7 Yo Throwing Up In Sleep

[ANDOBEAR]

My seven year old has been tested for celiac through a blood test. He tested negative but his iga was on the lower side so we have to run the other tests to be sure. I am meeting resistance through his Pediatrician. I have tested positive for the gene myself and we have a family hx. Anyhow, he was diagnosed as lactose intolerant as an infant but not formal testing was done. I have recently scheduled a breath test after my lactose test was negative. I was also diagnosed with lactose intolerance as an infant. He has diarrhea at least once a day and in the past year he has started throwing up in the middle of the night while he sleeps. I always thought he just ate dairy or too much junk while he was out of the house, or he played too rough after eating and jumbled his belly up. It wasn't until all this celiac business came up that I started thinking it could be due to gluten. He goes to bed feeling fine, throws up, then says he feels instantly better. So, its not like a stomach bug where he feels sick for a period of time. He has done this every 6-8 weeks or so. He has done it the past 2 nights and I know he didn't eat junk food or run around like a nut because I was with him the whole time. He had pasta one night and hamburger with a big bun the other night. He has these foods often though so would it only cause that reaction sometimes? Like I said, he does have diarrhea everyday. When I ask him how it feels he says "like something bad is in my tummy and when I puke it up I fee all better." Does anyone else have a kid that vomits in their sleep? Is this typical of celiac?

[HAK1031]

vomiting is uncommon but not unheard of with celiac. some other members have experienced something similar and may be better able to comment. does your son have any other symptoms?

actually, though, just throwing in my (very long shot) 2 cents...I recently saw a discovery health program where a girl was throwing up once or twice a night in her sleep. she wasn't truly awake when it happened, and wouldn't remember it the next morning. it turned out to be a form of epileptic seizure that went away when she was one seizure meds. it's really unlikely but i figured it was worth mentioning.

[ANDOBEAR]

vomiting is uncommon but not unheard of with celiac. some other members have experienced something similar and may be better able to comment. does your son have any other symptoms?

actually, though, just throwing in my (very long shot) 2 cents...I recently saw a discovery health program where a girl was throwing up once or twice a night in her sleep. she wasn't truly awake when it happened, and wouldn't remember it the next morning. it turned out to be a form of epileptic seizure that went away when she was one seizure meds. it's really unlikely but i figured it was worth mentioning.

I suppose that is good to know. Like you said, unlikely, but still a good thing to tuck away in my mind.

[Joni63]

My seven year old has been tested for celiac through a blood test. He tested negative but his iga was on the lower side so we have to run the other tests to be sure. I am meeting resistance through his Pediatrician. I have tested positive for the gene myself and we have a family hx. Anyhow, he was diagnosed as lactose intolerant as an infant but not formal testing was done. I have recently scheduled a breath test after my lactose test was negative. I was also diagnosed with lactose intolerance as an infant. He has diarrhea at least once a day and in the past year he has started throwing up in the middle of the night while he sleeps. I always thought he just ate dairy or too much junk while he was out of the house, or he played too rough after eating and jumbled his belly up. It wasn't until all this celiac business came up that I started thinking it could be due to gluten. He goes to bed feeling fine, throws up, then says he feels instantly better. So, its not like a stomach bug where he feels sick for a period of time. He has done this every 6-8 weeks or so. He has done it the past 2 nights and I know he didn't eat junk food or run around like a nut because I was with him the whole time. He had pasta one night and hamburger with a big bun the other night. He has these foods often though so would it only cause that reaction sometimes? Like I said, he does have diarrhea everyday. When I ask him how it feels he says "like something bad is in my tummy and when I puke it up I fee all better." Does anyone else have a kid that vomits in their sleep? Is this typical of celiac?

Hi,

My son has just gone through something similar. He was throwing up in the middle of the night and not remembering in the morning. He did that twice and once he threw up several times starting in the middle of the night and lasting until noon the next day. He also was complaining of stomach aches for about 2 months on and off and this last time I took him to the doctor. He also told me he felt something was really wrong and he needed to go to the doctor. Kids just don't normally ask that!

He was tested for diabetes and the Celiac panel, along with an x-ray of his appendix. The only thing that came out elevated on his Celiac panel was his antigliadin IgG. The doctor said we could put him on the gluten free diet for a few months, see how he does and retest his IgG at that time.

He hasn't thrown up since going gluten free and has only rarely complained of his stomach bothering him. His eyes look so much clearer and he is gaining more and more energy. He's only been gluten free for 3 1/2 weeks but I believe it was definately a symptom of Celiac.

