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I thought having your tonsils out would help the sickies....


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Not for J. :glare:

 

He had a stomach bug shortly after his surgery thanks to Daddy bringing it home. Not sure whom felt worse-J because he was puking or Daddy because he brought it home.

 

The other night, for an un-known reason, he started vomiting excessviely. Ran him to the ER since de-hydration is something he does very easily. Within less than 4hrs J was on the verge of severe dehydration (and the NP looked at us and said "well parents use the ER too much" when we were in there on Friday), yeah-grrr.

 

I have been awake since 230 from a "Mommmmy", and I know when my child calls me Mommy it is a "I REALLY don't feel good" kind of time. Walked in there and he said "my tummy hurts", felt him and thought "bleep, another fever". Sure enough it was 102.8, what gives?!

 

No one around us is sick, we are practically putting J in a bubble anymore. He doesn't go anywhere that he doesn't *have* to but DH did venture out to Mass last night with him. Sat in the back, with the Germ-X on hand however.

 

The NP totally brushed off J's daily stomach pains, but we did get a refferal to a GI (not something new for J, we have had our fair share of GI issues with him including severe reflux and a gluten intolerance) out of him. J is on Prilosec and has been since June for his stomach pains. Dismissed his weight loss, which is almost `0% of his body weight since his surgery on the 26th of August. He states they never weighed him at that much, yes, you did and so did the allergist office. Our scales match up to what the doc's office, so we too weighed him at almost 56lbs and now he is down to around 51.5lbs.

 

We have a refferal in place for an immunologist as well-after what this child has been thru in such a short amt of time and then this morning, there has to be answers, somewhere, right?

 

Thanks for letting me vent. If anyone has anything to offer, things to look for, etc. They will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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Have you tried some probiotics? There are chewable vanilla flavored tablets at G.N.C. If he's been sick so much that his good bacteria is too low, he could have terrible tummy troubles. As for the fever, I had one that used to have that from a run-down immune system. He'd run them as high as 105 and scare the living daylights out of me and all over something as run-of-the-mill as a stomach bug or a common cold!

 

I wouldn't begin to presume to know anything about J's issues. I will say that isolation, fluids, extremely strict/healthy diet, lots and lots of probiotics, lots of galic, elderberry extract, extra vitamin C, vitamin D, olive leaf oil, and oregano oil is what brought my ds around but it took a few months. Dh and I even took turns for six months with the church thing. I'd play the piano for the early morning service and then run home so dh could go to a later one. DS didn't go to church once during that time and then after that our policy was to continue to take turns during the flu season (October - March). We did that for two years and then he was right as rain. The ped blamed it on an immature hypothalamus (the gland that regulates body temperature) and a bout of strep throat that he had a had time kicking. The doc felt it really ran his immune system down. Testing did not show an immune disorder.

 

Oh, also, I eliminated all commercial cleaners and used only vinegar, castille soap, and baking soda. But, when I wanted something really disinfected, I used a steamer! It was wonderful. My steamer broke a couple of years ago and I haven't replaced it but I am thinking about it.

 

Faith

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:grouphug: Not real help here - but wanted to offer you a hug.

 

I know that having tonsils/adenoids out for two of mine helped w/ sore throats, colds, respiratory type illness. I never heard that having tonsils out would help w/ stomach problems unless the stomach problems were brought on by strep. One also had reflux though so we had to treat that as well.

 

For fever you can alternate ibuprofen and acetaminiphin (sp?) --take ibuprofen every 6 hours and tylenol every 4. Cold compress on forehead or cooler shower/tub can sometimes help too. With his stomach hurting is he taking enough liquids like gatorade or pedialyte --my kids like it made into popcicles. Is his stomach particularly tender on any one side? Like for apendicitis?

 

When I was a kid for several years I would become very sick - high, high fevers, throwing up for days, etc. - I would spend a couple days in the hospitals on IV's and then it would go away. One specialist that was called in actually told my parents I needed to see a psychiatrist bec it was obviously all in my head and I was faking for attention. The nurse was furious bec she told them there was no way I could fake 104 temps. Eventually it go so bad they had taken me into the ER and were talking long distance to a doc a couple states over that family knew - they were trying to decide if I could make a transfer to the other state, but- before our doc got could get to the hospital I went down hill fast and they decided to do emergency exploratory surgery (I had had every test over and over upper gi, lower gi, etc.) When they went in I had sepsis from an ovarian tumor (at age 10!) that had grown as large as a large grapefruit and had twisted around my ovary and tube and then ruptured. Obviously that can't be what's wrong w/ your son - but I did want to encourage you to continue to push for them to find out the why behind it.

