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Dr. Hive? Are you in? Abdominal pain.


Tiramisu
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My dd is having stomach issues again.

 

Hx: Frequent nausea since early childhood that had been better for two years...until a few months ago. Positive for very mild wheat and milk allergies which she can tolerate in small amounts, but she's a teen and doesn't always make good choices.

 

More recently, after her stomach issues started to flare again, she tried to eliminate dairy again and lost about 15 pounds. She also has been much busier and more active. So while she has mild OCD and an eating disorder is on my radar, it doesn't seem to be an issue. This was discussed with her psych.

 

She has had a loss of appetite besides.

 

About a month ago, she had a normal teen upset that triggered a vomiting response. So if she sees something that reminds her of it, she will throw up very suddenly. This happens about once a week. It's really hard to figure out if the emotional trigger is on top of a physical issue. Like her stomach is already irritated, so it makes vomiting more likely if she's upset. ??

 

Now she has the respiratory virus that we all had. But she says her stomach feels like it's been punched. The discomfort is in her lower abdomen, front and back. This is different from the usual nausea.

 

Otherwise, she seems normal and she's not in terrible pain.

 

Aunt Flo came to visit a few days ago, not just yesterday or today.

 

Does Dr. Hive have any insights?

 

I'm calling the pediatrician as soon as it opens but as much as I love our doctors, I don't expect them to be able to solve this one easily.

 

FWIW, she has had a blood test for celiac, which was negative. Until now, we did not have justification for a scope, especially because she was doing really well for awhile, even consuming wheat and milk.

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My cousin's daughter (teenager) had a long standing issue with stomach pain/upset.  They found that she had something called "slipped rib" syndrome....a muscle caught behind/between (?) ribs.   

 

I'd never heard of it before.. but she had it on both sides, and ended up going in for surgery to repair.  Not sure if this is any help at all... but thought I'd throw it out there.

 

They also recently discovered she has Celiac disease, so is gluten free now too. 

 

Dr.s had removed her gall bladder a couple of years ago before realizing that it probably wasn't that to begin with!

 

 

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We just got back from the pediatrician. There is some concern for appendicitis, but dd seems to be feeling too good for that to be the issue. So we are watching it, and the doctor is going to call and check in with us in a couple of hours.

 

Of course, if there is any change we'll go to the ER. The closest one is only about five minutes

from our house. If she goes there, they can do an ultra sound and blood work to confirm any issue.

 

None of our very local hospitals will do surgery, so if it looks like appendicitis is developing she would be transported to a chikren's hospital or we could go straight to the ER at one of them if we felt safe for a 45 minute drive.

 

Or it could be a gas bubble or a ovarian cyst. But the doctor doesn't think it's related to her current virus.

 

We came out with forms for blood work to use in a few days if this current thing blows over, as well as a referral to a pediatric GI.

Edited by Tiramisu
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Cyclic vomiting syndrome can wax and wane. My 7yo goes through months and moths where she's fine and then a spell where it's really bad. If she tells me, I can give her some ibuprofen and it seems to lessen. I'm operating on the assumption that hers is related to silent migraines.

 

This child also has a headache history and migraines run in my dad's family.

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Thanks to all for sharing your ideas.

 

I just noticed the doctor is primarily concerned with pain and weight loss, but also ordered tests to look at the longer term issues. Besides the usual blood work, she wants to re-visit the celiac possibility and inflammatory bowel disease. She also ordered full iron and thyroid panels.

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Blood clotted so they have to re-do the labs.

 

Appendix was hiding from the u/s tech. :(

 

Talking about transferring to the big children's hospital where they have more means to test...better u/s and MRI's at night...unless I were to say okay to a CAT scan here but my dd has had more than enough radiation with previous CAT scans and the doctors agree.

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Blood clotted so they have to re-do the labs.