I would definately push for those other tests with your Pediatrician. Also keep in mind that if he is really low in IgA antibodies he could be IgA deficient which could lead to false negative results on the Celiac panel. My sons IgA was extremely low, but not below the low range and I wonder if that could throw off the results.

[Ursa Major]

Normal is to have diarrhea once or twice a YEAR. To have it every day is extremely abnormal. And yes, some kids throw up from gluten.

One of my grandsons never had a solid bowel movement until his mother took him off gluten at the age of four. Immediately his bowel movements became normal. She didn't bother with testing, but put herself and her five kids on the gluten-free diet with amazing results. Those kids know gluten makes them ill, and are not even tempted to cheat (they got cross-contaminated a couple of times, and the unpleasant results were good enough for them). Those children are all eight and under, and only the baby (22 months) doesn't understand yet.

Those blood tests aren't very reliable to begin with, and if his IgA is on the low side, it is even more unlikely that they will be accurate.

The most accurate test is to try the gluten-free diet. Will you keep having him eat something that is making him ill until you finally get a positive on something (which may never happen, and he will get sicker and sicker) or will you just use common sense and try the diet?

Throwing up in your sleep is dangerous, he could be choking on the vomit! You don't want to risk losing him over wanting more testing done before trying the gluten-free diet, do you?

You could also have him tested through Open Original Shared Link, which is still accurate up to a year after starting the gluten-free diet. They can't officially diagnose celiac disease, but they CAN diagnose gluten intolerance.

[jerseyangel]

I wasn't diagnosed until I was an adult, but have had symptoms all my life, it seems.

I remember throwing up in the middle of the night as a child--I don't remember actually vomiting, but I'd wake up and there it was. When this happened, I would not feel sick before bed, and felt fine in the morning. I remember feeling confused about how the heck this happened.....

This was different from when I had something like a stomach bug, where I felt sick.

[ANDOBEAR]

Thanks for the responses.

I realize diarrhea is not normal, but it was always attributed to the lactose intolerance. That is why I want a clear diagnosis of lactose intolerance...I scheduled a breath test so we can see how that figures into things. As far using common sense to take him off something that is making him sick.....I want to know what is making him sick before I take away another whole food group. I'm not convinced it is or is not gluten. I only know that I carry the gene and have been having trouble myself. I haven't been able pinpoint the issues for myself yet either. I suspect it may be a range of intolerances/sensitivities which is why I want more testing done. I have made an appointment for both kids to see a specialist at Children's Hospital in Boston. They have a pediatriac celiac program and I trust they will run whatever tests necessary. I just wasn't sure if this night time vomiting was a definate celiac symptom or if it was an unrelated thing. I'm making a list of all the things I want to mention to the specialist. Of course this is at the top of the list. My son's father does not live with us so keeping him gluten free at dad's without a doctor's recommendation might me difficult. If he thinks this is just some idea I imagined he might be more likely to let him "cheat". And beyond that, I want my son to know there is a real reason to avoid certain foods. It has been stated here many times that it can take months to feel better. I want him, and me, to know that we eliminated the right thing even if he doesn't feel better right away.

[jerseyangel]

Sounds like a good plan of action to me. Keep us posted

[fedora]

I threw up as a kid at night, all night long. It happened about once a month for years.

I never got properly cared for. The doctors said I had an ulcer without even running tests on me.

[sickchick]

My heart is just breaking for you ANDOBEAR.

Maybe it's something out of the ordinary making him vomit, I have this strange reaction to some fruit juices.

Unsweetened Pomegranate and unsweetened Cranberry juices both make me sick to my stomach and vomit like crazy. Just noticed this so I am trying to figure out why...

Sending you and your son healing love

sickchick

[ANDOBEAR]

My heart is just breaking for you ANDOBEAR.

Maybe it's something out of the ordinary making him vomit, I have this strange reaction to some fruit juices.

Unsweetened Pomegranate and unsweetened Cranberry juices both make me sick to my stomach and vomit like crazy. Just noticed this so I am trying to figure out why...

Sending you and your son healing love

sickchick

Juice usually doesn't bother him. The past two nights he threw up he hadn't had the same things to eat and he ate nothing new. Thats what makes me wonder why it happens only every few weeks. You would thinkif it was a common ingredient it would be all the time. Maybe it has to do with the amount? Thanks for your suggestions and concern.