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Did they test for strep at the ER? Dd had her tonsils out at 4.5 and she still gets strep:glare:. The stomach pains and vomiting can go along with strep. I'm sorry, I know all too well what you're going through. Dd has been on antibiotics as much as she hasn't in the last 4 yrs. Usually strep or walking pneumonia, very few stomach bugs-thank goodness for small favors.

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Is he by chance constipated or have issues of constipation? My son was severely constipated a couple of years ago. I had no idea because he would still have diarhea and small bowel movements. But a simple abdominal x-ray showed that he was backed up from nearly top to bottom. Before we had the constipation diagnosed though he was regularly having fevers and stomach pains. He also lost a significant amount of weight in 3 months when his weight was compared to another visit. We would have episodes of vomiting and dehydration as well. We were given a referral to a pediatric gastrospecialist who helped us clear his bowels and make certain that nothing else was happening like celiac. The reason my ds lost weight was directly due to the constipation - his body just couldn't absorb the nutrients he needed even though he seemed to be eating normal amounts.

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No sore throats, no other symptoms but a very sore stomach and high fever. Not even vomiting or diarrhea.

 

His stomach is tender, but soft and he has been moving his bowels. No sign of constipation. This is not something new.

 

The tonsils came out because he had been so sick, we all thought that the tonsils were the root of the infection. He only had two cases of tonsilits within 6 weeks before they came out last month.

 

Since June he has had-3 sinus infections, a case of bronchitis, two cases of tonsilitis, one stomach bug (confirmed), the other nights strange vomiting episode and now this fever. The stomach pains have been with him thru everything.

 

J has a severe allergy to mold, so no probiotics since they are most often grown on a mold substance. When he was younger we did give him probiotics often, and we still had a lot of sicknesses.

 

The pain is located directly over his stomach and right under his rib cage, on the right side.

 

We do realize that tonsils have nothing to do with his stomach, but again, if you take out of the source of infection, your body is most often able to fight other things off. This fever is bizzare and that is what irks us.

 

The NP blew us totally off, didn't want to do anything for J despite what he has been thru this summer and the complaints he still has.

 

I only clean with the Shark steamers, that has been in place for a while.

 

He is just a mystery.

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\

We do realize that tonsils have nothing to do with his stomach, but again, if you take out of the source of infection, your body is most often able to fight other things off. This fever is bizzare and that is what irks us.

 

The NP blew us totally off, didn't want to do anything for J despite what he has been thru this summer and the complaints he still has.

 

.

 

 

I disagree with this. I'm healthy. My kids are healthy and we still can't fight off stomach flu if exposed. It's unrealistic because of how the bug works.

 

In his case I wouldn't see an NP. The NP is probably stumped and not equiped to diagnose such a complex issue. Not exactly blowing you off but probably also frustrated because you want a Dx and it can't be delivered that easily. Plus they are trained to look for the most simple/common Dx's such as colds and stomach flu first. You got a referal which is all the NP really can do.

 

:grouphug:

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Has he been evaluated for pancreatitis or gall bladder issues?

 

 

Not yet-but once we see the GI we will dig deeper of course.

 

 

I understand that people with GI issues shouldn't take ibuprofen, but this is the only thing that takes J's fevers down. I think any parent would want a fever down and in turn have worsening GERD than a child with brain damage due to a high fever.

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Have they looked at his appendix? When I was 12 I woke up with a pain in my side like never before or since. I spiked a fever - nauseated - the works. Mom took me to ER and had to fight with the Dr to do a white cell count. It was very high. Turned out it was my appendix and I was rushed into emergency surgery. They barely got it out before it burst.

 

If it's right side pain I'd don't care how high it is. They need to rule the appendix out. Pain can radiate. When I had gall bladder issues I often got pain on the left side though my gall bladder was on the right.