 

Appendix was hiding from the u/s tech. :(

 

Talking about transferring to the big children's hospital where they have more means to test...better u/s and MRI's at night...unless I were to say okay to a CAT scan here but my dd has had more than enough radiation with previous CAT scans and the doctors agree.

:grouphug:

 

Wow, that's some bad luck. Will they transport via ambulance? Or is she stable enough for you to drive her?

 

I'm Sending good thoughts!

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:grouphug:   Oh my--so glad this was caught! I had appendicitis as a teen. Mine was an acute attack--horrible pain one night, appendix out the next morning. I remember being tired for weeks afterward. It was my first/only major surgery and I had no idea what to expect. I hope your dd feels better soon!

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I'm so glad you take her pain seriously and were able to catch the appendicitis!  

 

My ds has mystery stomach pain regularly, in addition to gluten intolerance.  Appendicitis is a constant fear of mine simply because it's so hard to know if this is a "regular" stomach ache or something else.  Luckily our pediatrician checks appendicitis symptoms every single time.  

 

I wish your daughter a fast and simple surgery and easy recovery.  Take care of yourself, go get something to eat while she's under, ok?  

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any updates, Tiramisu?

 

I'm hoping things are OK!

We are home!

 

The night after being transferred and the following day were hard. I was just so tired and I was afraid to leave dd to get something to eat, thinking she could be taken into surgery any minute...but it went one and on, until I wanted to roll up into a ball and cry. I do not do well without food and sleep and medical uncertainty.

 

Finally, in the afternoon, we were taken to pre-op. And some drama started when a perceptive nurse saw the history of a possible MRSA infection from 7 years before. (Crazy story. It was a tiny pimple and I only took her to the doctor because a normal pimple would not make her cry in her sleep. The pimple healed completely in two days with a normal antibiotic but the culture tested positive for MRSA; no problems since for her or anyone in the family.)

 

The pre-op nurse advocated for a prophylactic of another antibiotic because of the history and the surgical team disagreed. The nurse called a safety officer and pleaded her case citing the latest recommendations on protocols for this type of situation. She also called everyone who had cared for dd since she was admitted and educated them, firmly telling them they had dropped the ball. All of this was interesting to watch but dd was caught in the middle of the controversy and just wanted it done. And I was nearing a meltdown.

 

I was really losing it from lack of sleep and food and fear of a reaction with the last antibiotic since a nurse I once knew talked about reactions to it she'd seen. So while I agreed it was a good idea, I was anxious about it, and could feel myself hitting my limit. Even the nurses had to sit me down and give me apple juice for the sugar. So once dd was settled with the last IV, I escaped to eat. By then it was late afternoon.

 

Dd went off to surgery with no worries and even refused sedation.

 

The surgeon came out and gave a great report afterward about how they caught it early and how dd could go home that day. So imagine my surprise when shortly afterward the nurses started talking about DD's perforation and how her abdominal cavity had to be cleaned up, and prepping for more IV antibiotics.

 

It took hours to get to the bottom of it. It turns out the surgeon used the wrong template to write the report so everyone in the hospital believed DD's appendix had burst and she faced a terrible risk of infection. Thankfully, our nurse listened to me and tried to get to the bottom of it. She also advocated repeatedly for me when I wanted whoever did the surgery to come and give me an explanation about what the situation really was. It was a very stressful mess.

 

And during that time we were trying to figure out the truth, dd was in a lot of pain and throwing up.

 

Not fun.

 

But she slept really well, and in the morning took a little food without throwing up. And she was fine with just Tylenol. So we were able to come home this afternoon.

 

Home sweet home.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support.

 

Let's hope dd heals well and there are no more surprises!

Edited by Tiramisu
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Oh my goodness, what a horrible experience! I'm so glad it's over!! And to recover with just tylenol, wow, never would have imagined. 

 

Well I hope you take a long time off and watch funny movies and call it history and science and literature all in one. Nothing unhappy for a month, just restful. :)

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