Dr hive: extremely long stomach bug?

[busymama7]

My 9 year old daughter has been sick since Friday and I am at my wits end trying to figure this out.  She is my youngest of 9 and we have had the stomach bug so many times I'm pretty traumatized from when my oldest, close together, kids were young.  This does not act like this at all although it did at first.  

So she threw up the first time Fri night after saying her stomach hurt during the day. I thought she just hadn't eaten enough as she has low blood sugar and has to eat often so she had a good dinner but then threw it up around 10. Threw up all night and day until Saturday night when I finally gave her a 1/2 zofran. Figured it was a stomach bug which we get ALL the time. But she is not getting better

She has a lot of intense stomach pain. I took her in Tuesday to urgent care after she "failed" simple appendix tests at home. She passed them there but she told me after we got home that she was trying not to cry in front of the Dr 🤦‍♀️ so I'm not entirely sure they got a thorough test. Sent us home with zofran and pepcid and said it wasn't anything major like appendix, just a virus.  Did not do any imaging. I really liked the doctor who was older and very good with her and very experienced

Pain got really bad again last night and is bad this morning.  She has been laying on a pallet on my bedroom floor for 5 days and she is one of the most active kids ever.  She does also have a headache/sensitivity to light although no fever.  She's whimpering and crying and trying to distract with movies but loses interest easily and then just squeezes her eyes shut and whimpers.  Says the pain is a combination of squeezing and stabbing.  

A friend said her child had something similar a couple months ago that lasted a week or so. That does make me feel a little better like it could just be a horrible virus but I truly have never seen anything like this before and my oldest is 27.  

anyone else see this going around?

ETA: more details I thought of.  She has no appetite. Won't eat more that a few bites of anything and we have offered her anything she wants. She will drink water or Gatorade and eat popsicles and doesn't seem super dehydrated.  Urine test on Tuesday showed a little bit of dehydration but she has been drinking better since then. 

Edited February 14 by busymama7

[Arcadia]

13 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

She does also have a headache/sensitivity to light although no fever

I have that for heartburn or allergies. Pepcid did not work for me for heartburn unfortunately, neither did Tylenol for the headache. Had to sleep it out and eat ice-cream.

[Terabith]

I would take her back in, honestly. 

[EKS]

I strongly recommend that you take her to the doctor again.  Possibly the ER.  If she was masking her reaction to pain when they did the appendix test, their diagnosis isn't necessarily correct.  

[stephanier.1765]

I'm thinking ER, as well. She's been sick and in pain for too long for anyone to come to a diagnosis without some sort of tests or imaging.

[KSera]

I’d take her in also. There are multiple thoughts that go through my mind as possibilities. In the very least, she needs better symptom relief if she’s in constant pain like that. 
 

(Some of the things I’d be thinking of are abdominal migraine, gastritis, Covid, appendicitis)

[itsheresomewhere]

Not that you want to hear this but two friends here are on day ten of this hell.  Both have been to urgent care twice now and it is a virus. Urgent care told them it is lasting a solid two weeks. Good luck and hopefully it will pass soon. 

[Terabith]

2 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Not that you want to hear this but two friends here are on day ten of this hell.  Both have been to urgent care twice now and it is a virus. Urgent care told them it is lasting a solid two weeks. Good luck and hopefully it will pass soon. 

It could be a virus, but I would be very worried about appendicitis.  And even if it’s just a virus she needs more symptom relief.  

[busymama7]

17 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Not that you want to hear this but two friends here are on day ten of this hell.  Both have been to urgent care twice now and it is a virus. Urgent care told them it is lasting a solid two weeks. Good luck and hopefully it will pass soon. 

There is not the correct emoji for this 

[busymama7]

14 minutes ago, Terabith said:

It could be a virus, but I would be very worried about appendicitis.  And even if it’s just a virus she needs more symptom relief.  

Yeah I haven't tried any kind of pain medicine because she isn't eating enough to be able to handle it.   

[Innisfree]

I would take her back in immediately, probably to the ER. She told you that she masked her reaction for the doctor. She needs to be seen again, and she needs to understand that it’s important to be honest about how she feels. Poor kid. She’s not “being good” by masking symptoms, she’s preventing the doctor from understanding what’s happening. She doesn’t understand that, but it’s time to explain it and figure things out. 

[gardenmom5]

Has she been getting electrolytes?   I've had time when that has completely turned things around because of the electrolytes lost with the bug.

if she was in pain while the ER was examining her - and they didn't know (yes, it can change their level of concern), I'd also keep closely monitoring.   
 