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Have they looked at his appendix? When I was 12 I woke up with a pain in my side like never before or since. I spiked a fever - nauseated - the works. Mom took me to ER and had to fight with the Dr to do a white cell count. It was very high. Turned out it was my appendix and I was rushed into emergency surgery. They barely got it out before it burst.

 

If it's right side pain I'd don't care how high it is. They need to rule the appendix out. Pain can radiate. When I had gall bladder issues I often got pain on the left side though my gall bladder was on the right.

 

His white count, as of Friday morning was normal. Wednesday evening, it was only slightly elevated.

 

I am starting to wonder if it is his gall bladder.

 

He is doing much better now, still running at over 101, but is more "with it" than he was earlier. We will definatly be calling the doctor's office tommrow and heading to the ER if he gets worse thru the day.

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I totally understand your need to medicate for the fever. Three of my children never ran high fevers and could always be allowed to let the immune system fight the bug. Ds with the triscupid valve prolapse in his heart would always, always, always run a fever of 105 and higher if not medicated once we hit 102.5 - that was the threshold established by the pediatric cardiologist.

 

So, what we did was medicate with the least amount that would keep the fever under 104, that way the fever did it's job but it didn't go into the danger zone. I don't know about your ds but his fever didn't just spike and come right back down in a few minutes, it would spike and STAY THERE! I once ripped the head off (figuratively) of an ER nurse who insisted that ds's fever wasn't likely over 104 when we arrived at the ER but told me I had misread or did not know how to read a thermometer. Of course, she took his temp and went screaming for the doctor because it was 106.7! It had been 105.5 when we left for the ER (a 20 minute drive at speed limit or 15 if your frantic dh is driving and believes red lights no longer apply under the circumstances) and that was after a dose of tylenol and ibuprofen taken at the same time and with cold compresses on his head and being undressed down to his undies! OHHHHHHHHHHHHH you can bet she apologized to me big time and so did the doctor.

 

One thing we did do, no matter how sick he was, was put him into the bathtub with cool water (I wouldn't make it ice cold like they do at the hospital unless he began spiking into the danger zone) and he had to stay there, no matter how miserable, until it dropped below 103. Shivering, rotten feeling to the child, is good because it's a sign that he is shedding heat. So, you want to use whatever method of cooling you can to get him to shiver and shiver for at least 15 mintues. Monitor his fever every two minutes while in the cool water bath. We always put ds's swim trunks on him so that he didn't have "privacy" issues once he was old enough for this to be a problem. We kept cold compresses on his feet and head (two places that you can lose heat from very quickly) at all times while he ran the fever. It took a lot of direct nursing to keep that going but dh and I and even our nine year old dd would take turns sitting and dipping those washcloths in cold water and laying them back on his feet, neck, and head. We kept his hair wet. We kept his feet elevated in order to give his heart a rest from pumping blood downward (you probably don't need to do this) and when he had strep and stomach pains, we would try different positions for him to lay in to relieve the pain. Often, he liked to be on his side with his knees pulled upward some. We did an awful lot of read alouds, singing, joke making, mad-libs, and even movie watching (dh would hook up a small computer screen and video player in the bathroom if he was going to be in the cold water for a while).

 

I strongly recommend the probiotics (acidophilus) tablets if you can get him to take them. We also used gatorade and homemade juice based popsicles to encourage him to drink...dehydration is just such a scary issue with a child like this. A little salty chicken broth or vegetable broth is a good rehydrator as well but only as long as he isn't vomitting anymore.

 

((HUGS)) Faith

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As for the constant belly pain, given that he has GERD, though not a common side effect, I would be wondering about bowel impaction/bowel obstruction and in particular a partial bowel obstruction. This is one of the side effects of GERD in pediatric cases. It all has to do with inflammation of the GI tract from top to bottom, so to speak. Even though his GERD is now under control, if the inflammation in the lower GI tract went untreated and did not relieve on its own, he could have a real issue down there and chances are there will be little you can do with over the counter remedies that will alleviate that pain except trying to find a more comfortable position for him.

 

He can even have "loose" bowels and still have a partial blockage....the diarrea, caused by irritation and possibly even infection, just leaks around the blockage since it isn't a total obstruction.

