Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

So last year, and now this year too, DD has been waking up almost every morning that there is school complaining of a stomach ache.
She will even cry about it saying it really hurts.

The first time it happened we kept her home from school thinking maybe a virus or some kind of upset stomach. She fell asleep on the couch and woke mid morning fine.

The next time it happened we kept her home and again, same thing happened. Few hours she was fine and we drove her to school late.

When it happened again we took her to the Dr and they checked her for strep, and everything else and found nothing.
They recommended a daily probiotic.
She does tend to get constipated and doesn't eat great either. (super picky).

It has been happening again lately but we tell her to just go to school and sure enough, once she is there for a bit, she says her stomach is fine.

The thing is- this NEVER happens on weekends.
It never happened all summer.
And this past 4 day weekend for Thanksgiving- nothing.

Now I know it seems obvious- she has anxiety about going to school, hence the stomach ache (be it real or faked). But the thing is she LOVES school. She cries when she has to miss school for illness or even when there is a break, like xmas or spring break, she gets upset and asks when she can go back to school.
The times she has had to stay home for this stomach ache she cries hysterical that she just wants to go to school.

So I am just stumped. I mean if it was a physical problem, it would happen more than just in the morning and it would happen on weekends and days off too. She literally is fine by mid morning every single time. Never ever has even a pain or complaint in the afternoon or at night and eats normally.

I am thinking it's psychosomatic, but again, for a kid who loves going to school and gets upset when she doesn't go, it doesn't make sense to me.

Anyone have this issue with their child?
Any ideas?

Message edited 11/30/2017 2:42:09 PM.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

Could it be anxiety, not to school in general, but maybe one part of it? Maybe attendance, or recess, or something else?

I watched a documentary last night about anxiety in kids and teenagers, and the physical symptoms due to anxiety like head aches and stomach aches have a real explanation.

Maybe try to talk to her about how she feels during each period in the school, and hopefully you can get some clues from it.

DS used to feel sick of something different every Monday morning. I made him go to school regardless, mainly because he is older and tardiness would affect his school records.

I hope you find the answer for your DD.

Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

I have no insight but my 5yo will tell me her stomach always hurts. I've talked to the doctor and had her do bloodwork but they didn't find anything. If anything, she's the opposite of constipated. The morning is when she complains most and she's said it still hurts at school and other times but she's distracted then. I don't know if it's bc she doesn't eat much dinner or what. She'll wake up with a stomach ache and say she's super hungry but then if a good show comes on tv she'll want to wait to eat lol. In weekend she can get wrapped up in something and not want to stop to eat lunch so I think she sometimes just ignores when she's hungry.

As for the anxiety idea, dd can be anxious at times but loves school too. She's extremely social but sometimes she gets very sensitive about little things like getting in a teeny bit of trouble. She recently broke down in tears out of nowhere bc weeks earlier she'd apparently walked in on someone in bathroom. She said she couldn't get it out of her head. I do think it's possible to love school and genuinely want to go but to be anxious about it at the same time. Idk though.

Totally different idea but maybe she's dehydrated in the morning.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

Could it be something she is eating for breakfast on school days?

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

I would say almost positively that it's anxiety to something at school. My DD loves school, but she doesn't like one of her classmates (or nap time) and she is a terror to get up in the morning. She always says: "I don't want to go to school". Every morning.

Like a pp suggested, I would talk to her and try to pin point what could be giving her the anxiety.

Another thought - does she like to sleep in? Maybe just the act of getting up, getting ready, etc. could be giving her anxiety.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

Thanks for all the insight.
I will speak to her tonight in more depth about all aspects of her day.
She will usually tell me things that bother her- even if not right away- and so far she hasn't said anything, but I will try to probe a bit more..

I thought about the breakfast thing too- but she eats the same thing on weekends and days off.

Funny how anxiety can affect even children. It's sad what it does to you!

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

My sister was like this growing up whenever we would need to travel. She seriously would throw up and be cured an hour or two later. She enjoyed the trips as well, but would get anxious.