Edited February 14 by gardenmom5

[Kassia]

I hate going in for care, but I'd bring her back in too just to rule out anything serious.  I'm so sorry - that sounds miserable.  Your poor dd and poor you not being able to help.  

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, busymama7 said:

Yeah I haven't tried any kind of pain medicine because she isn't eating enough to be able to handle it.   

This can probably be individual, but you don’t have to eat much at all to be on the safe side. A cracker or two is fine. (According to nursing while my DS was in hospital.)

I would be careful to avoid covering pain if you take her back in, but definitely ask for something once she’s cleared.

 

[lmrich]

Take her in and get her some fluids. Poor thing. 

 

[busymama7]

1 hour ago, lmrich said:

Take her in and get her some fluids. Poor thing. 

 

If it was that easy, sure but I've already been there this week and they wouldn't give her any because she was keeping fluids down. She is better hydrated now than then so I'm not sure I could get it even if we went in. I could get someone privately to come give her some but again she's drinking and keeping it down. And someone asked about electrolytes, yes she's getting them.

She's doing better this afternoon.  Eating a bit. Talking instead of eyes closed and whimpering.  

[EKS]

32 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

She's doing better this afternoon.  Eating a bit. Talking instead of eyes closed and whimpering. 

Not to scare you, but when the appendix ruptures it can make the person feel better.

I hope that her appendix is just fine, but abdominal pain so extreme that the person is whimpering is considered to be a medical emergency.

[busymama7]

Just now, EKS said:

Not to scare you, but when the appendix ruptures it can make the person feel better.

I hope that her appendix is just fine, but abdominal pain so extreme that the person is whimpering is considered to be a medical emergency.

I get it but I have been in and they said her appendix was fine. Yes I'm still concerned because she did say she was trying not to cry but I also think if it has been as extreme as they were looking for she wouldn't have been able to hide it.  

[Annie G]

I hope she continues to improve! 
Our youngest granddaughter had a bug about a month ago that lingered for 5 or 6 days. Stomach cramps, vomiting, feeling listless…it was bad. After a couple of days Dd took her to the doc and they said it was a virus going around, and said the cases they were seeing took days to resolve.  It was so odd because kids usually bounce back so fast.

[mominco]

Did you talk to her primary care Dr? Maybe get an appointment for tomorrow or Friday. I hate when these things drag on to the weekends and if the kid does not get better you have to go to the ER. Hope she feels better soon.

Edited February 15 by mominco
adding more clarity

[Carol in Cal.]

2 hours ago, EKS said:

Not to scare you, but when the appendix ruptures it can make the person feel better.

I hope that her appendix is just fine, but abdominal pain so extreme that the person is whimpering is considered to be a medical emergency.

I was thinking this, too.  I’d go in.

[Terabith]

Appendicitis and even ruptured appendixes are missed all the time, even with people not minimizing their symptoms.

[Harriet Vane]

24 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Appendicitis and even ruptured appendixes are missed all the time, even with people not minimizing their symptoms.

Yup. This happened to my brother-in-law. He ended up with emergency surgery after numerous times being told he was fine and being sent home. Yes, numerous. I also remember it happening to a friend in high school, and it was quite serious for him. Appendix issues are harder to nail down than many think.

I genuinely hope this child is well and healthy and that it was simply a virus. But I would not base anything at all on one trip to the ER, not after what my bil experienced.

[busymama7]

Another urgent care visit and another Dr saying it absolutely isn't appendicitis.  X-ray showed constipation and gas probably brought on by the stomach flu over the weekend.  New treatment plan but child is not the most cooperative 🤪

[Kassia]

Is it possible that she has an obstruction or partial obstruction?  I've had many of those and the pain was worse than labor for me with squeezing/stabbing cramping.  Does she have stomach distention?  I would hope they would see that at urgent care if that was the problem, though.  

[Toocrazy!!]

I’m sorry she’s in so much pain. When DS was young he always found warm Epson salt baths comforting tor stomach issues. 
I hope she feels better soon. 

[stephanier.1765]

I've been to the ER with stomach pain that turned out to be constipation. I had no idea before then just how painful constipation could be. I hope she is able to recover quickly. Poor little sweetie! ❤️

[kbutton]

10 hours ago, busymama7 said:

Another urgent care visit and another Dr saying it absolutely isn't appendicitis.  X-ray showed constipation and gas probably brought on by the stomach flu over the weekend.  New treatment plan but child is not the most cooperative 🤪

Had pains can be incredible (as bad as labor from personal experience) and are more likely with constipation. Some kind of Gas-x can help. Shifting positions can make it sometimes short-term worse but helps move it along—sometimes putting your belly on an exercise ball and rolling around helps.