 

How soon can the GI doc get him in? This is where the mamma bear instinct comes in handy. I had a dear friend whose son's symptoms, very similar to J's, were being ignored by the ER doc. She got the referral to the GI doc and when she called on Monday morning, it was 30 days until they had an appointment. The receptionist would not budge and would not allow her to speak to a nurse. 30 days and her boy would have been long dead (not trying to scare you, just trying to encourage you to follow your instincts) and so by noon, she had loaded him up, drove to the GI doctor's office, and against the agnst of the receptionist staff, parked in the lobby waiting for a no show. A nurse came to call the next patient back, looked at how white her ds was in the face, came and asked how sick he was, exploded at the receptionist staff for not allowing mom back immediately, and he was having his vitals taken and a complete medical history just about instantly. The doc dropped what he was doing, came into the room, ordered a scan at the hospital, and he had surgery the same day to relieve the blockage. All because mamma said, enough is enough. The specialist apologized to her about being so easly dismissed by his office staff (I have a feeling they had a VERY BAD day when he was done with them).

 

So, if you don't think he can take this much longer, call the GI doctor's service...hound them....scream at them.....whatever it takes....park in the ER lobby as a permanent fixture if necessary, but don't let this go beyond what you know J can handle or beyond what you can manage at home. At the very least, they can hospitalize him on an IV drip with some vicadin to relieve the pain and monitor his fever until morning. Once hospitalized, you can bet a GI doctor will be called to see him promptly.

 

Faith

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Thank you Faith!

 

J would run around nude if we let him, and I have a feeling that is not going to change anytime soon. :tongue_smilie: He asks for cool showers (he takes the shower head and places it right over his head) when he is sick like this. The shower this morning didn't help, and he was getting *too* cold, like almost purple in the lips cold.

 

He worries me because he really will not drink, he says "it makes my tummy hurt" but he did eat a popsicle-very slowly and did complain of pain afterwards. He is so easliy dehydrated and going back to the ER for IV fluids is not something we want to do with him, but if he stops urinating and/or his mucous membranes start drying out, you better belive that is where we will be.

 

We just received the refferals on Friday, and I will be calling the office to see if they have been able to get the appts. Then depending on when they can see him will determine wheather or not I need to go into Momma bear mode. We have been fortunate in the past to get appts within 2 weeks of the first call.

 

To get to the Children's hospital it is an over 2hr drive, sometimes I wish we were still in W.Va as we were 20 minutes away from West Virginia University Hospitals. LOVED our pediatrician there, even joked to him that we were taking him with us when we moved down here.

 

The NP and the ER doc both stated that J's stomach is soft and paplable but tender. No x-ray's, ultrasounds, upper GI's or endoscope-yet. J has had MANY endoscopes and one upper GI in his life time. You better belive that when we get into the GI or have to go to the ER for this that SOMETHING will be done.

 

And yep, J is laying on the couch, on his right side with his knees pulled up aganist him. He has a sensory processing disorder and until this morning the child has always had a blanket on him. Even when it was 100 degrees and above this summer, J had a heavy blanket on him. This is NOT normal for him.

 

Oh yeah, we have been the ones like "oh you don't know what you are doing" or "what do you mean he needs to see this person". We had to fight for his allergist refferal even! The child is on 4 different allergy and asthma meds in addition to twice weekly allergy shots now! They thought we were nuts wanting to see an allergist! I think this is where some of the docs are bothered-we know what we are talking about and we do not want them treating anything but "normal" childhood things. Then again I think we really made the NP upset because we told him that when we were there the time before Friday the doc sent us on our way with a "virus" nothing else. Um, J had a HIGH fever (almost 105) and was getting dehydrated. Called the allergist the next morning and he was dx with a case of severe tonsillitis, received an IM injection of Rocephin and steriods. Yes, we are on the hunt for a new pediatric practice.

 

DH just left to get some of J's regular/daily meds and stop at Wal-Mart for some of J's favorite Life Waters. He is in a tremendous amt of pain and nothing is helping. Really starting to think another ER trip is needed. Only problem is-which one. The one that is literally within walking distance of our home or the one that is 15 minutes away where our pediatrician has privelages?

 

Thank you again Faith!

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You need to just take him on to the ER. My ds(17) had to have his gall bladder removed this summer, the stomach pains were terrible! He did vomit, not sure if it was from the pain or what. They can run a type of scan, not sure how to describe it but it takes over an hour to run and they have to be still. I wouldn't wait, not at his age. And if you have a GI dr for him I would call him before taking him.