Is your kid around 7-8? If so, a good (get a rec from your ped for GOOD psychologist for kids may be able to work wonders in a few sessions).

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

I had it in elementary school. Mine I think stemmed from a few different things. I moved school from quite a bit, my mom went back to work and wasn’t there a few mornings so I was getting myself to school and then I hated chorus. I wanted to quit but my mom wouldn’t let me. Over time it went away but went on for a year or two. Was in the nurse quite a bit for stomachaches but nothing was ever found to be wrong.

Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

I had this problem, and I still have it. It can be generalized anxiety. Mine was social anxiety, even though I had no actual problems socially. Just interacting with people makes me anxious. I spent my wedding throwing up in the bathroom because of it. Nothing was wrong, nothing in particular was making me anxious. I couldn't tell you a specific thing causing it, but just being surrounded by people raised my anxiety to the point of throwing up.

So I would think it's not necessarily about something specific in school that she doesn't like, but just the anticipation of going to school could make her nervous, in a very generalized way, and then it's fine once she's there. Missing school may make her even more anxious, because she's missing out and then the anxiety might be greater about returning, at least that's how it always was for me.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

She may love school, but maybe she is having anxiety about being away from you?

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

I'd have her checked out by a gastro just in case to rule anything out.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

My older hates throwing up. Hates it! I tell her no one likes it but you feel better afterwards. It sucks but you have to get it out, you know?

I’d call her ped and see what he says

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

I had the same thing when I was younger. I recall a doctor telling me that stomach acid production peaks at night and sometimes people just have pains in the morning because their stomach is empty with excessive acid. I do think that it can take some time after eating breakfast for it to feel better. I also noticed that the more sleep I get/later I get up the better my stomach feels. Not sure if your daughter is sleeping later on the weekends than school mornings - but that could explain the difference. I think the other comments were good, too, just thought I would provide a simpler/easier explanation.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

so my 4 yr old was diagnosed last year at 3 with celiacs disease.

every night for 2 yrs she would cry going to bed saying her belly hurt. I would ignore it thinking she just didn't want to go to bed etc. I would tell you will feel better by morning. and she did. Went to school happy never complained during the day, so I associated it at night with going to bed. She was also always constipated.
we went to the ER b/c she was crying one night so much. they sadi shes full of gas.

Finally, one day she had a UTI, and the dr finally said let's test fro celiacs. Her blood numbers were so high. A normal person should be around a 5 she was at 100.
That lead to a GI visit, which lead to fixing the constipation first, Miralax all day long until she literally pooped her brains out lol, then an endoscopy, which lead to the diagnosis of Celiacs.

Went on a Gluten Free diet and she's a changed child. She rarely complains now. She's so much happier and such a different kid!!!

I just wanted to give you my experience. I will never let one of my kids complain again lol. I have such guilt, although I am not so sure if they would have diagnosed before 2/3 yrs of age.

I would def go see a GI dr and have her checked. Could be acid reflux, could be something more.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

If you had ruled out most medical reasons it may be something emotional. Sounds like she may be anxious about going to school or maybe leaving home. Kids are funny with expressing fear as they get older.

My daughter loves school too, loves her teachers but every Sunday night she complains her has some sort of illness. As much as she loves school she misses home. Once she gets to school she is fine but its just the anxiety of going.
I actually remember being like that as a kid too.
Its something she will likely out grow and maybe something you want to talk to her about. I think sometimes with stuff like this its good to not focus on it too much. I feel like the more I focus on my dd bellyache or headache the worse she complains.

Re: Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

It could be more of a separation anxiety sort of thing. She likes school ans once she’s there it’s fine, but that initial leaving the house and her parents is worrisome to her.

Looking for some insight.... stomach ache in the morning only

My DD was having this for a while. She acknowledged that it was only on school mornings and would cry that "School makes my stomach hurt". She says that school is hard this year and she doesn't like it anymore. She's in first grade, I really hope she grows to enjoy it again. She really loved it last year in K but I think maybe because she really wasn't challenged at all.