14 year old DS is always getting the runs

[Nymeria01]

This is now the third week running that my 14 year old has got bad diarrhea. I don't know what the cause is (although I suspect it could be fast\junk food) but every week like clockwork he will at some point come down with it. It last about a day and is very sudden meaning he has to spend all day in the bathroom. He will hate me saying this but has wispers been getting caught short and having accidents. Last week this was on the bus coming back from school (lucky his friends had gotten of), today he pooed himself in his bedroom . I don't know what to do, see his GP? Not sure if its serious enough for that. Any thoughts

[stargirl1701]

IBS?

[LadySybilLikesCake]

GP is your best bet, especially as it's fairly new. They may ask for a poop sample to check for ecoli etc so it's standard practice. Any weight loss/bloating?

[Pagwatch]

At 14 yes, it is something you should investigate.
Could be allergies or intolerances.
I would go to the GP.
Actually I would have a full allergy screen.

[Stuffofawesome]

Start with food diary to look for triggers. Eg dairy, wheat certain veg. Anything. That would give you more info to take to go if persists.

[Nymeria01]

Thanks, he has undergone alot of wait loss but I assumed that was just because of his age. I have a fear it could be IBS. I never thought of allergies . The food diary is a good idea. Thank you all.

[LadySybilLikesCake]

Please take him to your GP as this is something that needs checking thoroughly. It's best not to assume it's IBS or diet related until they have ruled other conditions out (Crohns etc), and your GP shouldn't assume it's IBS either. Tell him about the weight loss and the chronic diarrhoea and ask for a referral to a Gastroenterologist. Take it from there.

[Nymeria01]

Thanks again, I'm so pleased I posted I was in half a mined to dismiss it as junk food induced diarrhea. It clearly however warrants a trip to the GP. It is quite sudden and cannot continue as he is getting upset about it. I dread to think what would have been like had it come on in the middle of school.

[LadySybilLikesCake]

Poor lad. I really do hope you manage to get it sorted, it sounds as though it must be stressful for him. A diet diary would be a good idea but as it's such a recent change it may not be down to the junk.

[SweetFelicityArkwright]

Definitely get it checked out. My ds had similar symptoms and we thought it was just due to stress as he was revising for exams and it turned out to be ulcerative colitis.
Hopefully it won't be the same for your ds but it is best to be sure.

[notapizzaeater]

My son is coeliac - his main symptom was pooing himself, he had no control over his bowels.

I'd start a diary and get to the doctors for more tests,

[TheFirstOfHerName]

This definitely needs investigating, firstly to rule out Crohn's/UC or coeliac, and if it is IBS, to manage his symptoms.

[PoshPenny]

My suspicion would be coeliac too.

[LadySybilLikesCake]

Don't change his diet until he's been tested for anything though. If it is coeliac they can only test for it when he's still eating wheat/gluten. If he stops eating it, he'll have to restart and they can't test for 6 weeks.

[differenttoyou]

Does this happen around periods of stress? One of my boys has stress related IBS and it always get worse around a controlled assessment (Y10).

[Nymeria01]

Thanks again. I will make sure we keep the same diet for now. It can happen around stressful periods but I wouldn't say its inly when it happens. I have kept him of school for today as he was up all night with the diarrhea and unfortunately he had another accident this time in bed.

[LadySybilLikesCake]

How's he getting on? I hope he's feeling a little better Any luck with a GP appointment?

[heyday]

Does sound like it could be coeliac disease. Which means severe intolerance to gluten. This can be tested for initially with a blood test. He could become dehydrated if he keeps getting bouts of the runs. It's obvious that something is up so I hope you can make appointment to see G.P as soon as possible.

[Nymeria01]

I have managed to get him a GP appointment for this week. He is feeling a bit better now thanks, it seems to have become less frequent. He is still off school though as their are still spontanious needs to go. Yesterday was really upsetting for him, their were a number of very bad accidents bring him to tears. At 14 he shouldn't be worrying about changing his pants.

[LadySybilLikesCake]

Poor lad. It's almost the end of term so it may be wise to keep him off until he's at least seen the GP. They should do some blood tests and refer him quite quickly. I'd be insistent if the GP seems a bit blasé.

[Meow75]

Others have already said it, but I was going to say Ulcerative Colitis too.

[sashh]

Agree with all the gastro stuff already posted, but, you knew there was a but didn't you?

Is he drinking alcohol?

I don't mean getting drunk but having the odd cider in the park with friends?

I agree with a food diary but make sure he puts in everything.

[Nymeria01]

Sashh he has never said that he does and I have never had any suspicion. However that doesn't rule it out.
He is still of school btw. He went the whole of yesterday without any diarrhea and was going to go to school today... but then this morning he had an attack. I'm not going to risk him shitting himself at school so I'm keeping him off for the last week. The problem seems to be the urgency of the need to go. I had a long chat with him about it and be bas said that it happens almost everyday (that be suddenly needs to go). At least tomorrow we have the doctors.

[MissSmiley]

If it is coeliac he could be lactose intolerant too. You can stop him having milk to see if that helps. It won't affect any testing for gluten antibodies.

Does he have pain in his tummy? Upper right side?