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The 15 minutes ride might be daggone uncomfortable but if your ped has privileges there, you might do better because they know if they mess up, they have to answer to a doctor they work with regularly.

 

Unbelievable, can I just go ape on the NP?????

 

I, for one, am sick of being treated like an ignoramus by medical professionals and especially when I am right and they are WRONG nine times out of ten!!!

 

(((HUGS)))

 

Faith

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Sounds a lot like when my eldest has gastroenteritis, which he developed after food poisoning. It went on for months, he lost 10-15% of his body weight (which, on a skinny kid, is a lot), he'd have stomach pains almost daily, would spike a fever every time that happened. He vomited frequently, to the point that I finally started giving him small amounts of pumped breastmilk (was nursing his brother at the time) to help heal his stomach lining. He ended up on Zantac liquid for several months. He still has occasional flareups.

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I am wondering if he may have the same virus that our family has had. It seems to be a gastritis type of virus. My dd and I have it and my brother and mother just got over it. It seems to last for a month or 2 and we see improvement and then relapses. I have never had my stomach hurt so bad before. I was ready to go to the ER a few times. My dd is rarely sick and never has stomach problems and she feels horrible. Neither of us has a fever but we rarely get one.

 

This may be what your ds has but if he is still in a lot of pain and doesn't improve soon I would take him to the ER. Hope he feels better soon. :grouphug:

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The 15 minutes ride might be daggone uncomfortable but if your ped has privileges there, you might do better because they know if they mess up, they have to answer to a doctor they work with regularly.

 

Unbelievable, can I just go ape on the NP?????

 

I, for one, am sick of being treated like an ignoramus by medical professionals and especially when I am right and they are WRONG nine times out of ten!!!

 

(((HUGS)))

 

Faith

 

Me and you both! The ER doc was *amazed* needless to say and the nurses, got Momma bear too when they heard about it.

 

Sounds a lot like when my eldest has gastroenteritis, which he developed after food poisoning. It went on for months, he lost 10-15% of his body weight (which, on a skinny kid, is a lot), he'd have stomach pains almost daily, would spike a fever every time that happened. He vomited frequently, to the point that I finally started giving him small amounts of pumped breastmilk (was nursing his brother at the time) to help heal his stomach lining. He ended up on Zantac liquid for several months. He still has occasional flareups.

 

Yeah, after 6hrs at the ER which included a CAT scan and blood work, right now J has a nasty case of an inflammed stomach lining. His white count was almost 18, highest it should be is 11! There is NO way his WBCs were "normal" like the NP said they were on Friday, no way! No obstructions, blockages or masses-thankfully. Yet the ER doc wishes he had answers, not only for us but also J as he could plainly see on J's face that he is miserable.

 

The ER doc wants J seen ASAP by a GI doc because this does not explain his daily belly pains. He is already on Prilosec daily for GERD. Who knows what the GI will do, but this is our best chance for answers. He also wants him seen by an immunologist because of what he has been thru recently. Why can an ER doc know this in such a short amt of time but we had to fight the pedi for the refferals. We are to call the pedi practice in the morning and find out when the appts are, if they are not soon enough, yep I am to get Momma bear on them.

 

Crystal, could it be C. difficile? :confused: I'm so sorry about your son. I'm sure he's miserable.

 

No diarrhea and his abdominal pain is anything but mild unfortunatly. Thanks for the detective help though! The ER doc even did a UA to rule out a UTI. Detectives are always appreciated!

 

J is sleeping, for now but we expect him to be awake when the pain meds wear off. The doc ordered him an IV dose of Diladid-it helped! Too bad it really dosen't work any other way but IV or IM. If the pain continues though, I am not kidding, I will drive him the 2+ hours to Children's to be seen.

 

Thank you all for the kind words and detective help, it is greatly appreciated.

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I don't know what you know or how its going...excuse me if I am saying stuff that you already know....

and of course there is an acute situation that needs to be dealt with...however...

 

Tonsils are there for a reason...they are part of the body's immune system. Yes, they can become badly infected themselves...but once removed, there is one less option the body has for healing itself. So while sore throats can be minimised after a tonsillectomy...the sore throat was a symptom, not a disease in itself. The body was not handling infections very well before the tonsils were removed.

