Fructose Intolerance Support Group

Hello! I'm searching for information about fructose intolerance. I want the info not for myself but for my four year old daughter.

My daughter has had a rough ride--she's had stomach problems from day one. Initially they told us she probably has Hirschsprung's Disease because she could not have a bowel movement on her own. The GI doc did a colonoscopy--no Hirschprung's but her colon was filled with blisters. He diagnosed her with milk allergy. She also was vomiting a lot so he diagnosed her with reflux as well. She started taking Neocate and we saw a huge improvement.

She had trouble on and off after that but nothing overly major. I did find myself giving her antacids quite often and we did have to keep Zofran on hand. Last summer, however, that changed. She got sick one night and we thought she had a stomach bug. However, the next morning she vomited blood. We rushed her to the ER and she was admitted to the hospital. Endoscopy showed a stomach ulcer and the colonoscopy was clear. She stayed in the hospital for a week and took Prevacid and Carafate for quite a while.

She was pulled off the meds and did pretty well. She started having stomach problems again and the allergist decided to repeat skin testing. It showed peanut allergy. Once we removed all nuts from her diet (per the allergist's advice) things got better.

Fast forward to now. She suddenly is not tolerating foods she has always eaten. She's always loved apples. Now if she eats just a few apple slices she vomits and gets very acidic smelling diarrhea. She also can't handle apple juice anymore. When she eats sweets she starts complaining of stomach pain. If she drinks something like a regular Coke I end up hearing complaints. Veggies she does fine with as well as bananas, strawberries and blueberries.

After reading up on it, we are wondering if she could have fructose intolerance or malabsorption. I have read that babies with this condition end up on Neocate because it does not contain glucose or gluton. I've also read that stomach ulcers are a common complication as is diarrhea and getting sick after eating things such as apples.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar? If so, what tests do I need to ask the GI doctor to do in order to find out if fructose intolerance/malabsorption is the problem?

Thanks so much for reading this long post and your help!

Dear Librarian2011,

I would have your doctor do the breathe test. It is easy and takes about 4 to 5 hrs to do. The symptoms do sound familiar. Once you have done this test...If they come out with the fructose M or fructose I diagnosis, then I'd get a hold of the Diet Solutions in Australia. I personally live in the US, but the US is not a good source of info on this topic. These people actually study and deal with this. They have been a GREAT help!.

Hey,

If you haven't yet found an answer to your question I would be getting the genetic screening done as soon as you can for HFI.. It is very uncommon for someone with Fructose Malabsorption to have so many symtons at such a young age.. I didn't find out I was FM til I was 21.. I always had stomach pains/nausea every morning and didn't eat much until half way through the day but never vomited from it.. Nausea is a common sympton of FM but vomiting is not. HFI is usually detected before the age of 10 so your best bet is to get the genetic screening test.. as for the Hydrogen breath test.. it is very dangerous if she does have HFI but it won't show that she has it. HFI sufferers can still absorb fructose into their body/still gets across their stomach lining and therefore don't produce hydrogen in their breath, instead they have an allergic reaction.. hence the term Intolerance. you need to get a genetics test asap.

Hi Librarian 2011, I agree totally with Colinsmom get the Breathtest done if you haven't already had it done. I suffered with Fructose Intolerance from 2007 - 2011 and it wasn't until I read on the internet that a breathtest could detect this intolerance. Before that I had never heard of this word "Fructose" and my doctor and both of the specialists I went to did not suggest that it could be this either. I have no faith left in doctors or so called specialists. I live in New Zealand and this year my husband was watching a documentary on the Coke company and he found out that Coke use HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP instead of Cane Sugar in their drinks so keep your daughther away from any of the Coke products. Here in New Zealand we only use cane sugar so I can tolerate our soft drinks but I can have them when we come to the US. I have written my story about how I got fructose intolerance all of a sudden in 2007, I would recommend that you have a read of it on this site. My main issue was excessive belching and stomach discomfort and before I knew I was fructose intoleranct, I also felt ill after eating apples. I notice that you put up your post in June so I am hoping that you have found a cure to her stomach problems. Merry Christmas xx