If she’s that miserable, and enema can help.

24 minutes ago, Toocrazy!! said:

I’m sorry she’s in so much pain. When DS was young he always found warm Epson salt baths comforting tor stomach issues. 
I hope she feels better soon. 

Magnesium helps things move along.

I hope she’s better soon. We had a kid with constipation after orthopedic surgery, and it worked to mask a serious complication (unrelated to the constipation). If she doesn’t feel better fairly quickly after going to the bathroom enough, I would take her back in. It sounds promising though!!!

[Kanin]

Oof, all of this sounds awful. Do you have a hot water bottle? That's great for stomach pain. 

[Carol in Cal.]

I would suggest trying prune juice before magnesium.  Magnesium gives me horrendous intestinal cramps, even though it does move things along, and you don’t need that right now on top of everything else.

[busymama7]

2 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I would suggest trying prune juice before magnesium.  Magnesium gives me horrendous intestinal cramps, even though it does move things along, and you don’t need that right now on top of everything else.

I tried but she wouldn't drink it.   I watered it down and she had a couple sips but she thought it was the grossest thing she had ever tasted 🤣. I mixed some powder up the Dr prescribed (I think miralax brand name) and she drank some of that last night and had a large movement.  She's still in some pain this morning so working on it still. 

[cintinative]

31 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

I tried but she wouldn't drink it.   I watered it down and she had a couple sips but she thought it was the grossest thing she had ever tasted 🤣. I mixed some powder up the Dr prescribed (I think miralax brand name) and she drank some of that last night and had a large movement.  She's still in some pain this morning so working on it still. 

I was going to ask about Miralax.  Unfortunately when you get that backed up, it can take time to clear everything out.  

Definitely lots of fluids will help too.

 

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, busymama7 said:

I tried but she wouldn't drink it.   I watered it down and she had a couple sips but she thought it was the grossest thing she had ever tasted 🤣. I mixed some powder up the Dr prescribed (I think miralax brand name) and she drank some of that last night and had a large movement.  She's still in some pain this morning so working on it still. 

Will she eat prunes if you tell her they are kind of like raisins and don’t mention the name? My kids have always LOVED prunes. You can purée them like applesauce too (add some pear slices to keep them from getting super sticky).

The unsulphured prunes are so good! SunSweet’s are sticky, but the ones from Trader Joe’s are a nice blend of sticky and firm. All are tasty!

Molasses cookies are a decent option to help things along. Almond flour baked goods too.

[Ottakee]

3 hours ago, busymama7 said:

I tried but she wouldn't drink it.   I watered it down and she had a couple sips but she thought it was the grossest thing she had ever tasted 🤣. I mixed some powder up the Dr prescribed (I think miralax brand name) and she drank some of that last night and had a large movement.  She's still in some pain this morning so working on it still. 

What we found was that once they were cleared out we needed for use a 1/4-1/2 dose of miralax every day for months to get things moving well.   

[KeriJ]

We have found using Miralax daily for awhile and a daily cup of apple juice in addition keeps things moving for my youngest who has had a similar situation. 

[Ali in OR]

My wheelchair kid gets a spoonful of miralax in her water each morning. Keeps things regular and so much better than predecessor treatments (enemas, suppositories). Just a little bit is enough.

[busymama7]

Thanks for the tips. I am hoping this isn't a long term thing but just a consequence of the stomach flu+ zofran. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Zofran is known to be constipating for many people. Best wishes!

[knitgrl]

On 2/15/2024 at 5:29 PM, kbutton said:

Will she eat prunes if you tell her they are kind of like raisins and don’t mention the name? My kids have always LOVED prunes. You can purée them like applesauce too (add some pear slices to keep them from getting super sticky).

The unsulphured prunes are so good! SunSweet’s are sticky, but the ones from Trader Joe’s are a nice blend of sticky and firm. All are tasty!

Molasses cookies are a decent option to help things along. Almond flour baked goods too.

Ha! When ds24 was little, I called them Big Raisins. And he loved them.

[busymama7]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Zofran is known to be constipating for many people. Best wishes!

For sure. It's awful for me. I do use it occasionally but I'm aware of the risk. I wish I had figured out sooner that this is what was happening. She is bouncing off walls today!