 

You may well realise this but fevers are another way the body heals itself. Yes they need to be watched, but unless the temp is very high and for a long time....it's better to let it run its course. Of course every situation is unique and if there is a history of problems, seizures etc...take that into consideration. But generally, a high body temperature kills virus and bacteria.

 

It sounds like your son has a lot of health issues. A lot. Being on several medications as a kid is not a good sign. The body is a self healing mechanism and there is a lot that natural practitioners can do to help the body heal itself. Allergy medications don't cure allergies- they deal with the symptoms- and all medications have side effects.

 

In other words...it looks like, from skimming the thread..you are coming from the perspective of trying to eliminate all the symptoms of your son's various conditions. There is a place for that, particularly where suffering is involved. But if you don't deal with the underlying issues at some point, he will likely build more issues and the suffering will be long term and chronic rather than short and acute. I would get him assessed by a natural practitioner who can show you a different way of looking at his illnesses and treat him as a whole person, not in separate bits.

 

Disregard if you have done all that.

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If the appointments aren't ASAP---like today or tomorrow, try taking him to the ER at the Children's hospital where the GI practice is. If they admit him, he can get his GI consult right there, same with the immunologist.

 

If all else fails and your insurance will pay, I would gather up all the medical records you can (copies of scans, blood work, etc.) and head to Mayo clinic. There in just a few days you can see every specialist under the sun and they all work TOGETHER to get the big picture.

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This is the plan since he was up last night for an hour crying out in pain. At one point he just looked up at DH and I and said "help me". Broke my heart! It is after 8a here and he is still sleeping, he does *not* feel well as this is very unusual for him to sleep like this. We live in Northern Alabama, near the TN/MS state line and Children's is in Birmingham-a little over 2hrs away. I don't want it to come down to this, but he has to be seen sooner than later.

 

 

If the appointments aren't ASAP---like today or tomorrow, try taking him to the ER at the Children's hospital where the GI practice is. If they admit him, he can get his GI consult right there, same with the immunologist.

 

If all else fails and your insurance will pay, I would gather up all the medical records you can (copies of scans, blood work, etc.) and head to Mayo clinic. There in just a few days you can see every specialist under the sun and they all work TOGETHER to get the big picture.

 

I do not think his insurance would pay for this unfortunatly. He has nice insurance, in-state, but go out of state and they get picky.

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Just an FYI...Children's Mercy is amazing...especially when it comes to working with finacial situations. Even if your insurance doesn't pay they will work and with you. We had insurance, and make a decent salary, but they still covered 80% of ds surgery hospital bill.

 

Also, did he have any sort of adverse reaction to the Anesthesia? When I had my tonsils/adenoids out as a child...I was sick for a very long time. Lots of high fevers, throwing up, runs to the ER. I think I missed 2 months of school that year.

 

Anyway, :grouphug: and please keep us updated!!!

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Just an FYI...Children's Mercy is amazing...especially when it comes to working with finacial situations. Even if your insurance doesn't pay they will work and with you. We had insurance, and make a decent salary, but they still covered 80% of ds surgery hospital bill.

 

Also, did he have any sort of adverse reaction to the Anesthesia? When I had my tonsils/adenoids out as a child...I was sick for a very long time. Lots of high fevers, throwing up, runs to the ER. I think I missed 2 months of school that year.

 

Anyway, :grouphug: and please keep us updated!!!

 

We have been to Children's before for a 48hr EEG when J was barely 4. They were *amazing*!

 

J has been under anesthesia *many* times in his life and only once did he have problems and that was after his adenoids at barely 2 years of age. He had been under anesthesia twice before his adenoid surgery without incidence.

 

Yeah, thank goodness for homeschooling, huh? Another week would be missed, this would mean J would have been lucky to attend 10 full days so far this year-his old friends have been in school the beginning of August.

 

I am waiting to hear back from the refferal nurse at the pediatricians office. The receptionist that I spoke with was very shocked to hear what had happened this weekend. She also saw that the NP had to be *asked* for a refferal to a GI instead of him just giving one to us. Yeah, we do know a thing or two about our child.

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If your insurance will cover it, I would absolutely take your son to a Children's Hospital -- the best one you can go to.