[April in KC]

Hi there - my oldest son (now 7) has Celiac plus some other issues (peanut allergy, eosinophilic gastroenteritis). Once a couple of years ago, before he was diagnosed with Celiac, a single incident happened that is just as you described. He went to sleep - we were downstairs with friends - and when I checked on him, he had thrown up in his sleep. No hives, so I didn't conclude that it was a peanut reaction. Also, he did not run a fever the next day or become sick. It baffled me at the time, but I have since looked back on it as a possible reaction to an unusual load of gluten in his diet that day. Not sure. I have heard of (pre-diagnosis) Celiac kids getting sick after pigging out on Twizzlers (full of gluten) at the movies, etc. For myself, I remember as a young child eating spaghetti, throwing up, and then having an aversion for pasta that lasted many years (I also have Celiac). I remember arguing with my mom that it would make me throw up if I ate it...I was about four at the time.

[rick-spiff]

Have you done any allergy tests?

He could be intolerant or have an allergy but not have celiac.

[ANDOBEAR]

Have you done any allergy tests?

He could be intolerant or have an allergy but not have celiac.

Thats what we are trying to do now. The first thing is to rule in or out the lactose intolerance. Once we have that established we can move onto other things.

[ANDOBEAR]

Hi there - my oldest son (now 7) has Celiac plus some other issues (peanut allergy, eosinophilic gastroenteritis). Once a couple of years ago, before he was diagnosed with Celiac, a single incident happened that is just as you described. He went to sleep - we were downstairs with friends - and when I checked on him, he had thrown up in his sleep. No hives, so I didn't conclude that it was a peanut reaction. Also, he did not run a fever the next day or become sick. It baffled me at the time, but I have since looked back on it as a possible reaction to an unusual load of gluten in his diet that day. Not sure. I have heard of (pre-diagnosis) Celiac kids getting sick after pigging out on Twizzlers (full of gluten) at the movies, etc. For myself, I remember as a young child eating spaghetti, throwing up, and then having an aversion for pasta that lasted many years (I also have Celiac). I remember arguing with my mom that it would make me throw up if I ate it...I was about four at the time.

I'm trying to ask him to pinpoint what things make him feel bad. I think kids are more in tune with their bodies than we give them credit for.

[Lockheed]

It sounds like you have a good plan of action. I know a few people have recommended an allergy test, but consider a food sensitivity test. I know the words tend to be used interchangeably, but a doctor's office does not really view them as the same thing. vomiting later on after eating sounds more like a sensitivity than an allergy (allergy being more along the lines of an immediate response from eating the food like swelling, hives, anophylactic shock, etc.). Good luck and I'm glad you found a pediatric specialist in Boston. We're actually considering moving to Boston because I am just in love with how much easier it is to be a celiac there than it is here in a remote town in Texas.

[April in KC]

I'm trying to ask him to pinpoint what things make him feel bad. I think kids are more in tune with their bodies than we give them credit for.

That's a good approach, but don't be surprised if he can't tell. I put a lot of stock into first impressions of foods, but after we have eaten them for a while, all bets are off. Even when I didn't like the spaghetti as a child, I still ate bread...and as a teen, I added pasta back in. During my adult years, I suspected many many foods before I ever suspected gluten. Funny thing is, as an adult, I loved pasta. I started having bouts of IBS/urgency after eating pasta with meat sauce, and for a long while I suspected the red meat...then the tomato sauce...anything but the gluteny pasta, lol.

[April in KC]

I meant to add that my son with Celiac who vomited at night also has Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis - so you might consider this. It can also cause diarhhea - but can be triggered by a variety of food intolerances, not just gluten. The symptoms are slightly different - but do involve delayed reactions to food (and can include vomiting). Testing is done by endoscopy / biopsies. If you get him scoped for Celiac Disease, make sure they also check him for eosinophilic disorders at the same time. Just ask your pediatric GI if he/she is familiar with eosinophilic disorders. There is a website to help find physicians familiar with eos disorders ... www.apfed.org .

Oh...in case you're concerned about testing or the possibility of having a scope....

Having a scope done at a children's hospital was NOT a bad experience for our 7-year-old child. He would sooner go back for another scope than to have a typical blood draw. That's because they gave him "sleepy air" before they inserted the IV. He never felt any pain. And it went quickly for us, too.

[khockman]

This is exactly what my daughter did. She would just wake up and throw up in her crib one or two nights per week. She quit as soon as we went gluten-free.

[ANDOBEAR]

This is exactly what my daughter did. She would just wake up and throw up in her crib one or two nights per week. She quit as soon as we went gluten-free.

Wow. Its scary huh?