Is this an early sign?

My 5 year old daughter has been complaining of her tummy hurting almost immediately after she has finished eating at every meal for over about a month now.  At first, her doctor thought it was because she had allergies to begin with, coughing constantly and developed ear infection.  The doctor said once that was completely gone, her tummy ache should go away.  We returned back to the doctor on Monday for an ear infection follow up to make sure it has been healed completely, but my daughter still complains that her tummy has been hurting.  She has no other symptoms of dirrehea or vomiting.  She may have vomited once to two times in the whole month.  I've been watching her constantly because for one thing my husband's mom had stomach problems, always having dirrehea, and really never had a healthy life before she passed away.  Also, when my daughter was younger, there were times she would throw up on certain food which seems to cause her to throw up such as french fries.  We had to avoid letting her have food in high fat, and there were certain food in restaurants that seem to cause her to throw up.  We took her to the doctor for it, but he put her on medication for it, and that seemed to help, but my mom believes that my daughter has "inherited" stomach problems from my husband's mom - however we still have no proof.  I talked to a friend of mine who has a degree in pharmacy, and she said it was possible for my daughter to have Crohn's disease.  When we were at the doctor's office on Monday, he checked her tummy area to pinpoint where the pain might be.  It seem to be in the lower tummy area, and the doctor thought she had an inflammation.  The doctor said for me to give my daughter Zantac, 75 mg, 2 times a day.  I started the first medication last night one hour before dinner per instructions, and her tummy really hurt a lot after she ate  she was almost in tears, and I can't help but wonder if she might have Crohn's disease considering her history in the past with occasional vomiting most likely from high fat food.  My friend has suggested that I write everything down that my daughter eats.  She is pretty good eater, but she didn't eat all of her food at dinner last night.  My daughter says she is going to the bathroom okay - no real issue with bm or urinating.  She doesn't drink milk, though she loves cheese though.  Other than that, my friend suggested to wait and see what happens today and tomorrow to see if the medication helps my daughter or not, and if it does not, for me to take her to see a gastrointestinal doctor.  Is there anything else we might try before calling the doctor?  Or does this sound like a possible case of Crohn's disease.  I am just at a loss what to do for my daughter. 

Be sure to have her checked for Celiac Disease also. It has symptoms similar to Crohns. And you say her stomach hurts after she eats, so maybe something to look into.

Good luck,
Gail *Nanners*

Hi all - I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your input. Wednesday, we went to the zoo for the day, and I noticed my daughter had no problem, and that she felt pretty good. She ate fruit and a sandwich, a few bites of colored goldfish. Then had some red grapes for her afternoon snack. Then yesterday, she had some ice cream, and she complained her tummy was hurting. I immediately noticed that because Wednesday she did not have any source of food with milk in it, I started to think she may be developing milk allergy. Today, she had some cheese this morning, and some ice cream again this afternoon. For dinner she had macroni cheese. She complained her tummy hurted again. I told her that she needs to avoid food with milk in it, and see if that makes a big difference. She asked me what all food has milk in it, so I told her milk, yogurt, cheese (all kinds), ice cream, macroni-cheese and she seemed to understand - she's quite mature for her age, I must say.

I will also look into Celiac's Disease too. I have heard of it, but never thought it might be a possbility too. Thank you all for your feedback. That helps!

Hi EMom,

I so much appreciate your input! Trying to think far back - I remember she started to complain about her tummy hurting about the time she started coughing so bad, and sniffling a lot. Then after a week, it didn't go away at all, and I took her to the doctor to have her checked out. The doctor thought because of so much drainage that it was what she was probably swallowing, and caused discomfort in her tummy. That's when we discovered she had ear infection also (she also mentioned her ear was hurting too), and the doctor did put on her antibotics. That's when we went to the doctor recent Monday for a follow up check up on her ear to make sure it went away completely. I never thought the antibotics would also wipe out the good bacteria along with the bad bacteria, further more continue tummy discomfort. So there is a possibility that both the drainage caused her tummy discomfort, and then being on the antibotics as well is what made her tummy achy. If it does turn out that my daughter is lactose intolerant, I will be sure to find some age hard cheese for her. She definitely loves loves cheese! Thanks for the book suggestion - I will be sure to check it out. Sure beats being a health mystery detector!