 

It sounds to me like he has been through a lot (as have you!), and yet he still is very sick.

 

Find the most expert *team* of doctors you can, and put him in their care. You don't want doctors to keep throwing medications and/or surgeries at him w/o a good diagnosis and clear plan.

 

FWIW, white blood counts can change rapidly. During hospitalizations and/or extended treatments, a CBC can be checked daily to monitor for changes. . .

 

:grouphug:

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If your insurance will cover it, I would absolutely take your son to a Children's Hospital -- the best one you can go to.

 

It sounds to me like he has been through a lot (as have you!), and yet he still is very sick.

 

Find the most expert *team* of doctors you can, and put him in their care. You don't want doctors to keep throwing medications and/or surgeries at him w/o a good diagnosis and clear plan.

 

FWIW, white blood counts can change rapidly. During hospitalizations and/or extended treatments, a CBC can be checked daily to monitor for changes. . .

 

:grouphug:

 

The team approach is why we want to go to Children's because he needs a gastro and an immunologist. They work together, even though they are two different specialities.

 

We are not used to seeing the WBCs changing as rapidly as J's is right now. I mean it was normal-normal, like nothing had ever happened on Friday. Yet yesterday it was almost 18! That is a HUGE jump and just one more "why".

 

Thank you for the :grouphug:

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The location of the pain sounds A LOT like gallbladder. The gallbladder can go bad rapidly. My BIL (an MD, so he knows the symptoms) had no problems with his gb until a Saturday night when he got severe stomach pains and his wife took him to the ER. They could see on an ultrasound that the gb was inflamed, by the time they removed it on Tuesday, it was full of gangrene!

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The team approach is why we want to go to Children's because he needs a gastro and an immunologist. They work together, even though they are two different specialities.

 

We are not used to seeing the WBCs changing as rapidly as J's is right now. I mean it was normal-normal, like nothing had ever happened on Friday. Yet yesterday it was almost 18! That is a HUGE jump and just one more "why".

 

Thank you for the :grouphug:

:grouphug::grouphug: If he is still in that much pain after he wakes up, I would just drive those 2 hours and go to the ER. I would not wait for a referral. I can't stand for my children to be sick or hurting so I can just imagine how you are feeling as well. :grouphug:

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The pain is located directly over his stomach and right under his rib cage, on the right side.

 

 

 

Haven't read past this yet...

 

That's where the gall bladder is, right? If it's tender to the touch, I would think they would do an ultrasound of the gall bladder. Could it be cholecystitis?

 

ETA: Should have read further. I see that gall bladder has been suggested more than once. Hope you get answers soon!

Edited by CAMom
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Haven't read past this yet...

 

That's where the gall bladder is, right? If it's tender to the touch, I would think they would do an ultrasound of the gall bladder. Could it be cholecystitis?

 

ETA: Should have read further. I see that gall bladder has been suggested more than once. Hope you get answers soon!

 

 

And the CT didn't show anything, his CT was done with and without contrast (both oral and IV contrast). If there was anything inflammed, the CT *should* have shown it.

 

I placed the call to the pedi's office at 845 this morning-it is now 1145 and still no return call. :glare: The ER nurse from yesterday called to see how he was doing, but yet the pediatrician's office can't call.

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They called about 15 minutes ago-J has an appt tommrow afternoon at 145p. It is not at Children's Hospital but with one of their docs in his practice outside the Hospital. Thankfully DH has a wonderful boss and co-workers so he can change his schedule around on a dime's notice. Sometimes we look back on what happened this winter (he suddenly lost his nice paying M-F, 1/2 day Sat. job) and know it was for the best. There would be *no* way he could take tommrow off and I can't drive that far myself. Things happen for a reason and I am hopeful that this GI is as good as our old one up in Columbus.

 

J is still having a lot of pain, hasn't been able to eat anything minus 1/2 popsicle and half a very small muffin (both of which he asked for) and which made him hurt even worse. He is still putting out urine, despite not drinking a lot. We just want answers or the means to find the answers.

 

My Mom suffered from the H-Pylori bacteria-does anyone here have any experince with it? The symptoms fit.

 

Thank you everyone for your continued thoughts, prayers and hugs.

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My Mom suffered from the H-Pylori bacteria-does anyone here have any experince with it? The symptoms fit.

