What Causes Stomach Pain, Lethargy And Yawing In A Teenager?

Posted on Fri, 20 May 2016

Question: My 13 year old son has bouts of stomach pain, cramping, lethargy, yawning, and his body feeling "weird". This occurs rather unpredictably and may last anywhere from 24 hours to 3-4 days. While growing taller, he's become skinnier over time and actually lost weight. He also has very large bowel movements about every 2-3 days. I'm concerned about autoimmune GI issues but don't know how to proceed. He's had the celiac panel and other typical physical health related blood work.

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
diet, probiotics, gi referral

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
It does sound like he has some form of gastrointestinal issue. His primary care doctor can do stool studies for infection and parasites, but he probably needs to see a gi (gastrointestinal) specialist. I would get him on a diet that is free of sugar, dairy and gluten and put him on a probiotic daily. This may give him some relief after a few weeks to months.
If not ask your primary care doctor to refer him to a gi specialist.
Make sure he is eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and taking a multivitamin daily.
I hope this gets sorted out soon,
Dr. Robinson

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar