Hi Tammy -
I can so totally relate to this. My 1st grade son has a stomach ache 90% of the mornings I have to send him off to school. He's actually been branching out the past couple weeks to sore throats and this morning he said he had an unusual cough. I really don't get the feeling he is trying to pull one over on me - I really think it's stress. My son has verbalized "School is boring. I am not learning anything there". The teacher must recognize him as gifted because she was more than willing to make some changes for him and put some stuff into affect immediately. This is our first experience with advocacy!
Anyway - my son does not do anything about this at school. He saves it all for home. He came out of school last week in tears with a stomach ache. When I calmed him down I found out he had a fight in science with another boy, and he's not a fighter. Once he talked about it, he was instantly cured!
My only advice is to really watch closely for emotional triggers before you subject your daughter to a bunch of medical tests. I really feel like many doctors right now are more than happy to bring a child in for tests that may not be really necessary. My son NEVER has stomach aches over school breaks.
And on this note, I've always had a bit of a nervous stomach! And so does my mother and my grandmother. The funny part of that is my mom and grandmother STILL have not connected their stomachs to their minds. It makes me laugh watching the hoops they've been jumping through for years to avoid combinations of certain foods, etc. I think it's very empowering just to know the affect of stress on your body! Yoga is very helpful for me. I try to help my son to make this connection and to remind him it's important for him to do positive things with his emotions.
Good topic! Misery loves company!