 

 

That's why I asked about ulcers. It will cause an inflammation in the lining just as you mentioned, but the localization of the pain made me wonder if he had developed an ulcer. The bacteria can live in one's system for a lifetime and never cause any issues, but he just had surgery and all the stress plus the medications could have triggered symptoms. Alternately, it could be a new infection he has picked up in the hospital. You may have seen this already, but the Mayo Clinic has a great page on it as usual: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/h-pylori/DS00958

 

Barb

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That's why I asked about ulcers. It will cause an inflammation in the lining just as you mentioned, but the localization of the pain made me wonder if he had developed an ulcer. The bacteria can live in one's system for a lifetime and never cause any issues, but he just had surgery and all the stress plus the medications could have triggered symptoms. Alternately, it could be a new infection he has picked up in the hospital. You may have seen this already, but the Mayo Clinic has a great page on it as usual: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/h-pylori/DS00958

 

Barb

 

 

That is actually the first site I looked at when researching H Pylori. LOVE that site, wish Mayo was closer to us.

 

Thank you for your help Barb, it is always appreciated!

 

Also wondering since his tonsils were so yucky *and* had a sinus infection when the tonsils came out *and* this worsened after the surgery, could the infection had traveled down to his already weakened GI system? Or is this a total long shot and the GI will look at me like :001_huh:

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Since he had an infection at the time of surgery and surgery, in and of itself, gives the immune system a stiff kick in the hiney, then I think that bacteria moving through his system is a very real possibility. Plus, unless the bacteria formed decent sized absecesses, it probably wouldn't show up on a CT scan. It also accounts for his high white blood cell count.

 

Poor baby, we are all thinking of him and praying for him.

 

Faith

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Since he had an infection at the time of surgery and surgery, in and of itself, gives the immune system a stiff kick in the hiney, then I think that bacteria moving through his system is a very real possibility. Plus, unless the bacteria formed decent sized absecesses, it probably wouldn't show up on a CT scan. It also accounts for his high white blood cell count.

 

Poor baby, we are all thinking of him and praying for him.

 

Faith

 

Thank you so much Faith. I look foward to seeing you on the boards, you always have kind words and words of wisdom.

 

I do wonder if the doc will go ahead and place him on *something* not only for the pain but something to get his white count down to normal ie cut down on whatever the infection is.

 

We are pretty certain an endoscope should be preformed-it has been since September of 2006 that he has had one. That will show a lot of answers or leave us scratching our head for more.

 

DH should be home soon, and since Chili's is doing their St Jude day, he is going to run and get some food for himself and I. Then I think I am going to take a couple of hours myself, is that terrible of me?, to go shopping for a new outfit for tommrow. SAHM clothes get old fast and it got cool a lot quicker than my wardrobe was prepared for.

 

I will update as soon as I can tommrow evening. We do not have internet on our phones, the appt is over 2hrs away, so it may be later in the evening when I get back on the boards. Answers or a means to find the answers are the prayers we are asking for. Please dear Lord help the GI lead us to answers. Thank you all for everything, I wish I could write each one of you personal thank you notes, it is wonderful having such an awesome support system.

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It is not wrong to take some time for yourself....us moms always feel guilty about that, but you have a big day ahead tomorrow and you want to be on top of your game, so to speak. J will probably need some daddy time and that's just fine.

 

Also, I do agreee about the outfit thing. I learned, the hard way, that a lot of docs seem to be a bit on the superficial side, so when I showed up with ds and was wearing my jeans and flannel shirt, no make-up, etc. I was instantly some stupid hillbilly mom who was functionally illiterate and ignorant. If I showed up dressed professionally, hair pulled up in some sort of CEO woman, no nonsense but neat, bun, ponytail, etc. make-up in place, and a little leather briefcase with my journal of concerns, times, and places....boom.....he/she instantly felt that "here was a serious mom, I better not tick her off". Stupid, but that's just how our dumb looks oriented culture operates.

 

Faith

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It is not wrong of you to take a bit of time for yourself. When both my son and daughter were having health problems those few hours were a necessity, expecially with a long day coming tomorrow. Sometimes the best way to take care of your chldren is to take a break from them and do something special for yourself.

 

And I agree with Faith about dress. I have experienced the same.

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