Q. My son has stomach pains, which spreads to the rest of his body. Please help.

Hello doctor,

My 8 year old son began having pain on and around his bones about three weeks ago. It is mild in the morning and progressively gets worse into the night. The pain starts at the belly button and quickly moves to the ribs and throat. He felt like he was gagging and had tightness in throat. The doctor thought this to be excess acid, so he started him on Zantac, but it has not worked. About 10 minutes after the stomach pain at ribs and tightness in the throat, he begins experiencing bone and nerve pains. First, his hip begins to hurt at the top, and he says it is the bone itself, not the joint. The pain then travels all over his body, mostly around the bones.

It hurts around his shin bone, all up and down the side where it attaches to the connective tissue. It hurts on tops of his feet, on top of the bones. His hands begin to hurt. He feels like someone is pinching his arm tightly sometimes. The spine at the base of his head also pains along with his tailbone. He has no fever. His CBC, ESR, and CRP, are all normal. The stomach x-ray is also normal. The pain lasts for hours once started, and Tylenol and Motrin helps a little. The pain lasts a few minutes in each area before moving on and has moderate intensity.

It does not seem to be related to joint at all, and he says it mostly hurts on the bones themselves, especially the tailbone, and back of the skull. The stomach ache is always present during bone pain. The bones in affected areas are very sensitive to touch, and the slightest touch causes more pain. The doctor has never heard of stomach pain starting in upper stomach and spreading like this to the rest of the body. Any ideas would be a great help.

Hello doctor,

Thank you for taking the time to answer this. I will try the Magnesium and also consider the time it takes for the pain to migrate. I will let you know how it goes.