto solid food she got constipated less. when she did get constipated her stools used to come out like a big ball, sometimes with blood. The pain passing these was evident. Now she is 10 and over the last 12 months she has been having stomach aches which make her feel like vomiting (she has vomited twice). I would say this happens every 4-6 weeks. She has time off school because she feels really unwell when it happens. My husband and his father both have Ulcerative Colitis and my mother has crohns diesease. I am getting worried now. Is this just constipation or something else? Thanks x

Hi, Poppyak! Welcome to the forum.

Has your daughter seen a doctor about these issues? Considering the family history, I'd say it's very important that she be seen soon. It would be best to ask your family doctor for a referral to a GI. If there is blood in her stool, something is definitely going on and you need to know what. Did the doctors have any explanation for that when she was younger?

Another vote here that you should definitely ask for a referral to a GI given her family history. Constipation can be a symptom of certain types of IBD. That doesn't mean she's necessarily got IBD, but it should be ruled out as soon as possible.

As you might already be aware because of your husband, mother, and father in law, there is a wealth of treatment options available. I wouldn't worry just yet. Your daughter is young and if she is suffering from some form of IBD, catching it young and treating it appropriately is a Good Thing. Some aren't diagnosed until much later in life and suffer complications of years of untreated disease.

Good luck to you and your daughter, and please report back and let us know how you both are doing!

Hi and welcome from another undiagnosed to a little girl named Grace.
So hard to go though this at any age. My girl also has had the same problems BUT we have NO ONE ELSE WITH IBD IN OUR family.
Grace is constipated and also bleed but once they put her on Zantac that made it stop for now. We use Mirlax for her. It helps keep it soft. Have you tried this? I'm sure you know more than most about this and I hope you get answers.

:hug:
Same here- recommend getting her into see a ped gi.

Ds has IBD and constipation is one of his issues that that is rare with IBD -- so we have been told.:yrolleyes:

EVen bad constipation can be managed by a GI.
hope you get to the bottom of it soon.:thumright: